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Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

Sweden's Prince Carl Philip to race for Volvo in STCC

Prince Carl Philip Bernadotte has it good. He is a member of the Swedish Royal Family, he dates a model and he has been voted by Forbes as one of the "20 Hottest Young Royals." If that were not enough, he is a fairly successful racecar driver. The latter has earned him a spot on the Volvo Polestar racing team for the Swedish Touring Car Championship. The prince will be piloting a race-spec S60 in the 2013 STCC campaign.
Starting in 2008, Prince Carl Philip began competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup, where he placed as high as 11th. In 2010, he finished first in the Porsche GT3 Endurance competition, and most recently, he placed fourth in the 2012 Swedish GT GTB.
As his motorsport career up to this point suggests, the prince is quite serious about racing and the STCC is the next step up. According to Prince Carl Philip, "There is no tougher championship in Sweden and at the same time as I have respect for it, it motivates me greatly." You can read more on Prince Carl Philip's upcoming campaign with Polestar in the press release below.

Volvo to finally replace XC90 in 2014

There's not a whole lot of life left in the current Volvo XC90, but it seems a replacement is on the way. According to What Car?, Volvo will launch its new flagship crossover sometime in 2014, riding on an all new platform that will eventually underpin several models in the company's range.
According to Volvo boss Hakan Samuelsson, this new architecture will eventually underpin the next-generation S60, V70, S80 and XC60, all of which will be getting mid-cycle enhancements over the next year. In speaking to What Car?, Samuelsson said that Volvo would not try to follow the paths set by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, instead focusing on "safety, elegant design and user-friendly functionality" for its next round of new cars.
The new XC90 will remain a seven-passenger vehicle and will be powered by a range of four-cylinder engines. Volvo will soon be dropping the five- and six-cylinder powertrains from its lineup.