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 »

The automobile insurance industry has added a luxury sedan and a large SUV to the list of new vehicles insurers consider to be the safest for sale in the U.S.

The 2009 Acura RL, a large luxury car and the 2008 Audi Q7, a large luxury SUV were both given the Top Safety Pick designation by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
There are now 39 cars and SUVs on the current IIHS safety list. There is one large pickup truck on the list, the 2008 Toyota Tundra.

"Winners afford superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their classes. To qualify, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good in the Institute's front, side, and rear tests and be equipped with electronic stability control," according to IIHS.  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 »

In today's fleet notes, we take a look at the 2008 BMW M3, the 2009 Acura TSX and the 2009 Honda Pilot. Our staff offers a number of different takes on the vehicles, from their styling to the way they stack up to competition in their respective segments. After you get done reading our thoughts, check out a longer impression in an expert review for each car. 2008 BMW M3 BMW's latest iteration of its legendary M3 arrived at the Cars.com garage recently, and I had a chance to drive it where many owners might find themselves when not at a weekend track event: commuting to and from the office during rush hour. Even in this rather mundane situation, the M3 showed how versatile a machine it is. The M3 is one of BMW's track-ready production cars, but it's also rather civilized in stop-and-go driving. The clutch won't wear out your left leg, and even on very poor post-winter roads the M3's suspension displays an admirable degree of suppleness, which makes for a ride that's more tolerable than what you'd get from an Audi RS 4. The M3's sport seats also fit me much better than the bucket seats in regular 3 Series models. If you need to scoot around slower-moving traffic, a surge of power is only a jab of the gas pedal away. There is one thing I could do without on the M3: While most of the car is accented with typically subtle M cues, I'm no fan of the car's domed hood it's too noticeable from the driver's seat. It looks like there's an alien tumor pushing up from below.  read more »

Competes with: BMW X3, Land Rover LR2, Acura RDX Looks like: Safe comes to the compact luxury SUV market Drivetrain: 281-hp, turbocharged six-cylinder Hits dealerships: Early 2009Volvo is jumping into the small luxury SUV game with the XC60. It joins an ever-growing group of very good vehicles, like the BMW X3, Acura RDX, Land Rover LR2, Infiniti EX35 and Mercedes-Benzs upcoming GLK. Can Volvo play the safe card and win buyers?Thats what the company says it isnt doing, at least with the design. While it certainly isnt boxy, were not sure if the lines are as universally appealing as the Infiniti EX35 or as true to their brand as the Land Rover LR2. At first glance the interior looks similar to other Volvos, but the floating center stack is actually off-center, skewing toward the driver.  read more »

As the end of the year draws near, we have been talking around the offices about our dream automotive gifts, from improbable crate-engine transplants to benchmark production cars. The team who attended the annual Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show last month was eager to share to personal picks from this massive Las Vegas event, with a decided classic-car bent. So we present a few of our favorite things... from SEMA. Jim Travers: If you missed your chance to snap up a Yenko Sting  read more »