Ford’s Reliability Suffers in Consumer Reports Survey, Japanese Brands Rule and Europeans are a Mixed Bag

Consumer Reports has published its 2011 annual auto survey in which the main point of interest, as the report states, is a sharp decline in Ford’s so far “solid reliability record”: the Detroit carmaker dropped 10 places in the overall reliability ranks.

According to CR's survey, which is based on responses from 1.3 million vehicles owners, Ford’s drop from 10th to 20th place among 28 carmakers can be attributed to two main factors. The first is that all three of Ford’s new models, i.e. the Explorer, Fiesta and Focus, scored below average in reliability in their first year on the market.

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Volvo Takes Pride in Reducing its CO2 Emissions the Most Among European Manufacturers

According to the data collected from the European Federation for Transport and Environment for its annual analysis, the European car manufacturer that has managed the greatest reduction in average CO2 emissions across its range in 2010 is Volvo.

The study shows that last year, Europe’s eight biggest automakers reduced their average CO2 emissions by 2 to 6 percent. Volvo, on the other hand, managed a 9 percent reduction topping the relative charts thanks to models such as the 99 g/km V50 DRIVe and the 119 g/km V70 DRIVe.

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Toyota Maintains World’s Number One Spot in Global Value Report

Toyota may have lost the first place in global sales to GM, one of the reasons being the lack of supply after the March earthquake, and it has seen the VW Group relegating to third place, but it still has a number one position to brag about.

Branding consultancy Interbrand has placed the Japanese carmaker in the top spot among carmakers, and sixth overall, in its latest global value report that was released today.

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Report: New SUVs are Safer for Other Cars’ Occupants in the Event of a Collision

One of the most controversial issues concerning SUVs is that as their number rose during the 1990s and 2000s, they caused more injuries and deaths to occupants of normal passenger cars during crashes. The reason being that their front end had the undesirable effect of hitting normal cars much higher, where their occupants were less protected.

A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) involving one- to four-year old vehicles shows that the situation has improved significantly in the past decade.

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Polk Says 2011 Non-Dedicated Hybrid Model Sales Down 1.5% Versus 2010

With the notable exceptions of the Chevy Volt, Toyota Prius and Honda Insight, most of the hybrids on sale today are merely spin-offs of existing ICE models with gas / electric powertrains fitted; take the hybridized Chevy Tahoe, Toyota Camry and Honda Civic for instance.

According to automotive statistics website Polk online, in the first seven months of 2011, sales of non-dedicated hybrid models dipped 1.5% compared to last year. Analyst Tom Libby blames the sales slump on the lack of distinct styling; hybrid buyers want their cars to stand out from the crowd.

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Study Shows that New Porsche 911 Garnered the Most Web Buzz from the Frankfurt Motor Show

Now that the 2011 International Auto Show in Frankfurt has passed into history, analysts are crunching the numbers to see which carmakers and models sparked the crowd's interest the most.

UK-based Kantar Media Precis released the results of a study that looks into the number of online stories from websites, Tweets, blogs and other social media starting from two weeks before the first press day of the Frankfurt Motor Show on Aug. 30, 2011, until the end of the second press day on Sept. 14, 2011.

The study reveals that the most talked about model on the internet was the new Porsche 911 sports coupe, while next up was the Mercedes-Benz B Class small MPV, followed by the BMW i3 Concept hatch, the Audi Urban Concept studies and the Ford Evos Concept.

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