Toyota fails to land 'top safety pick' rating in insurance-group study

For the first time in three years, none of Toyota Motor Corp.'s vehicles received “top safety pick” ratings from an insurance group, as tougher criteria pared the number of selections from 94 last year to 27 this year. Ford Motor Co. led all automakers for the second year in a row with six 2010-model top safety picks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, including four from Volvo, a brand that's being sold.

VL Destino revealed - what became of the Fisker Karma

VL This is the new face of the Fisker Karma, the luxury plug-in hybrid whose parent company went to the wall last year. But it’s not only the Karma’s gap-toothed grin that’s disappeared: its plug-in hybrid powertrain has bitten the dust, too, replaced by a GM-sourced V8 – a supercharged lump boasting 638hp and 640lb ft. Called the VL Destino, the wilder Karma will be shown at this month’s North American International Auto Show, aka the Detroit Motor Show.

Vauxhall Corsa - first photos of the 2011 facelift

Vauxhall has today issued the first pictures of the new, facelifted-for-2011 Corsa supermini. There's a dash of Insignia flair at the front, but very little else changes on the revised Vauxhall Corsa. The new nose of the 2011 Corsa finally ditches the old-fashioned Vauxhall V-grille, replaced by the newer chrome bar with a prominent Griffin badge like on the new Insignia and Astra.