Filed under: Budget, Hybrid, Minivan/Van, Sedan, SUV, Truck, Hatchback, Chevrolet, GM, Hyundai, Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, Luxury, Off-Road

Each year, the automotive editors of Consumer Reports select their Top Pick Cars, representing vehicles that are the best in their individual segments. These cars are deemed to have "average or better" predicted reliability and have scored high marks in government safety testing. In past years, automakers like Honda and Toyota have dominated this list, but since more and more manufacturers are ramping up their quality within each competitive segment, the 2010 list proves to be the most diverse CR Top Picks group in over a decade.

So, which cars garner the most praise from CR? The Nissan Altima has officially dethroned the Honda Accord from the top family sedan spot, the Volkswagen GTI takes honors as the best sporty car, the trusty Subaru Forester takes the cake in the small SUV category, the quirky Mazda5 wins for best family hauler, and both the Chevrolet Traverse and Silverado stand tall as the best family SUV and pickup truck. These six newcomers join the Hyundai Elantra SE, Infiniti G37, Toyota Prius and Lexus LS460L to round out the entire list of Top Pick Cars.

Unlike most automotive media outlets (Autoblog included), Consumer Reports actually buys its own test cars before putting them through rigirous evaluations of handling, braking, comfort, safety and more, and each test car is roughly 6,000 miles older by the time all of the tests have been completed. Follow the jump to read the official press release from CR, and scroll through our attached gallery to see high-res shots of all the 2010 Top Pick Cars.



[Source: Consumer Reports - sub. req.]

Continue reading Consumer Reports adds six cars to Top Picks list, touts diversity

Consumer Reports adds six cars to Top Picks list, touts diversity originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Recalls, Safety, Chevrolet, Toyota

Through much of the recent deluge of recall announcements and ensuing media coverage, there have been large groups on either side of the issue, quick to criticize or to defend the automakers and the governing bodies involved in the investigations. While many media outlets have merely reported the news, others have weighed in to give their opinion on what's going on. The latest to take a side on the issue is Edmunds.com. The well-known consumer information site issued a press release calling out the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), questioning what they see as Inconsistencies in the NHTSA's handling of Chevrolet Cobalt and Toyota Corolla steering complaints.

After reviewing the cases of these two cars and other complaints dating all the way back to 1990, Edmunds found "no clear pattern in terms of the number of consumer complaints that trigger an agency investigation." Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs found that "as few as five complaints have triggered an investigation [while] other investigations haven't started until 1,500 complaints had accumulated."

In the case of the Chevy Cobalt there were 1,157 complaints about steering issues before the recall investigation was started, while the Toyota Corolla had registered just 84 complaints before that investigation was announced. Even more telling was the fact that NHTSA took an average of 262 days to conclude an investigation before launching a recall, but the range was curiously wide - from just 10 days to a full six years, according to the Edmunds.com report.

"Whether NHTSA's process works properly and quickly enough and whether it is transparent enough is highly questionable. Ultimately, this week's Congressional hearings may well reveal as many defects in NHTSA procedures as defects in Toyota vehicles," said Krebs. The hearings will likely be a chance to play to the cameras for everyone involved, but hopefully some real change can come out of it if the system is indeed shown to be flawed. The full statement from Edmunds.com is after the jump.



[Source: Edmunds, Inc.]

Continue reading Edmunds looks at Toyota Corolla, Chevy Cobalt steering complaints, calls out NHTSA

Edmunds looks at Toyota Corolla, Chevy Cobalt steering complaints, calls out NHTSA originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Chevrolet, GM

It looks like General Motors is going to announce that Lordstown will be getting a third shift. Lordstown, Ohio is the plant where GM is going to be building its new compact Chevrolet Cruze, and apparently they think the demand is going to be pretty high for this handsome little sedan.

If you recall, Lordstown was supposed to be a round-the-clock plant when then-GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced a third shift and $350 million investment in the plant. That was way back In August 2008, though, before the carpocolypse. By September, the industry and whole country found themselves in a free-fall. By January 2009, two shifts were eliminated at Lordstwown, idling some 2,800 workers. Last April GM idled the whole plant for three weeks to cut supply and lower operating costs.

The addition of a third shift should bring a number of union employees back to work building the all-important new Cruze, wit the highly efficient, 40-mile-per-gallon Cruze arriving in dealerships this fall.

