Ford Motor Co. offers the most vehicles in America with top safety ratings, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The institute today released its "Top Safety Pick" awards list for 2009, which recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side and rear crashes, based on the institute's tests.

Ford had more winners than any other automaker -- 16 in all. Honda Motor Co. was second, with 13 winners. General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. tied with eight each.

In all, 72 vehicles made the list, double the number of winners a year ago.

Chrysler LLC, based in Auburn Hills, was the only major automaker that did not receive a single top safety pick. The institute said Chrysler could have picked up five awards "if the head restraints were better in the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, the Sebring convertible, and the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country."  read more »

Ford Motor Co . got another shot in the arm from Tuesday when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported the automaker had more vehicles than any other manufacturer on itss list of safest vehicles sold today. The IIHS reported that Ford had 16 of the top-rated vehicles, followed by Honda with 13. General Motors and Toyota each had eight vehicles on the list. Seventy-two cars, trucks and SUVs received the top safety pick designation for 2009, more than double the number of vehicles in the 2008 model year and three times the number in 2007. The jump is due primarily to automakers increasing anti-rollover technology in more vehicles. The top-rated vehicles are the best in protecting people in front, side and rear crash tests based on institute evaluations during the year. The vehicles are required to have electronic stability control, or ESC, to qualify for the award. IIHS said electronic stability control is now standard on virtually all new SUVs and three-quarters of passenger cars for the 2009 model year. ESC is also standard on more than one-third of 2009 pickups. Fords list of top-rated vehicles included Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan midsize cars with optional ESC; the Ford F-150 pickup, Ford Edge and Ford Flex midsize sport utility vehicles; and the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small SUVs. The list also included the Mazda Tribute, which has the same underpinnings as the Escape and Mariner. Fords Volvo vehicles also made the list. Honda and its Acura unit had vehicles in nearly every category, including top-sellers such as the Honda Accord; the Honda Civic 4-door with optional ESC; and the Acura MDX and RDX midsize SUVs; and the Honda Fit with optional ESC. The Fit is the first mini-car to earn the safety award. General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. both had eight vehicles on the list. GM's included the Cadillac CTS and the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook large SUVs. Toyota's top performers were the Toyota Corolla with optional ESC, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra and Scion xB. Electronic stability control senses when a driver may lose control and automatically applies brakes to individual wheels to keep the vehicle stable and avoid a rollover. It helps motorists avoid skidding across icy or slick roads or keep control when swerving to avoid an unexpected object in the road. The absence of the technology became a focal point of lawsuits filed against Ford in the 1990s and early 2000s when tires were blowing on Ford Explorers, often causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle before a crash. IIHS said Chrysler LLC was the only major automaker that did not receive a single award. They said Chrysler could have picked up five awards if the head restraints had been improved in the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, the Sebring convertible and the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country. The report comes at an opportune time for Ford, which, along with GM and Chrysler, is asking Congress for bailout loans . Many members of Congress, as well as pundits and critics, have been lambasting Detroit automakers for the last several weeks for failing to stay competitive with Asian automakers.  read more »

Defending Detroit on anything these days is about as popular as justifying the big post-bailout party at AIG. But let me take a stab at some of the disingenuous finger pointing that has gone on in Congressional hearings over a Detroit bailout during the past two days. In his opening comments for the Senate hearings on Tuesday, Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd said that many of Detroits wounds are self-inflicted. He went on to blame them for ushering in the gas-guzzling suv era. Ill agree that many of the problems facing the Big Three are a direct result of management gaffes and union intransigence. But getting Americans hooked on oil? Hang on a second, Mr. Dodd. When Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations came to pass in the 70s, we had two different standards, one of car and one for trucks. The truck standard was much lower, since small businesses, contractors, farmers and the like need pickups. Those pickups need to be powerful to haul and tow heavy stuff. So they were allowed bigger engines and hence, lower fuel economy mandates. It wasnt long after that Detroit realized it could meet the American yen for roomy cars with V-8 engines by simply putting them on a truck frame and calling it an suv. By the way, Americans have always loved big cars. Whether it was a 60s Cadillac with huge pointy tailfins or the big V-8 station wagons of the 70s and 80s, bigger has always been better. Gas has mostly been cheap. And then, the only regulatory barrier that could stop Americas love affair with size was crafted with a giant loophole. Going back decades, British political cartoon have lampooned Americas huge cars. Detroit exploited the loophole to make money, which free market capitalists are schooled to do. They are taught that, by the way, in the land of capitalism that Congress and the President must protect. Americans snapped suvs up in huge numbers because they like what they have always liked, big cars. This went on for nearly 20 years with no Presidential administration or Congress stopping it. Why would they? It would be hugely unpopular with the electorate. Have I mentioned yet that Americans love big cars? That doesnt absolve General Motors, Ford and Chrysler from relying far too much on gas guzzlers for their profit haul. Nor can they be excused for disinvesting in smaller vehicles. I mean, Honda and Toyota can say they were into fuel economy before fuel economy was cool. Now that it is, they have the cars and the brand image to sell them, and the better cost base to make money on them. But I have to throw a yellow flag when someone in government says that its all Detroits fault. They were, at best, tacitly on the sidelines while America got far down the tracks with poor fuel economy and outsize energy consumption. If Congress doesnt think bailing out Detroit is a wise investment because the money will be lost, thats one debate. But saying no as a punitive measure against the guysallegedly the only guys--who created our dependence on foreign oil?  read more »

They may not agree on how to handle Pakistan or what the "Bush Doctrine" means, but Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin both think Volkswagens are cool. The senior senator from Arizona counts a 2005 VW convertible among his...


Keith Barry

The season for tossing around the pigskin and gorging yourself on pig products in the shadow of stadiums is here, and in that spirit we've identified the ten best vehicles for serious tailgating. With the help of our grill-happy readers we've put together a list of cars, trucks and vans that meet the requirements for your meaty adventures. Whether you're a Boomer Sooner or a Cheesehead, you'll surely be able to step up your off-the-field game by investing in one of the ten tailgating vehicles below.  read more »