Beech C-45 Hydromatic Propeller Pump Assy Bracket on 2040-parts.com

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.

BMW Concept Coupe

BMW unveiled their latest concept in the run up to the contemporary Mille Miglia, a road race for cars that competed during the original event held between 1933 and 1957. The BMW 328 that set the fastest time in 1940, averaging over 100mph, has also provided inspiration for the Coupe Concept, which mixes the older car's silhouette with surfaces closer to the Z4 on which it is based. Powered by BMW's seminal 343PS engine, the car is wrapped with carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP), whose form is defined by designers using plaster rather than clay "for a closer emotional experience".

The car-commercial players for Super Bowl XLV

WITH VIDEOS -- Cash-strapped auto companies stood on the sidelines of the Super Bowl for a year or two, but they're about to make up for it in a hurry. By some estimates, the auto industry will buy the most time of any advertising category for the Feb. 6 game.