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 »

With the 2009 models filling dealer lots, there are deals readily available on leftover 2008 vehicles especially those that are being retired or redesigned. In Driving a great, end-of-summer new car deal, we looked at many facets of getting a great deal, covering benefits of buying now and employee pricing. But, we did not present standout deals on the orphaned 2008s. We maintain a list of Best New Car Deals, representing good deals on good cars, with the requirement that all featured models have met our stringent criteria to be recommended. Understanding that many people purchase cars that are not recommended, we will broaden our scope for this blog post.  read more »

Your hair's properly coiffed, best threads are doffed and there's a reservation at the hottest spot in town with your name on it. After all that hard work it would be a shame to drive up to your date's house in a vehicle so terrifying she's either faked an illness or called the police. For those in the dating game and prone to driving unique vehicles, we present this helpful list of ten cars guaranteed to scare away a blind date before the date even begins. You know, as a public service announcement.  read more »

With gasoline hovering near $4 a gallon, many buyers are looking at more fuel-efficient vehicles. The good news is that you don't have to give up a lot of passenger or cargo room to find a versatile vehicle that can save you a lot of money at the pump. The most sensible approach to getting good fuel economy is to consider vehicles that get the best gas mileage in their class. The savings between the best car in the class and the worst can be significant. For example, the hybrid Toyota Highlander, at 24 mpg, can save you about $1,700 a year in fuel over the conventional Dodge Durango V8 at 13 mpg if you drive a typical 12,000 miles in a year, and pay $4 a gallon for gas.  read more »

J.D. Power & Associates has again released its annual Vehicle Dependability Study, measuring problems experienced by original owners of 3-year-old vehicles; in this case, 2005 model year vehicles. No surprises at the very top, as Lexus leads the pack for a 14th straight year, but two domestic brands — Mercury and Cadillac — again made the top five. In fact, of US automakers, only Chrysler didn't have a brand that placed above the industry average. Full rankings and press release after the jump.  read more »

Now that I've had a chance to go through my photos of the 24 Hours of LeMons South event, it's time for the traditional LeMons ber Gallery!  read more »