17 Polaris General 1000 Eps Front Frame Chassis on 2040-parts.com

Now even Audi slows production

We’ve written endlessly about the slow down in car production worldwide. All the top end manufacturers have made savage cuts in jobs and production. But there seemed to be one company bucking the trend – Audi.

Mitsubishi XR-PHEV, Concept GC-PHEV and Concept AR revealed for Tokyo

Mitsubishi XR-PHEV, Concept GC-PHEV and Concept AR revealed for Tokyo With the Tokyo Motor Show arriving at the end of the month, Japanese car makers are revealing the concepts they hope will steal the limelight at their home show, and today it’s the turn of Mitsubishi to reveal the three new concept cars heading for the show. The three Mistubishi concepts were teased in a moody, shadowy photo in October, but we now get details of the XR-PHEV, Concept GC-PHEV and Concept AR. The Concept GC-PHEV is Mitsubishi’s vision of a next-generation full-size SUV and comes with 4WD and a plug-in hybrid powertrain consisting of a 3.0 litre V6 supercharged engine mated to an eight-speed auto box with a high-output electric motor and high-capacity battery.

Insurance group lists its Top Safety Picks

After increasing its standards for 2011 models, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that 66 vehicles--more than double the 2010 total--rate as best in the industry at protecting passengers from front, side, rollover and rear crashes. Only 27 vehicles qualified last year after the group, funded by the insurance industry, required that vehicles pass a roof-strength test to earn a good rating, claiming that stronger roofs would reduce the risk of serious or fatal injury by 50 percent in a rollover accident. The most mentioned carmakers on the 2011 list are Hyundai/Kia and Volkswagen/Audi, both with nine vehicles to get the Top Safety Pick designation.