Volkswagen debuts tuned Jettas for SEMA

It's easy to get the impression that SEMA is all about unattainable and outlandish show cars, ones that will never see the street, but in reality there is plenty of iron (or carbon fiber really) from all sides of all ponds that we could see people driving on the street. And just to reinforce that point, Volkswagen has brought a couple of tuned Jettas to SEMA that could almost pass for stock cars. This being SEMA, all that really means is that you're not looking hard enough -- the subtle cars you see are probably sleepers.

NHTSA unveils new safety ratings; BMW and Hyundai first to get five stars

The 2011 BMW 5-series and the Hyundai Sonata were the first two cars to achieve five-star ratings under NHTSA's revised safety ratings announced on Tuesday. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will rate a total of 24 cars, 20 SUVs, nine pickups and two vans for the 2011 model year. The federal agency has significantly modified its rating process and will now grade side-pole testing and crash-prevention technologies such as lane-departure warning and electronic stability control.

Parts of O'Quinn car collection to be sold at RM auctions in March

Batches of cars from the extensive collection of Texas attorney John O’Quinn--one of the most impressive collections of classic sheetmetal since William Harrah’s--will cross the auction block this spring at a pair of RM Auction events. O’Quinn, a noted attorney who died in a car crash last October, assembled a collection of at least 800 cars, and it could number as many as 1,300. Fifty-five cars from the collection will be sold at the RM auction on March 13 at Amelia Island, Fla.