Nissan Leaf nets middling 78-point Consumer Reports score, still beats Volt

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Nissan

Consumer Reports has wrapped up its five-month road test of the 2011 Nissan Leaf and reports the electric hatch scored 78 points. That puts the EV into the middle of six recently tested fuel-efficient hatchbacks. The Leaf ranked two points shy of the Toyota Prius and 11 points above the Chevrolet Volt. [...]

Porsche denies KERS-equipped 911 reports

Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Europe, Porsche, Rumormill

2013 Porsche 911 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Sources within Porsche told us that KERS would be available throughout the entire next-gen 911 range, but now, a Porsche executive calls it “nonsense.” While the automaker is developing ways to make electric range extenders work in [...]

Mid-engine Corvette C7 reports surface yet again

Filed under: Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Chevrolet, GM, Rumormill, Design/Style

Chevrolet 50th Anniversary Corvette Stingray Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Rumors of a mid-engine C7 Corvette simply refuse to die, despite a long string of denials that such a project is in the works from a number of General Motors executives. The latest such story [...]

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #220 with Consumer Reports’ John Linkov

Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show, Etc., Ford, Jeep, Smart, Design/Style

Click above to subscribe to The Autoblog Podcast in iTunes

We record Episode #220 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and we’ll be joined by John Linkov of Consumer Reports, as well. We’ll of course discuss the Annual Autos Issue, as well as the other topics [...]

Consumer Reports: Interest in alt-energy vehicles on the rise; buyers deterred by drawbacks

Filed under: Diesel, EV/Plug-in, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, Hydrogen, MPG, Natural Gas

Consumer Reports recently surveyed 1,713 car owners in the U.S. and discovered that 39 percent of them will consider buying a hybrid or electric vehicle (EV) for their next vehicle. Out of that group, 60 percent are leaning towards a conventional hybrid, 16 percent are considering [...]

Reports: Nissan to repair 2.14 million vehicles in its 3rd biggest recall ever

Filed under: Recalls, Infiniti, Nissan
The line at the door for the recall party is getting longer. Nissan has just showed up and it needs to bring in 2.14 million vehicles around the world, making it the automaker’s third largest recall of all-time. The issue lies with a faulty ignition relay that could cause the engine [...]

Video: 2011 Chevrolet Volt visits Consumer Reports

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

“What do you think about the Chevrolet Volt?” It’s a question we get asked all the time. For most of us, the answer is, “I’m anxious to check it out.” The staff of Consumer Reports’ Automotive Test Center can offer more substantive replies. General Motors drove two Volts out to [...]

Toyota rebuts Professor Gilbert, reports nothing found wrong with remedied vehicles

Filed under: Recalls, Toyota

During the first round of Congressional hearings last month, Toyota was blindsided by one Professor David Gilbert who was added to the witness list at the last minute to talk about an experiment in which he induced sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) in a late model Toyota Avalon. His test was reproduced in [...]

Consumer Reports may restore Toyota “Recommended” ratings next week

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

Consumer Reports may be ready to offer a vote of confidence in Toyota, depending on the outcome of the Japanese automaker’s current Congressional Hearings on Toyota Safety here in the United States, says CR Senior Director David Champion.
At the end of January as news was starting to pile [...]

Reports: Toyota fixing 50k pedals per day, considering redesigning pushbutton start

Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Toyota

Toyota’s got its sticky-pedal fix in high gear, with dealers exorcising an impressive 50,000 unintended acceleration demons per day. Thus far, 225,000 of the several million recalled vehicles have already been repaired. Going all-in on the fix was the only choice for Toyota, anything less would telegraph an attitude of [...]