2012 Ford Focus Front Passenger Seat Belt & Retractor Only Gray on 2040-parts.com

Four big pickups get low marks in crash tests

Four 2009 full-sized pickups got low marks in side-impact crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group for auto insurers. Crash protection is "poor" in crew-cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and Nissan Titan without side-impact airbags, according to test results the institute released on Wednesday. The Dodge Ram with standard side-impact airbags got only a "marginal" rating, the institute said.

Cadillac ATS and Tesla Model S make final five in Innovation By Design Award's 'Transportation' category

Cadillac's ATS and the Tesla Model S are among the five finalists bidding to win the ‘Transportation' category at this year's Innovation by Design Awards, which celebrates groundbreaking designs from the past year. Established last year by design magazine Fast Company, the awards consist of eight different categories – 2D Design, Products, Interactive Experience, Transportation, Spaces, Social Good, Concepts and Student Design – and this year saw over 1,200 submissions from all over the world, from corporations all the way down to individuals' designs. After a jury of 24 experts from all design disciplines – including J Mays, Ford's vice president of design and chief creative officer – whittled them down to just 54 designs, the Cadillac ATS and the Tesla Model S are battling for their category award against three other designs from 2013.

Mitsubishi PX-MiEV Concept at Tokyo

The Mitsubishi PX-MiEV Concept - a hybrid crossover The ‘PX’ bit of the name is Mitsubishi’s code for Plug-in Hybrid Crossover (saves a bit of room on the boot lid), so the PX-MiEV gets a 1.6 litre 4-pot to drive the front wheels together with an electric motor. An additional electric motor is used to power the rear wheels when circumstances dictate. The PX-MiEV can also run for up to 30 miles in EV mode, after which it turns in to a hybrid to drive and recharge the batteries.