Webber beats Vettel to pole in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Mark Webber is on pole for 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Mark Webber may be about to end his F1 career, but that hasn’t stopped him competing. And compete he has at the Yas Marina Track by beating team mate Sebastian Vettel in to second place and claiming pole position at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Behind the two Red Bulls is the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg followed by Lewis Hamilton (who spun on his final qualifying lap) with Kimmi Raikkonen – who is far from a happy bunny – starting tomorrow’s 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in fifth place.

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.

Kia Pop concept (2010) first official pictures

These are the first pictures of Kia's new 2010 electric concept car, the Pop, which is due to make its debut at the Paris motor show on 30 September. Details on the new Kia Pop are sketchy, but at 3m long and with a triple-seat arrangement, it could be that Kia has its sights set on creating a rival to the Toyota iQ. In fact, we can see from the bird's-eye shot that the seating plan mimics that of Toyota's baby with two positions in a front bench and a single rear seat behind the front passenger.