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Consumer Reports gets top vehicle picks mostly right

Despite the publication's uncomfortably broad definition of reliability -- it spans everything from "the engine fell out" to "the touchscreen display shows fingerprints too easily" -- automakers still clamor to get on the Consumer Reports recommended vehicle list. This year's winners cover a broad spectrum of vehicles, and for the most part, we're in agreement with the magazine's editors, with one significant exception at the top of the list. Best overall vehicle went to the Tesla Model S.

EV maker Coda trims staff

Not much more could go wrong for electric-car maker Coda, which has struggled to sell its four-door EV in the United States since officially launching it here in March. But Web reports, first seen at www.plugincars.com, say the company laid off 50 employees, or 15 percent of its workforce, last week, mostly in the sales and marketing departments. Efforts by Autoweek to contact Coda have not been successful.

BMW goes front-wheel drive for the 2-series Active Tourer

BMW's long-held reputation for producing only rear- and four-wheel drive vehicles comes to an end with the the new 2-series Active Tourer, its first-ever front-wheel-drive production model. The cornerstone of BMW's Geneva show stand next month, the 2-series Active Tourer marks a significant turning point for the German automaker, adopting a transverse-mounted engine and standard FWD. It arrives here in early 2015.