Here at Consumer Reports, we’re on record complaining about some of the less well-conceived features of push-button start buttons. Sometimes trying to turn off a car has begun to look like a Three Stooges routine. The same can be said for getting into a car and starting it, thanks to “convenient” new technologies. After driving three cars recently with different combinations of keyless entry and push-button start, it became clear to me that they are not all created equally.

The people have spoken: Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet excel over other brands in the minds of adult car owners, though the brand’s advantages are less this year than in the past. These are among the findings of the 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Audi brought some interior bits from the upcoming A3 redesign to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. While the console, dash, and other pieces on exhibit don’t give any hints of what the exterior of the redesigned compact will look like, the display makes a dandy way to show some new features coming to Audi Connect.

As I made my last tour of the Cobo Center show floor in Detroit, it struck me how few new models stood out to me this year. I love that most unveilings were practical, or at least skewed toward the practical, from traditional mainstream models edging upscale to prestige brands reaching down toward mainstream budgets. The cars that etch themselves into my memory are distinctive in appearance, function, and/or mission, leaving so many others anonymous in an army of clones.

If much of the country is still focused on value for the 99 percent, the Detroit auto show still has plenty of room for the remaining 1 percent. For those with money to burn, some of the finest hardware anywhere is on display.

A total of 115 vehicles have earned the 2012 Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) including 69 cars, 38 SUVs, 5 minivans and 3 pickups. Eighteen new models make the list this year including the Acura MDX, Acura TL, Acura TSX, BMW X3, Buick Verano, Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Honda CR-Z, Honda Fit, Honda Insight, Honda Pilot, Honda Ridgeline, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Scion xD, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius V, and Toyota Yaris.

Volkswagen of America is recalling its 2012 Audi A6 cars for an issue with the vehicles' front air bags, reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Approximately 317 of the vehicles have improperly stitched air bags that may prevent the proper deployment of the safety device during a collision.

There is something of a revolving door for how German luxury sedans score in our Ratings. Audi’s A6 midsized sedan topped our luxury sedan Ratings as late as 2001, but since then, other Teutonic rivals have stolen its thunder. First the 2001-2003 BMW 530i became our top-scoring car ever. Then the previous-generation (2003-2009) Mercedes-Benz E-Class surpassed later redesigns of the 5 Series and A6. But now it’s Audi’s time to shine, again moving to the top of the prestige sedan Ratings.

The other issue inherent to electric cars, in addition to their limited range, is how long it takes to recharge them. A “quick” 30-minute recharge could make a big difference for electric car drivers, albeit it’s still longer than a fill-up. And one reason such fast chargers have been slow to appear—other than cost, who pays for them, and how do they become profitable—is that it can be hard to get a bunch of car companies to agree on anything. So when seven automakers agree to a new standard for charging, it sounds like a breakthrough. Except when the rest don’t.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has added the 2010-2012 Audi A3 TDI to the previously announced 2010-2012 Volkswagen Golf and 2009-2012

Some days are better than others, especially if they are spent at a private test track with dozens of new cars. Several members of the Consumer Reports Cars team went to the Monticello Motor Club last week for the annual International Motor Press Association (IMPA) track days, sampling the latest cars on a 3.6-mile race track. Naturally, the staff found some favorites from among these high-speed first impressions.

In an effort to encourage people to be more responsible drivers, Audi has announced a new program asking motorists to take the “Driver’s Pledge.” The pledge has motorists promising to be more aware, safe, and efficient when driving—no matter what car they own. Some examples of good roadway behavior include not driving distracted, yielding to pedestrians, or reducing speed at yellow lights.

Audi has long been thought of as being a step in status below its German rivals, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. But the company is trying very hard to shake that image with evocatively styled, luxuriously-finished, and high-tech-content models. A big step toward this is the new Audi A6, their mid-sized luxury sedan and our latest test car.

A few months ago, Audi laid out some ambitious sales goals for the U.S. market: 200,000 units per year within the next eight years. That’s a big number, not only because it’s coming from a company that for years was a luxury-market also-ran, but because the manufacturer expects some of its more expensive products to make up 25 percent of those sales. One of those vehicles is the new A7, Audi’s take on a four-door coupe. We recently borrowed one from Audi to get some initial impressions.

Audi’s CEO has revealed that the German automaker plans to build a vehicle assembly plant in North America and could also build an addition engine and transmission plant.