17 Black Wizard Wheels Rims 6x135 6 Lug Ford F150 Expedition Lincoln Navigator on 2040-parts.com

NHTSA unveils new safety ratings; BMW and Hyundai first to get five stars

The 2011 BMW 5-series and the Hyundai Sonata were the first two cars to achieve five-star ratings under NHTSA's revised safety ratings announced on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will rate a total of 24 cars, 20 SUVs, nine pickups and two vans for the 2011 model year. The federal agency has significantly modified its rating process and will now grade side-pole testing and crash-prevention technologies such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.

Ford Focus goes SEMA mad

A total of seven Ford Focus at the 2011 SEMA Show There’s nothing American petrolheads (perhaps we should say gearheads) like more than tarting up a car. Which explains why the relatively sensible Ford Focus is being pimped to within an inch of its life for this year’s SEMA show. The SEMA Motor Show is a trade-only gathering – despite which it gets around 50k visitors – which the organisers call the “premier automotive specialty products trade event – in the world.” It attracts trade visitors from across the globe to see parts, tools and components and the ‘SEMA’ special cars brought along by car makers and car modifiers.

Fiat Punto Sporting arrives with revised Punto range

The Fiat Punto Sporting (pictured) ash been added to the Punto range The Fiat Punto is a bit of an anonymous Fiat that should probably sell better than it does, but with most of Fiat’s marketing efforts centered on the 500, the Punto just gets overlooked. So Fiat are trying to inject a bit more interest in the Punto by making some teaks to the range, deleting a couple of trim levels and adding a new one – the Punto Sporting. The Fiat Punto Sporting is Fiat’s take on ‘Sporty’ for the Punto with a set of side skirts, a sports suspension setup, ‘Tarmac’ finish on the dash, 16″ alloys, chrome exhaust tip and a gloss black roof.