Chevy Vertex Magneto Gasser Hotrod 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.

McLaren 12C Concept showcases McLaren Special Operations (MSO) goodies

The McLaren 12C MSO Concept (pictured) highlights McLaren’s MSO upgrades Unless you’ve ever been and bought a supercar (or a high-end luxury car) new, you may not realise that the regular options list is just the starting point for individual customisation. In fact everyone, from Ferrari to Rolls Royce, will do pretty much whatever you want to your new car if your pockets are deep enough, and it’s a game – and a cash cow – McLaren are keen to make the most of. That’s why we had the extreme McLaren X-1 project a couple of years ago, but that went a lot further than most Mclaren buyers want to go with their new car.

Update: Audi TT-RS – more images

We did a piece yesterday on the Audi TT-RS teaser images released by Audi ahead of the TT-RS launch at Geneva in March. But now we’ve got some more pictures, even though they are not official Audi releases (excuse the less than normal quality). It would make much more sense for car makers to stop teasing and do things properly.