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.

Audi A3 e-tron stars at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

We’ve seen the Audi A3 e-tron before, but here at Frankfurt 2013 it yet again makes up an important part of the VW Group’s electrified product line-up – and makes it another step closer to production. Offering premium levels of comfort, refinement and equipment, the Audi A3 also gives running costs and efficiency – all these factors combined could well attract a new set of hybrid vehicle buyers.

New Mercedes A Class recalled for faulty air bag

The new Mercedes A Class is being recalled for an Airbag fault The new Mercedes A Class is a cracking little car, and offers much more style, performance and joy than the boxy little original A Class. On the market for less than a year, the new A Class has been a big success story for Mercedes-Benz with 100,000 orders on its books by the end of 2012 as buyers fell for the appeal of MB’s first really credible compact car. And that appeal was wide, with everything from frugal diesels to the range-topping A45 AMG, which offers the promise of not just stunning performance from its 335bhp, but decent economy and practicality when you’re not in the mood to blat.