Evinrude 0331370 Grommet, Engine Cover 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.

Marvel’s Captain America car by Daniel Simon [w/Video]

Automotive designer and futurist Daniel Simon has had his vehicle design from ‘Captain America: The First Avenger' featured in a short animation. This 10-wheeler 1942 supercharged V16 Coupe, the personal car of Marvel's villain Johann Schmidt (the Red Skull), is 7,620 mm long and was inspired by cars such as Mercedes' 540K and the G4. The director's instructions for the car's size  led to a truck chassis having to be used for the practical film version.

Toyota Furia Concept teased ahead of Detroit Auto Show (video)

Toyota has revealed a short video teasing a new concept car for the Detroit Auto Show - the Toyota Furia Concept. Toyota are intent on convincing us they’re heading in a sportier direction with their cars, and it’s true that dynamics and styling seem to be coming to the forefront in new models. That intent is demonstrated with the latest concept from Toyota – the Toyota Furia – which gets a tease ahead of a Detroit Auto Show reveal and appears to offer a sporty-looking saloon and a name that could have come straight from a video game – cue explosions and fire to demonstrate the Furia.