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Autoblog Minute: VW Q3 financial woes, 2015 Tokyo Motor Show

Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla recommendation, the U.S. Copyright Office offers a ruling affecting car owners, VW gets hit hard with third-quarter losses, and lots of exciting news from Tokyo. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Consumer Reports pulls its Tesla recommendation, the U.S. copyright office offers a ruling that affects car owners and gear heads, VW gets hit hard with third-quarter losses, and lots of exciting news from Tokyo. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. After a week away testing vehicles for Autoblog's Tech of the Year award, we're back in the office to recap the week in automotive news. [00:00:30] One of the things you might have missed was Consumer Reports pulling its recommendation of Tesla's Model S sedan. The blemish for Tesla comes after a tally of reviews from customer surveys. The most common problem areas for the Model S as cited by survey takers included: the drivetrain, power equipment, charging equipment, body and sunroof squeaks, rattles, and leaks. So lots of stuff. Though they could not ignore a score of "worse-than-average", Consumer Reports still [00:01:00] highlighted the fact that the Model S was "the best performing car" they've ever tested. Telsa CEO Elon Musk took to social media to defend his sedans saying: "Consumer Reports reliability survey includes a lot of early production cars. Already addressed in new cars." And, "Tesla gets top rating of any company in service. Most important, CR says 97% of owners expect their next car to be a Tesla (the acid test)." In Financial news, Volkswagen took a hit and reported an operating loss of [00:01:30] $3.84 billion. This is the first such loss for VW in 15 years. Toyota reclaimed the crown as the world's largest automaker as well. It's important that it's not all doom and gloom for VW though in Q3. Sales revenues were up and the company's automotive division boasts $30 billion dollars in liquid assets. It's a sizable war chest that will no doubt come in handy, as the company has yet to feel the full brunt of the diesel emissions scandal. Good news for gear heads. The US copyright office [00:02:00] ruled in favor of mechanics and car owners by granting an exception to existing copyright law. The law was originally meant to prevent software pirating and bootlegging of Hollywood movies.

The 2022 Subaru BRZ and Toyota GR 86 aftermarket upgrader's guide

When you own an enthusiast car, there are few events more nerve-wracking than the introduction of its successor. Should you upgrade? Is it worthwhile? What will it cost you to part out your mods and trade up? Well, there's good news for owners of the outgoing Scion FR-S, Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ who are considering an upgrade: You might not have to start with a clean slate.  If you’re an owner (or even a casual fan) of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 family of sports coupes, youÂ’re probably already aware that the 2022 models are more like aggressive overhauls than true, ground-up redesigns. Neither company really wants to put a spotlight on the fact that their coupes are a little less "all-new" and a little more "back and better than ever," but in our opinion, this is something Subaru and Toyota should embrace.  Why? In a word: continuity. Look no further than the NA (1989-1997) and NB (1999-2005) Mazda Miata. While they are regarded as distinct generations (the NA defined by its pop-up headlights and simpler lines; the NB by its fixed lamps and swoopier styling) and were offered with different equipment packages, the fundamental underlying chassis remained relatively unchanged. This meant that, in many cases at least, buyers could trade up to a new model but bring along some of their factory and aftermarket accessories because theyÂ’d still fit. The BRZ and GR 86 are meant to be fairly bare-bones vehicles, the idea being that they appeal to those who want limited frills at a low cost and those who prefer to view cars as canvases rather than finished masterpieces. A long-running platform makes an excellent candidate for the latter type of car buyer. So, what does that mean for the 2022 BRZ and GR 86? Well, let's break it down by whatÂ’s truly new, whatÂ’s kind-of-new, and whatÂ’s essentially carry-over, with some guidance from Subaru and Toyota engineers.  2022 Subaru BRZ blue action profile View 22 Photos Spankin' new LetÂ’s start with the obvious: the styling. Even if you can find older aftermarket appearance kits that will fit the new BRZ and GR 86 on paper, they probably wonÂ’t bolt up nicely to the new cars due to their sleek new exterior designs. Wings and spoilers might still bolt up, but donÂ’t count on it, and theyÂ’ll probably look disjointed at best anyway.

Toyota recalling 1.67 million vehicles worldwide in 3 campaigns

Toyota is issuing three separate recalls covering 1.67 million vehicles worldwide with most of those models in Japan. It looks like the campaigns' impact on the US may be smaller, though. According to Reuters, Toyota isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or fatalities affecting the models. Some yet-unnamed Lexus models might also be affected.
The largest of the campaigns does not currently affect any US-market vehicles. About 802,000 units of the Toyota Crown Majesta, Crown, Noah and Voxy in Japan are being repaired to replace a seal that could leak in the brake master cylinder. Those already leaking get a new brake booster, as well, according to Reuters.
The only recall currently believed to affect the US is due to a problem covering approximately 759,000 vehicles with 423,000 of them here. The repair is to fix a faulty fuel delivery pipe that could cause a fire if the fuel leaks out. Unfortunately, we don't know which models it covers. Autoblog spoke to Toyota spokesperson Mona Richard and was told the information was still "under embargo." When exactly that embargo will lift isn't yet known, but we're on the case.