67 Chevelle Gto 442 Day Night Mirror 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.

Kia Borrego

Kia has released photos of the Borrego, a full-size SUV for the North American market. The production model, which was originally previewed as the Mesa Concept at the 2005 Detroit Auto show, would have taken exactly three years to be transformed from a show car to a full production model when it makes its official debut at the NAIAS in 2008. Overall proportions and design details have been adjusted and toned-down noticeably from the Mesa concept, with details such as more realistically-sized alloy wheels, the body-To-DLO ratio, a no-frills interior and, perhaps most apparent, the more subtle greenhouse graphics.

New recalls hit 2.7 million GM vehicles, from Corvettes to Saturns

General Motors is recalling 2.7 million U.S. cars and trucks for problems ranging from flawed taillamps and windshield wipers to brake problems, in an escalation of the safety crisis that has enveloped the company for months. GM said today it expects to book up to $200 million in charges in the second quarter to cover the cost of recalls during the period.