2003 Saturn Vue Sunvisor Passenger Rh Gray W/mirror 2054154 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.

Market view: why the Jaguar XJ has an uphill battle

By Glen Brooks Motor Industry 10 July 2009 16:11 It’s a sobering thought for Jaguar management that no matter how good the new 2010 XJ is, it’s never going to be a big seller. The global market for large executive saloons was in decline long before the Great Recession appeared, the buyers in this segment increasingly tempted by models as diverse as the BMW X6, Infiniti FX, Cadillac Escalade or Mercedes GL-Class crossovers and SUVs. The generation that was chauffeured in an S-class or XJ is retiring, with the owner-drivers who succeed them soon to be preferring a Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide or Audi A7.

Suzuki Jimny SZ4 released

Suzuki has launched a new higher-spec Jimny - The Suzuki Jimny SZ4 The Jimny is pretty much in a league of its own, but that’s probably because no one else wants to play, rather than the Jimny being exceptional in any way. It’s not exactly a comfortable car, although it seems to cope with big bumps reasonably well, it’s just everything else it has trouble with. But we can’t argue that it’s not well put together, because it is.