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Volt, Leaf win top safety rating in crash test

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf electric cars won the highest safety ratings in crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, putting them in the top 57 percent of models tested so far this year. About 80 of 140 vehicles tested among 2011-2012 models have received the Institute's "top safety pick," the group's award for state-of-the-art crash protection that exceeds federal safety rules, Institute spokesman Russ Rader said. The Volt and Leaf received a "good" rating -- the highest of four rankings -- on each of four crash tests, said the Institute, which is funded by auto insurers including State Farm, All-State and Geico.

Audi previews future product plans

Audi's U.S. boss stopped by One AutoWeek Tower on Tuesday afternoon and offered us an update on the brand's future products. Here's what's happening in the next few years, straight from Audi of America president Johan de Nysschen.

VW Polo GTI and harder Golf GTI Wörthersee 09

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 20 May 2009 16:34 Volkswagen today unveiled two hot hatch surprises at the 2009 Wörthersee hot hatch festival: a potential Polo GTI and a harder, faster Golf GTI, likely to give clues to the R model tipped by CAR for launch later this year. Both models pictured here are concepts at this stage. The Golf GTI Wörthersee 09 edition gains cosmetic and modest engineering mods.