UPDATE: General Motors made the extra shift at its Lordstown, OH plant official today saying it will add 1,200 new jobs. Follow the jump for GM's official press release.


[Source: Detroit News]

Continue reading Report: GM adding extra shift at Lordstown to meet expected Cruze demand *UPDATE

Report: GM adding extra shift at Lordstown to meet expected Cruze demand *UPDATE originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Cadillac, Luxury

Thinking about taking home a new Cadillac CTS Coupe and ready to start mixin' 'n' matchin'? Cadillac has put the coupe's order guides online, which means it's time to start playing with packages. You might be in for a little disappointment, though, when you discover that things like that the pane of glass isn't a proper sunroof - it only tilts - kind of like the unit on Audi's A5. Nor can you have the new Evolution Green Metallic exterior with the Ebony interior and Saffron seat inserts. But that's probably a good thing...

Otherwise, there aren't too many surprises, just details to know, like which package you'll need in order to get the rearview camera on the nav screen and not on the mirror. Or you could just get the CTS-V Coupe and make sure you drive home with everything standard.



[Source: General Motors via GM Inside News]

2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe ordering guide plops onto the Interwebz originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, SUV, Wagon, Europe, Marketing/Advertising, Crossover, Cadillac, Luxury

Amidst all the turmoil at General Motors last year, Cadillac lost a large chunk of its European distribution with the collapse of its partner, the Kroymans Group. General Motors has now decided to make a renewed push into the continent with its premium brand and is setting up its own distribution network to handle sales and service.

Cadillac Europe will handle the task of marketing the CTS and SRX in all of their various incarnations. The CTS Sportwagon and Coupe will join the sedan following the coupe's European debut in Geneva next week. Europe was actually intended to be the primary market for the Sportwagon since drivers there don't seem to have the aversion to that body style that Americans do. Later this year, the SRX joins the party and Cadillac will continue to offer the big Escalade hybrid to the three of four people that are interested.

Unfortunately, according to Cadillac spokesman Nick Twork, the much-anticipated 2.9-liter turbodiesel V6 that was announced three years ago at the Geneva Motor Show is no longer part of the plan. The oil burner that likely would have done much to help expand Cadillac's appeal in that market. Instead, Twork tells Autoblog that Cadillac will "be a niche brand."

Continue reading Cadillac to set up new distribution network in Europe, diesel dead

Cadillac to set up new distribution network in Europe, diesel dead originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today’s photo comes from sjb4photos.

Be sure to look at all of sjb4photos’ photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with “gmfyi.”

Filed under: Coupe, Sedan, Cadillac, Luxury

Around the Autoblog campfire, the second-generation Cadillac CTS remains one of our favorite sedans of recent years. For one thing, the interior of the gen-two CTS is vastly better executed than the original. But like the Corvette, it has one weakness: The seats. They aren't terrible, just not great. That error has been rectified with news from Cadillac today that multi-adjustable power-actuated Recaro front seats are now available as an option. These same seats have been available in the supercharged CTS-V, but now buyers of the V6 sedan can get them as well.

At $2,800 the new seats don't come cheap, but you will definitely be hooked once you sit in them and start taking a few hard corners. Adjustable side bolsters and extendable seat cushions for those of us with long thighs allow these new thrones to fit any driver. Frankly, we'd love to seem them installed in the Corvette ZR1 as well, but the engineers tell us they are a bit too wide for the C6. When the two-door, fast-back CTS coupe goes on sale this summer, these same seats will also be available in both the V6- and LSA-powered variants. Unfortunately, those who opt for the extra cargo space of the Sportwagon will have to make do with the standard seats.

[Source: Cadillac]

Continue reading Cadillac CTS gets Recaro seats just like V model

Cadillac CTS gets Recaro seats just like V model originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, February 22 at 12:00 p.m. EST, the director of GM’s customer and relationship services team, Scott Lawson, will host a live Webchat to talk about what GM is doing to turn every GM owner into a customer for life.

Scott leads a team that is responsible for GM’s customer contact activities in the U.S., providing customer and dealer service.

Today’s photo comes from Trey’s Dayz.

Be sure to look at all of Trey’s Dayz’s photos and our other albums. And if you would like to recommend your favorite photo with a GM car or truck in it, put it up on Flickr and tag it with “gmfyi.”