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Consumer Reports slams new Honda Civic

Honda Motor Co., still struggling with supply shortages of the redesigned 2012 Civic after the March earthquake in Japan, took a slap in the face today when Consumer Reports rated the new Civic "too low to be recommended." The 2012 Honda Civic dropped 17 points, from a very-good score of 78 to a mediocre 61, in the latest Consumer Reports road test of small cars. Previous Honda Civic models have often been Consumer Reports' highest rated small sedans, as well as Top Picks in five of the past 10 years. But the redesigned model was slammed for the cheapness of its interior, poor ride quality, long stopping distances and loud interior noise.

Lotus Evora 414E Range Extender EV moves forward

The Lotus Evora 414E – a Lotus Engineering range extender hybrid project – is still moving ahead with dynamic and durability testing now underway. On the surface the Evora 414E looked like every other Evora, but under the skin sat the first version of a Lotus range-extender platform with a pair of electric motors and a small, 3-cylinder range-extender engine promising impressive performance and economy. Despite the reveal of the 414E at Geneva in 2010, there’s not been a huge amount of news on Lotus pushing forward with the project, or at least not until we got the Infiniti Emerg-E Concept at Geneva this year that turned out to be underpinned by the Evora 414E platform.

BMW Alpina B5 Bi-Turbo Touring (2011): first pictures

Alpina has released first details of the estate edition of its 5-series based B5 Bi-Turbo. The wannabe M5 Touring car will be officially unveiled at the 2011 Geneva motor show next week. Alpina has been tuning BMWs for more than 40 years with the factory's blessing and increasingly close collaboration. Presaging the recent move by BMW M to forced-induction engines, Alpina first turbocharged the 5-series when they launched the B10 Bi-Turbo of 1989.