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Honda Civic, Volvo XC90 named 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year

It's a great day to be the Honda Civic and Volvo XC90. These cars are the official 2016 North American Car and Truck/Utility of the Year, with the awards just having been announced at the Detroit Auto Show. The Civic is a great car, and a fantastic entry in the compact class. To us, its win isn't a surprise, though our enthusiast hearts were really rooting for the runner-up Mazda MX-5 Miata. The new Chevy Malibu was also a finalist for this year's award. As for the Truck/Utility award, we wholeheartedly agree with the Volvo XC90 choice. It's a fantastic-looking, premium, tech-forward vehicle, and represents a huge step forward for Volvo here in the United States. But its runners-up, the Nissan Titan XD and Honda Pilot, are also great choices, bringing a lot of stiff competition to some pretty important segments. Here's how the jury voted: Car of the Year Honda Civic – 203 points Chevy Malibu – 181 points Mazda MX-5 Miata – 146 points Truck/Utility of the Year Volvo XC90 – 310 points Honda Pilot – 111 points Nissan Titan XD – 109 points

105-year-old Facebook user gifted new car anonymously

105-year-old Edythe Kirchmaier is quite a woman. Not only is she California's oldest driver - she just renewed her license this January after passing the test without incident - she has a perfect 86-year driving record without so much as a parking violation. In fact, she's been driving for so long that she learned how on a Ford Model T (how many people alive today have even driven one of those, much less learned on one?). On top of all that, Edythe is a philanthropist; she's been volunteering at Direct Relief, which provides free medications for people in need, for 40 years. You may have even seen her on TV earlier this year spreading the word.
So when Edythe's 1997 minivan began breaking down, an anonymous fan did what any completely selfless person of means would: they gifted her a brand-new 2013 Honda Civic, ensuring that Edythe can continue working for the cause she loves. Check her out on Facebook - she's the social media site's oldest registered user - and scroll down to the press release for more on this heartwarming story.

Vehicles awarded IIHS Top Safety Pick awards skyrockets for 2015 [w/video]

By practically every measure, passenger vehicles in the US are continuing to get safer. With the year rapidly coming to an end, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is releasing its annual list tallying of the scores for the latest vehicles to see how they compare to last year. Judging by the agency's evaluations, the numbers look quite positive. According to the institute, 71 vehicles earned either the Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ rating so far in its testing for 2015. Among the latest winners, there have been 33 TSP+ awards and 38 TSP medalists. That's a healthy increase over the 22 TSP+ and 17 TSP grades in 2014. The figures appear even more impressive when you consider that it keeps getting harder to earn the + designation. In the latest round of testing, a vehicle must offer some form of front crash prevention automatic braking to get the mark. Previously, just a warning to drivers was necessary. This list also illustrates the ways that automakers adapt to new testing procedures. In 2013 there were 117 TSP ratings and 13 TSP+ awards. Then, the IIHS mandated that to be a safety pick, a model had to score Good in the institute's four crash tests, plus a Good or Acceptable in the small overlap front test. That brought a plunge in 2014 to just 17 TSP grades. With the numbers climbing again, companies apparently have deciphered how to perform better. Some brands especially stood out on this year's list. The IIHS praised Volvo, Mercedes-Benz and Acura for offering standard front crash prevention systems on some models. Subaru received at least one of the awards for all seven of its models. Toyota also had seven, and the Honda brand did too – though the institute counts the two- and four-door versions of the Civic and Accord separately. Check out the full announcement below and a video about this year's winners. The full list can be viewed, here. Safety gains ground: More vehicles earn top honors from IIHS The number of vehicles earning either of the Institute's two awards has jumped to 71 from 39 this time last year, giving consumers more choices for optimum protection in crashes. The number of winners in the top tier - TOP SAFETY PICK+ - has increased by 11 for 2015, despite a tougher standard for front crash prevention. "This is the third year in a row that we are giving automakers a tougher challenge to meet," says IIHS President Adrian Lund.