1941-7 Packard Clipper Steering Cross Arm. N.o.s. 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.

‘Amis de la 2CV’ gathering later this month

A record-breaking global gathering of Citroën 2CVs is set to take place from July 26-31 at the 19th International 'Amis de la 2CV', so we thought it was a good opportunity to showcase the now legendary model designed by Flaminio Bertoni. The biennial event is expected to attract over 6,000 examples of the iconic model, with participants from all over the world coming together to celebrate one of Citroën's biggest success stories. The 2011 event, involving many of Europe's 2CV owner's clubs, promises to be the biggest yet.

IDEA Institute acquired by Quantum Kapital

Turin-based automotive design, modeling and engineering firm IDEA (Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering) has been sold to Quantum Kapital AG, an investment company with an industrial emphasis based in St. Gall, Switzerland. The transaction is expected to be completed in the next few weeks.