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IIHS names safest cars for 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has named the safest cars for 2013, including 13 midsize sedans that qualify for a new “top safety pick+” designation. The designation is given to vehicles that earn “good” ratings for occupant protection in at least four of five tests, with no less than “acceptable” in the fifth test. A new test -- the small overlap test -- was added to assess how the vehicles perform during a front-corner collision with another vehicle or object, such as a utility pole.

Spyker said to be General Motors' only candidate to buy Saab

Spyker Cars NV is the only buyer under consideration for the Saab brand and is seeking to line up funding that will satisfy General Motors Co., a person with direct knowledge of the situation said. Financing has been a main obstacle to a deal, said the person, who declined to be identified because the information isn't public. The proposal from Spyker, a Dutch sports car maker, had included a Russian partner that GM rejected, and Spyker was seeking to arrange financing that didn't include that partner, the person said.

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Diesel: The middle child

Alfa Romeo Giulietta Diesel 138bhp Alfa Romeo seem to be doing much right – and much less wrong – than ever before. Yet they also seem to be floundering and struggling to make the volume of sales they need to be viable. Maybe buyers are still expecting Alfas to break before breakfast and disintegrate in to a mass of perforated panels inside the first year.