Tesla has unveiled its highly anticipated Model 3 electric car.
Customers have been looking forward to a lower-cost way to buy one of the California-based company's products, while investors hope it will swing the company from loss to profit.
But other more established automakers are launching electric vehicles of their own targeted at the same market.
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Drivers of vehicles with good small overlap front ratings from the Insurance Institute from Highway Safety can expect to be protected well in a frontal crash involving the left corner of the vehicle. But how would the passengers sitting next to them fare in a right-side small overlap crash? A new study shows that good protection doesn’t always extend across the front seat.
The Institute conducted 40 mph passenger-side small overlap tests on seven small SUVs with good driver-side small overlap ratings. Only one of the vehicles, the 2016 Hyundai Tucson, performed at a level corresponding to a good rating, and the others ran the gamut from poor to acceptable.
The results have prompted IIHS to consider instituting a passenger-side rating as part of its TOP SAFETY PICK criteria.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7856251-ad-council-embrace-refugees/
Think “muscle car” performance, and images of speed and power are more likely to come to mind than crash tests and safety ratings. Because no one buys a sports car to drive in the slow lane, the best all-¬ around occupant crash protection is crucial. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently put a trio of iconic sports coupes through their paces, and unlike more sedate sedans, none earns the scores needed to clinch a TOP SAFETY PICK award.
IIHS evaluated 2016 models of the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Ford Mustang in the full battery of crashworthiness evaluations. The Mustang comes closest to earning TOP SAFETY PICK, while the Camaro falls shortin one category and lacks an available front crash prevention system. The Challenger is most in need of improvement.
To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK, vehicles must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations and have a basic-¬rated front crash prevention system. To qualify for the Institute’s highest award, TOP SAFETY PICK+, vehicles must earn good ratings in the five crashworthiness tests and an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, today unveiled two new concept cars that move the Swedish brand in an audacious new direction and mark the official launch of its global small car strategy.
Today’s newly-revealed 40 series concepts demonstrate for the first time how Volvo Cars plans to expand into the large and lucrative global market for premium small cars with a range of vehicles that combine bold exterior and interior design with industry-leading connectivity, electrification and autonomous drive technologies.
The new concept cars will be the first built around Volvo Cars’ new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which has been specially created for smaller cars and which has liberated the company’s designers and engineers to explore bold and daring new directions.
“Each member of our product family has its own distinct character, just like the members of a real family. CMA has helped us to capture something special, something youthful in our new concept cars. They have an energy, a disruptive and engaging urban character that makes them stand out amongst the crowd. This is the flavour of small Volvos to come,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President, Design, at Volvo Car Group.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7837051-volvo-new-range-of-smaller-cars/
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, today unveiled two new concept cars that move the Swedish brand in an audacious new direction and mark the official launch of its global small car strategy.
Today’s newly-revealed 40 series concepts demonstrate for the first time how Volvo Cars plans to expand into the large and lucrative global market for premium small cars with a range of vehicles that combine bold exterior and interior design with industry-leading connectivity, electrification and autonomous drive technologies.
The new concept cars will be the first built around Volvo Cars’ new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), which has been specially created for smaller cars and which has liberated the company’s designers and engineers to explore bold and daring new directions.
“Each member of our product family has its own distinct character, just like the members of a real family. CMA has helped us to capture something special, something youthful in our new concept cars. They have an energy, a disruptive and engaging urban character that makes them stand out amongst the crowd. This is the flavour of small Volvos to come,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Senior Vice President, Design, at Volvo Car Group.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7837051-volvo-new-range-of-smaller-cars/
The Here For America initiative today released International Automakers in America: Building More Than Cars, a report detailing the significant effect international automakers and dealers have on the U.S. economy. The report shows the $73 billion cumulative investment in American jobs and manufacturing.
“The United States today is a great place to build and export cars,” said John Bozzella, president and CEO of Global Automakers and spokesman for Here For America. “International automakers accounted for nearly half of all U.S. auto production last year and exported over 750,000 of these vehicles to countries around the world.”
