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Minicars perform poorly in crash tests, study says

Minicars made by Toyota, Honda and Daimler AG did poorly on frontal crash tests with mid-sized automobiles, prompting an influential safety organization to suggest consumers consider buying larger cars that have comparable fuel economy. The Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit and Smart ForTwo all collapsed upon impact into the space around the driver dummy, according to the study released today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Drivers in all three vehicles faced high risk of head and leg injuries after test collisions at 40 miles an hour, even after airbags inflated, said the non-profit group funded by auto insurers.

Volkswagen to add compact four-door coupe to its lineup

Volkswagen has hatched plans for a second four-door “coupe” model as part of a strategy to shore up its North American and Chinese market shares while providing a suitable addition to its European lineup. To be positioned underneath the recently facelifted CC, the new four-seater is set to form part of the Jetta lineup, joining successors to today's sedan and wagon models in an expanded three-model range. They're all set to hail from Volkswagen's Puebla plant in Mexico, the same site responsible for the newly launched second-generation Beetle.

Breakeryard designs 'Woman-Proof' car

Breakeryard, the UK's network of national breakers, has designed a garish pink ‘Woman-Proof' concept car with the aim of making parking easier for ‘non-confident' female drivers. In an exercise with its tongue firmly in its cheek Breakeryard has not only designed, but also commissioned some mock-ups of a car to combat problems highlighted in a survey of 1,421 female drivers. ‘Peripheral visibility' was identified as a problem by 44 percent of respondents, so the concept has a bubble-top design to combat this, which would be framed by a reinforced structure for safety purposes.