2011 Mini Countryman

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has chosen the 2011 Mini Countryman as the "Top Safety Pick", after the model received a "good" rating in front, side, rear and rollover tests. Another strong point for the Mini was the inclusion of the electronic stability program as a standard feature on all models, a deciding factor for choosing this Mini model.

The car comes with driver and passenger airbags, side curtain airbags as well as seat-mounted torso airbags. There is another airbag located in the lower dashboard on the passenger side that will help prevent knee injuries in case of a head-on impact.

IIHS determined that in the event of a side impact, the risk of injury to the driver was low, but the Countryman's passenger risked a fractured femur. Besides this risk, the possibility of severe injuries to the rest of the body was very low.

Source: IIHS

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IIHS "Top Safety Pick": 2011 Mini Countryman

Boys and girls, get ready for some fast cars and some Vin Diesel’s furious crew. This is the second trailer of the Fast Five movie, coming April 29th. This trailer offer 2:30 minutes of complete auto insanity. The story is just an excuse for out of this world driving, explosions and hot girls in bikinis.

Do we have your attention yet? If not, click play.

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Fast Five – trailer nr. 2

The list of recalls doesn't seem to end for Toyota as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced recalls for yet another 22,000 trucks and SUVs due to improperly calibrated tire pressure monitoring systems. The cars in question are certain 2008-2011 FJ Cruiser, Tundra, Tacoma, Land Cruiser and Sequoia models that have been fitted with TPMS units that were not properly calibrated.

Due to this issue, the dashboard warning light may fail to illuminate in the event of a deflated tire, which according to NHTSA, might lead to accidents. The Japanese automaker will recalibrate the tire pressure warning systems without charging the owners. No word about when the recalling procedure will begin.

Source: NHTSA

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Recalls: Several 2008-2011 Toyota Models

You probably know by now that Lexus is the best-selling luxury brand in the United States. As far as Buick is concerned, only the Chinese buy their models and the continuous growth of their delivers allowed the automaker to outsold Lexus two months in a row, without showing any signs of slowing down in the near future.

According to Kicking Tires, Buick managed to sell more cars last month than Audi, Mercedes and Acura. The only luxury automaker that did better than Buick was BMW – the German company managed to sell 800 units more.

Buick's achievement is even more impressive if we look at their lineup where we will find that they offer only four models: Enclave, Regal, Lucerne and LaCrosse; as opposed to Lexus for example, which offers nine models in the United States.

Before you think that the reason why they are doing so well is because the cars are cheap, you need to know that since 2003, the average transaction price of a Buick has increased by a whopping $11,113, at least that is what Nick Richards said, the company's spokesman.

Source: Kicking Tires

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Buick Outruns Lexus Sales

2011 Jeep Wrangler

Although the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) decided that Chrysler doesn't have to recall the Jeep Wranglers with the model year 2007 and 2008 due to the fuel leaks, they do have to recall 20,459 units of the 2010 and 2011 Jeep Wranglers because of improperly front and rear axle fasteners.

NHTSA affirmed that the maladjusted fasteners might lead to "noise, or ultimately, degradation in steering and handling characteristics". If this problem isn't solved, the car could lose steering control, and we don't have to tell you what might happen…

This recall affects the units built between July 12 and September 10, 2010. In order to fix this problem, Chrysler dealers will re-torque all of the 19 fasteners to the maximum torque value without charging the owners.

Source: NHTSA via Autoblog

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Recalls: 2010-2011 Jeep Wrangler

It seems that both Renault and the French government might have been fooled by a possible hoax espionage scandal. If you remember, three of the executives working at the company have been escorted off the automaker's HQ. None of them were charged with any crime, but at that moment, reports said that they might have been involved in stealing secrets from the company's electric vehicle program and selling them to various parties outside the country. Some say that the most significant part of these secrets was sold to the Chinese automakers.

When hearing this news, the French government started to look into the Chinese connection, raising even more eyebrows in the People's Republic. This entire conspiracy was based upon some existing bank accounts in Switzerland and Lichtenstein which the so-called corporate thieves stashed their money obtained from selling Renault's EV program secrets. According to The Guardian, these bank accounts never existed.

The aforementioned accused executives at Renault decided to sue the automaker for these accusations and due to the reason that the company had no way of supporting these accusations, there is a big probability that this entire issue is a big hoax. We don't know who was behind this stunt, but if we find out, we'll tell you.

Source: The Guardian

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Renault's EV Espionage Scandal, Possible Hoax

Unknown Chevrolet Sedan

Autoblog's photographers have managed to take a couple of spy shots of what seems to be an upcoming Chevrolet sedan. The same source says that the car has been spotted in 2010 wearing even more camouflage than now and at that moment; it was suspected that the model spied is the sedan successor of the Aveo model. However, Chevrolet announced the four-door version of the Sonic, which means that the vehicle in question is not for the US market.

Unknown Chevrolet Sedan

Rumors say that GM is working on a new compact car for the South American, Chinese and Indian markets and this vehicle might be the one. However, General Motors makes the Sonic model in Korea so we don't really understand why the automaker would want another model for the rest of the Asian market.

Source: Autoblog

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Unknown Chevrolet Sedan Spied

Next-gen Chevrolet Colorado

With this teaser, GM shows us a glimpse of the upcoming new global-platform Chevrolet Colorado, before the truck's official debut which will occur in Thailand at the Bangkok Motor Show. The event will open its doors later on this month, on the 25^th, and General Motors decided to get our attention by showing us how the next-gen Chevrolet Colorado / GMC Canyon will look like.

The automaker affirmed that they've picked the Bangkok Motor Show for launching the truck due to the reason that the Southeast Asian market is becoming an important piece of the pie for GM, and the people there are buying pickup trucks like cupcakes. Last year, 43% of all the vehicles sold in Thailand were pickups.

The vehicle will be manufactured in Thailand for global consumption, but there is a big probability that it will carry over in the US as the new Colorado / Canyon, and is being prepped by General Motors of Brazil for the American market.

Source: GM, Pickuptrucks.com, Autoblog

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Next-gen Chevrolet Colorado Teaser Released

Hyundai Genesis Coupe Facelift

At the beginning of this year, the Korean automaker Hyundai brought to the 2011 Chicago Auto Show, the facelift version of the Genesis Sedan. Aside from the aesthetic improvements, the car featured an all-new V8 5.0-liter engine, along with a couple of enhancements for the existing V6 3.8-liter power unit.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe Facelift

The guys over at Autoblog managed to take a couple of spy shots of the upcoming facelift version of the Genesis Coupe, a car that will most likely come with a few changes in the front and back fascias, along with a couple of upgrades inside the cabin. We don't know when will Hyundai will introduce this model, but our money is on the Los Angeles Auto Show which will occur in the months to come.

Source: Autoblog

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Hyundai Genesis Coupe Facelift Spied

Mini Countryman WRC

For those of you who are old enough to have lived through the 60s, you might remember that Mini was a huge success in rally racing, being able to win the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, 1965 and 1967. The automaker decided to rejoin the exciting world of rally racing and for this year, they'll use a Prodrive-prepared Countryman.

The car will make its first appearance at the WRC Rally of Italy, and Vodafone Rally of Portugal lists Armindo Araujo, the Portuguese two consecutive times P-WRC champion driver, as being part of a Mini ProDrive satellite team.

The company released a teaser clip of the car that will be competing in this year's WRC.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Source: Inside Line via Autoblog

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Mini Rejoins Rally Racing