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IIHS says these are the safest cars of 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed its annual list of Top Safety Picks, an award that highlights automobiles it says offer "superior crash protection." A new and still more significant award, the Top Safety Pick+ honor, is given to those vehicles that earn good ratings for occupant protection in four out of five areas of measure. And while some 117 vehicles were given the TSP seal of approval for 2013, just 13 passed muster for TSP+.
To be fair, IIHS only evaluated 29 vehicles with its new testing procedures for TSP+ (we'd expect that the number of qualified cars will rise substantially for 2014). Luxury and Near Luxury midsize cars were the first groups evaluated, followed by midsizers in the Moderately Priced Cars category - unsurprisingly, it's only midsize cars that you'll find among the class this year.
Only two luxury sedans made the list of 13 for 2013: the Acura TL and Volvo S60. The other 11 cars on the list included entries from domestic, Japanese and German car makers: Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord (sedan and coupe), Kia Optima (but not its close kin, the Hyundai Sonata, strangely), Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy and Outback, Suzuki Kizashi and the Volkswagen Passat all made the grade.

Can we keep the gauge cluster around, please?

Let’s not follow TeslaÂ’s lead in the elimination of the gauge cluster. I might be too late, but IÂ’m going to say it anyway. The cute 2025 Volvo EX30 is to blame for this needing to be said. I genuinely like most things about the EX30 and its cost-oriented approach to a luxury EV. However, Volvo went and deleted the gauge cluster, and thatÂ’s just one cost-saving step too many. Of course, center-mounted instruments is nothing new, but Tesla popularized the idea of removing the cluster entirely years ago with its Model 3 and Model Y. I didnÂ’t like the idea when I first saw it, and my displeasure with driving around a car with no cluster was confirmed when I drove a Model 3 for the first time. There are numerous reasons, but it all boils down to the importance of having vital information in your direct line of sight. The transition to EVs allows for the elimination of certain monitoring gauges within a cluster, but basics like speed, gear position, headlight status, cruise control and range are all things I want directly in front of me. I donÂ’t want to glance down and to the right to see these things. You could make a valid safety argument for such an arrangement, but including all of that info just for the sake of convenience is enough. The only excuse I see for eliminating the cluster is if a comprehensive head-up display impervious to polarized sunglasses comes as standard equipment. ItÂ’d still be bothersome in a gasoline-powered car to lose all those gauges, but I could live with just a HUD in an electric car if it meant a lower cost to the buyer. That said, my favorite integrations are the smaller clusters installed in some EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E or Volkswagen ID.4. These little clusters are smaller and simpler than many of the massive instrument screens going into cars these days, but they include all the information you might want at a glance. Beyond the safety and convenience aspect, thereÂ’s a nostalgic angle to the gauge cluster. Just a short while ago, I trumpeted the return of retro designs in digital gauge clusters. You can quite literally do whatever youÂ’d like when youÂ’re working with a screen, which leaves the field of opportunities wide open. We wonÂ’t have the privilege of enjoying old-school (or revolutionary new-school) designs if OEMs start eliminating them entirely.

Volvo will start testing wireless charging with XC40 taxis

Volvo announced it will start testing wireless charging systems with its Volvo XC40 Recharge electric SUVs. It's doing so by creating a small fleet of XC40 Recharge taxis for Cabonline, the largest cab operation in the Nordic nations. The testing in Volvo's hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, will last for three years, and Volvo notes that the driving conditions will involve 12 hours a day of driving with cars racking up 100,000 kilometers (about 62,000 miles) per year. The charging stations come from American company Momentum Dynamics. They're embedded into the pavement of the Volvos' parking spaces and begin charging automatically when parked correctly (which is aided by the on-board surround-view camera). The charging speed is 40-kW, which is close to the maximum charging speed of many electric cars' on-board chargers when connected to a DC station. Interestingly, Momentum Dynamics lists systems capable of charging speeds as high as 450 kW on its website. Volvo did not make any announcements regarding future availability of wireless charging. We would imagine the results of this testing will affect whether the company intends to make it a factory offering. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.