International Automakers in America was released at the 10th annual American International Automobile Dealers (AIADA) auto industry summit. Highlights from the 2016 report include the nearly 700,000 direct jobs generated by international automakers and dealers and the record 8.3 million vehicles sold in the U.S. last year.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7796651-global-automakers-impact-report/
Three out of seven large pickup trucks evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in a new round of crash tests earn an acceptable or higher rating for occupant protection in a small overlap front crash.
IIHS evaluated two body styles of each 2016 model-year pickup — crew cab and extended cab. Crew cabs have four full doors and two full rows of seating. Extended cabs have two full front doors, two smaller rear doors and compact second-row seats.
IIHS last year decided it would test the two most popular variants of large pickups instead of just one after discovering that the Ford F-150 extended cab lacked structural countermeasures that helped the crew cab earn the top rating of good in the small overlap test. The test replicates what happens when a vehicle runs off the road and hits a tree or pole or clips another vehicle that has crossed the center line.
Ford improved the 2016 model F-150 SuperCab to clinch a good rating in the small overlap crash test, up from the 2015 model’s marginal rating. The F-150 is the only large pickup in the latest test group to earn the Institute’s top rating in the test. It joins the F-150 SuperCrew in earning a 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK award when equipped with Ford’s optional basic-rated forward collision warning system.
Vehicles that earn a basic rating for front crash prevention plus good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK. To qualify for 2016 TOP SAFETY PICK+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the five crashworthiness tests and an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.
The Toyota Prius v is the only midsize car out of 31 evaluated to earn a good rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s first-ever headlight ratings.
The best available headlights on 11 cars earn an acceptable rating, while nine only reach a marginal rating. Ten of the vehicles can’t be purchased with anything other than poor-rated headlights.
A vehicle’s price tag is no guarantee of decent headlights. Many of the poor-rated headlights belong to luxury vehicles.
The ability to see the road ahead, along with any pedestrians, bicyclists or obstacles, is an obvious essential for drivers. However, government standards for headlights, based on laboratory tests, allow huge variation in the amount of illumination that headlights provide in actual on-road driving. With about half of traffic deaths occurring either in the dark or in dawn or dusk conditions, improved headlights have the potential to bring about substantial reductions in fatalities.
With lower fuel cost and less emissions, many automakers and fleets are turning to compressed natural gas (CNG) as a vehicle fuel. Even though the fuel has been used in this capacity for decades, increasing prices of gasoline and growing concern for the environment has reignited interest. In this video we talk with Kathryn Clay, the executive director of the Drive Natural Gas Initiative, and Stephe Yborra, the director of market development at NGV America, about the growth, development and future of CNG in America.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) are hybrids with high-capacity batteries that can be charged by plugging them in. Although PHEVs do not have to be plugged in to be driven, they will not achieve optimal fuel consumption or maximum driving range without charging.
For an accessible version of this video, please visit:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/transportation/cars-light-trucks/buying/16221
For consumers in the market for a new car, it can be difficult to keep up with all of the new—and newly redesigned—models that have been released since they last bought a car. Autotrader’s editorial team is helping consumers narrow down the many choices on the market today by selecting the top 10 vehicles that shoppers should experience for themselves. Announced today, Autotrader’s Must Test Drive vehicle lineup for 2016 includes a wide range of body styles to ensure that no matter what kind of vehicle a shopper is considering, the list will point them in the right direction for their next purchase.
“We created the Must Test Drive Awards to highlight vehicles that are unexpectedly good,” said Brian Moody, executive editor at Autotrader. “We have a chance to drive a lot of cars, but few leave us certain that shoppers are missing out if they don’t take them for a spin. The 10 vehicles we chose this year did just that.”
A car is typically one of the biggest purchases a consumer makes, and a recent Autotrader survey showed that 84 percent of consumers say it is extremely important to test drive a vehicle they’re considering. The top three things they look for during test drives are performance, comfort and handling. While 30 percent wait to test drive vehicles until they know the exact model they want to buy, 44 percent get behind the wheel when they’re still considering a few options.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7790751-autotrader-must-test-drive-awards/
