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Hyundai, Kia, Genesis and Subaru clean up in IIHS 2018 safety ratings

Hyundai, its partner Kia and its Genesis division are the big winners in the latest vehicle safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, accounting for six of the 15 models that earned the Top Safety Pick+ awards for 2018. Subaru was right behind with four, Mercedes-Benz had two, and Toyota, BMW and Ford each had one. Another 47 vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick designation, where Toyota had 10 vehicle models, with Hyundai recognized for nine models. All but one of the seven vehicles in Subaru's lineup, the BRZ, qualified for one of the awards. IIHS strengthened the criteria for the Top Safety Pick+ award for 2018 to require headlights to earn a "good" rating — an "acceptable" rating was previously enough to notch the "plus" award — and good or acceptable passenger-side protection in the small overlap front crash, which replicates a crash involving just the front corner of a vehicle. It also required vehicles to have acceptable or good headlights for the first time to earn a Top Safety Pick award. Most of winners for both awards qualified on the basis of optional upgrades. IIHS in October began evaluating the passenger side of vehicles in its small overlap front crash test after it said it became clear that automakers were neglecting that side of the vehicle as they focused on improving driver-side protections. IIHS first began conducting driver-side small overlap crashes in 2012. It began measuring both how well low and high beams illuminated the road and the amount of glare they produce for oncoming vehicles as part of its ratings in 2016. The Top Safety Pick+ winners are listed below. The list doesn't include any minivans, pickups or minicars, which don't appear on either list of awardees. Small cars Kia Forte Kia Soul Subaru Impreza (sedan and wagon) Subaru WRX Midsize cars Subaru Legacy Subaru Outback Toyota Camry Large luxury cars BMW 5 series Genesis G80 Genesis G90 Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Midsize SUVs Hyundai Santa Fe Hyundai Santa Fe Sport Midsize luxury SUV Mercedes-Benz GLC The full list of Top Safety Pick winners is available here.Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS BMW Genesis Hyundai Kia Lincoln Subaru Toyota Safety Crossover SUV Wagon Sedan crash test

Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

Production version of Kia Imagine concept due in 2021

In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Kia Europe COO Emilio Herrera said the Imagine concept that debuted at this year's Geneva Motor Show should turn into a production model "in one or two years." Gregory Guillaime, Kia's European VP of design, said the Imagine is a "large C-segment car" intentionally blurring the distinctions between body types, a press release describing the concept as "drawing together elements of a muscular sports utility vehicle, a sleek and athletic family saloon, and a versatile and spacious crossover." Herrera didn't give any details on how the production version will differ from the concept. Flourishes like the windshield glass flowing uninterrupted into the roof and the 21 interior screens aren't likely to make it out of the studio. We do know that Kia plans a new, pure EV architecture shared with Hyundai. This will support larger, more powerful electric offerings that boast more range than products like the Kia e-Niro and Soul EV. The e-Niro is rated at 282 miles on Europe's WLTP cycle, it's said Kia wants to hit 500 miles of range. The automaker would only say of the Imagine's powertrain that it is "a low-mounted, induction-charged battery pack that powers a compact drivetrain." More importantly, the powertrain will focus on performance, "approaching electrification purely from an emotional point of view,” and pitched by Autocar as competing against EVs like the Polestar 2. As a C-segment competitor like the Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf, the chances of the Imagine making it to the U.S. are unknown. Herrera made his comments in a conversation about Europe's impending CO2 emissions regulations. At one point, Herrera explained the five methods he sees for dealing with the emissions caps, and we can already divide automakers among those five tactics. The Imagine, and other Kia vehicles with alternative powertrains on the way, are how the Korean automaker will avoid fines. The full interview is worth a read. Herrera lays out some of the difficulties in the EV landscape, such as achieving the necessary volumes, pricing, and battery supply, and explains why he doubts some competitor's claims about launching inexpensive subcompact EVs. Related Video: