Buckling precious cargo into a late-model vehicle has gotten a bit easier in the past year, the Institute’s LATCH ease-of-use ratings show.
IIHS launched its ratings of child seat installation hardware in vehicles in June 2015. Out of 102 vehicles rated at that time, the majority were poor or marginal. Today, a total of 170 current models have been evaluated, and most are good or acceptable. Three models — the Audi Q7, Lexus RX and Toyota Prius — earn the top rating of good+, a distinction that no vehicle achieved last year.
A properly installed, age-appropriate child restraint can protect a child much better in a crash than a safety belt alone. LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, is intended to make it easier for caregivers to install child restraints properly. Child restraints installed with LATCH are more likely to be put in correctly than restraints installed using the vehicle safety belt, IIHS research has shown.
Even with LATCH, installation errors are common. The Institute’s ratings are based on key ease-of-use criteria that have been shown to minimize mistakes.
Highlighting more than $100 million in renovations at its hotels across North America, Super 8®, the world’s largest economy hotel brand and trusted roadside companion, today rolled into the 2018 New York International Auto Show with ROADM8, the first-ever concept car inspired by a hotel brand’s guestroom redesign.
Pulling its style and amenities straight from Super 8’s newly refreshed and elevated rooms—think bedding turned upholstery, a nightstand turned dashboard accent—ROADM8 fully embodies the sleek, new, modern look and feel of Super 8 while bringing the best of the brand to the open road. Outside, the vehicle boasts the red and yellow of the iconic Super 8 sign while inside are innovative amenities like a built-in, on-demand coffee machine, custom center console mini-fridge, touch-screen entertainment, and more.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8289351-super-8-roadm8-new-york-international-auto-show/
GAC Motor, China’s only automaker exhibiting at the 2017 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit from January 8 to 22, 2017, three groundbreaking new models including the first electric vehicle GE3, new SUV GS7 and concept car EnSpirit. Its GS7, a blockbuster mid-sized SUV, is designed with the company’s most innovative technologies and forward thinking concepts.
At the international showcase for the best of automotive industry, GS7 has drawn wide attention from industry professionals, experts, media and guests. The model is destined to continue the company’s legacy in the new era for SUVs opened by their best-selling GS4 which was also released at NAIAS back in 2015.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/8018651-gac-motor-gs7-naias/
A new crash test program from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety aims to ensure that manufacturers pay attention to the safety of front passengers as well as drivers.
The test was developed after it became clear that some manufacturers were giving short shrift to the right side of the vehicle when it comes to small overlap front crash protection. A good or acceptable passenger-side rating will be required to qualify for the Institute’s 2018 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award.
The first test group in the passenger-side small overlap front test program did better overall than vehicles IIHS previously evaluated for research. Ten out of 13 midsize cars tested earn a good rating, while one is acceptable and two earn a marginal rating.
In contrast with a group of 2014-16 model small SUVs tested for research, none of the 2017-18 midsize cars had a poor or marginal structural rating. Instead, the biggest problem in the new group was inconsistent airbag protection in five cars, which would put passengers’ heads at risk.
MINI TAKES THE STATES 2018 (MTTS), the eagerly anticipated road rally for MINI owners hosted by MINI USA, kicked off this weekend from two separate locations on opposite sides of the country. Over the next five days, thousands of MINI owners will #DriveForMore to help raise money for charity partner Feeding America.
The two rally routes, each with more than 800 participants, started in Orlando, Fla., and Portland, Ore., on Saturday, July 14, and will meet in the middle at Keystone Report in Keystone, Colo., on July 20 for a weekend celebration of everything MINI. The bi-annual trek will cover more than 5,000 miles in total, traveling across America on state and county roads, stopping in 15 cities along the way.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8329551-mini-takes-the-states-feeding-america-2018/
MINI TAKES THE STATES 2016 (MTTS), the eagerly anticipated two-week cross-country rally for MINI owners and enthusiasts, kicked off this weekend in Atlanta, GA. The bi-annual trek will travel track-to-track through America's open roads, stopping in 14 cities over 15 days with thousands of MINIs. Along the way, the group will rally to #DefyHunger with charity partner Feeding America.
“Big things happen when the MINI community comes together, and this year is no different,” said Tom Noble, Department Head, MINI Brand Communications. “MINI TAKES THE STATES is the ultimate road trip and we're as excited for the adventure as we are for our cause. The fight against hunger has many faces, it's not always a lack of food but rather a lack of the right resources to avoid waste, maximize efficiencies and get the food where it's needed most. Through our Feeding America partnership, we hope to raise money and awareness as we motor with purpose across America.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7861251-mini-takes-the-states/
Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry, today announces the winners of the 2015 Kelley Blue Book Best Buy Awards, honoring the top new model year vehicle choices available in the U.S. market. The 2015 Ford F-150 is named Kelley Blue Book's Overall Best Buy of 2015, alongside Best Buy Award winners in 12 major vehicle categories.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7297831-kelley-blue-book-2015-best-buy-awards/
Volvo Cars, the premium car maker best known for its leadership in safety, has teamed up with three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and artist Barbara Davidson for a world-first - using the on-board safety cameras of the new Volvo XC60 to create a special collection of photographs.
This is the first time ever that a car is used as a camera by a photographer. Davidson’s collection of around 30 photographs, taken through the lenses of the XC60’s on-board safety cameras, captures life on the streets of the Danish capital Copenhagen from a completely fresh perspective.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8129151-volvo-cars-exhibition-life-city-xc60/
With its roads and freeways as the foundation of driving adventures encompassing sunny surf-side beaches, rugged snow-covered mountains, starkly beautiful deserts and a wide variety of other destinations, Kia Motors America (KMA) chose Los Angeles for the North American debut of the all-new 2016 Sorento CUV.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7078359-2016-kia-sorento-north-america-debut-la-auto-show/
2017 Long range Renault Zoe EV A practical winner First Drive, That's because Renault has managed to increase the Zoe's range with an impressive 41-kWh battery, called the R90, that gives an official NEDC range of 403 kilometers (250 miles). Sure, the NEDC range is a optimistic fiction concocted by European regulators – something that even Renault admits – but the new Zoe's real-world range should be around 200 km (124 miles) in the winter and 300 km (186 miles) in the summer. Compared to the first-gen Zoe's 250 km (155 mile) NEDC range, this is a tremendous improvement.
