Arias Pistons 12.5:1 Compression 82mm Bore Honda B-series on 2040-parts.com

Watch the Weather Channel Tornado Hunt SUV find its target

A chase crew from the Weather Channel drove its GM SUVs directly into the path of an oncoming violent tornado Friday, resulting in this dramatic video from inside what appears to be a Chevrolet Suburban being tossed across the Oklahoma plains like a child's toy. Meteorologist Mike Bettes and his colleagues escaped relatively unharmed thanks at least in part to seatbelts and airbags, but the team will need to visit their local Chevy dealer for some minor repairs prior to heading out on another chase.

Industry pulse: NHTSA administrator David Strickland talks distracted driving

Editor's note: In an exclusive interview with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator David Strickland, Melanie Batenchuk of Be Car Chic asked about distracted driving and the agency's combined efforts with the Department of Transportation to curb this bad behavior. David Strickland has been championing safer, distraction-free driving since the beginning of his tenure at NHTSA in January 2010. Strickland has been working tirelessly toward this goal alongside stakeholders such as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, private-sector executives, automobile manufacturers and safety advocacy groups.

New Mercedes A45 AMG has 105 years of 4WD on its side

With the new Mercedes A45 AMG on the horizon – complete with 4WD – Mercedes chart the history of all wheel drive on their vehicles. We tend to think of 4WD road cars as a modern innovation, and certainly very few 4WD road cars hit the road in a mainstream way much before the 1980s (the Jensen FF was hardly mainstream before someone points out that was in the 1960s). But the history of 4WD goes back, certainly in the case of Mercedes, a surprising 105 years when Daimler built the Dernburg-Wagen, a 4WD vehicle that not only got all-wheel drive but all wheel steering too.