Over these 50 years car crashworthiness has improved. Demonstrating this improvement a crash test was conducted between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. In a real-world collision similar to this test, occupants of the new model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy.

“It was night and day, the difference in occupant protection,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “What this test shows is that automakers don’t build cars like they used to. They build them better.”

The crash test was conducted at an event to celebrate the contributions of auto insurers to highway safety progress over 50 years. Beginning with the Institute’s 1959 founding, insurers have maintained the resolve, articulated in the 1950s, to “conduct, sponsor, and encourage programs designed to aid in the conservation and preservation of life and property from the hazards of highway accidents.”

1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and 2009 Chevrolet Malibu in 40 mph frontal offset crash test

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Prius - A Decade in North America

This year, the Toyota Prius celebrates a decade of sales in North America. The Prius remains the best selling hybrid in both the U.S. and around the world. Since its Japanese market introduction back in 1997, drivers have purchased more than 1.8 million of the gas-electric vehicles, with approximately half of those ending up in the United States. The first-generation Prius was an awkward looking four-door sedan that was slow and often didn’t meet up with customer’s fuel economy expectations. It wasn’t until the second-generation model arrived in 2004 with a new tear-drop shaped hatchback body style that the Prius really took off. By 2007, sales topped half a million, with the third-generation model arriving two years later offering even more improved efficiency and better dynamic performance. This year, Toyota has begun to set up a test-fleet of plug-in Priuses with lithium ion batteries with full series production of those versions planed for 2012.

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Hyundai Equus

The 385-horsepower Hyundai Equus has arrived.  Hyundai is offering their new model in two different breeds: Equus Signature and Equus Ultimate. The Signature version comes with almost everything: leather and Alcantara interior, heated steering wheel, climate controlled seating with a massaging driver’s seat, Smart Cruise Control, parking assistance, air suspension and a 17-speaker, 608-watt Lexicon stereo are at the beginning of a terrifically long list.

Pay a little more for the Equus Ultimate and you add the around-the-corner-view cameras to the parking assist, power trunk, and in back, reclining, cooled rear seats with their own massage function and leg support – and a rear seat refrigerator. Along with many, many other luxuries. They even offer the manual via an app on an Apple iPad!

MotorWorld Hyundai, Hall Hyundai Western Branch, Hall Hyundai Newport News, Hall Hyundai Elizabeth City, Heritage Hyundai Towson

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Another teeny-tiny city-car will be joining the us on the streets soon. Gordon Murray Design has announced plans to bring the T.25 city car to market within the next few years. The company has recently released photos and specifications for the micro machine.

The vehicle measures in at 94.5 inches long and 51.2 wide, that’s seriously small. GMD (Gordon Murray Design) says that three T .25s will be able to slot into a standard parallel-parking space side-by-side. The planned curb weight is just 1265 pounds. The dimensions mean the T.25 will cast a far smaller footprint than the Smart Fortwo. The body is made from recycled plastic and is mounted on a tubular chassis. Both front and rear suspension designs are independent, with non-power-assisted steering and safety tech like ABS and stability control.

The vehicle’s entire front end hinges forward to allow entrance from either side of the vehicle, requiring less space than a design with traditional swing doors. The driver sits along the car’s centerline, which GMD says yields good visibility and “A unique, ‘cool’ and fun driving experience.” With just the driver’s seat in place, the T.25 offers 25 cubic feet of cargo space—the same as fits behind the rear seats in a Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. Two passenger seats can also be fitted, trimming luggage space to less than six cubic feet.

The T .25’s power will come from a 660-cc, three-cylinder engine rated at 51 hp and 42 lb-ft of torque coupled to a five-speed sequential transmission. GMD predicts fuel economy of 74 mpg by British standards; figure closer to 60 mpg with the EPA’s measurements. Top speed will be governed at 90 mph, and 0–62 mph should require a leisurely 16.2 seconds.

The company has yet to announce when, where, and through what dealer network the T.25 will be sold, though initial sales are most likely to be in Europe and Asia. Also unknown is when (if ever) the T.27 electric version will debut.

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2011 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive

A few years back, when we all were faced with those astronomical figures at the pump, a new type of car showed up; the little Smart ForTwo, a car that symbolized what could be accomplished if a driver were willing to sacrifice everything for a low-cost, high-efficiency vehicle. With fuel prices sitting at above $4.00 per gallon, the sales of these little European imports exploded for a short time. But it wasn’t long before gas prices made their way back down, and Smart sales went catatonic just as quickly as they took off.

Now Smart has jumped into the race to be one of the first to bring a completely practical electric vehicle to market with the 2011 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive.

Outside, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is differentiated from its internal combustion cousins by little more than a few splashes of green paint and a load of decals and emblems. The first handful of the vehicles will only be available in this color combination to help Smart build awareness of its EV program.

Likewise, little has changed inside the car’s cabin with the exception of a few new gauges. Two pods now keep tabs on the charge of the ED’s battery pack and how much the battery is either discharging or recharging in kilowatts. The ForTwo Electric Drive carries an onboard recharging system capable of restoring up to 10 kilowatts at a time as you use the car’s regenerative brakes. Otherwise, the interior is the same wild metallic green paint that makes its way indoors for the instrument cluster, and a new iPod integration kit is also available.

But the big news is what puts power to the wheels. Smart has sacrificed the standard 1.0-liter three-cylinder gas engine and automated manual transmission in favor of all-electric, including a 20-kilowatt electric motor that’s capable of “boosting” up to 30 kilowatts and is attached to a fixed gear. That works out to around 40 horsepower in boost mode, or 57 percent of what the standard gasoline powerplant produces. That figure is 20 lb-ft more than what the standard ForTwo delivers.

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Todd Bodine's 1st Annual Onion Slice Open

On July 29^th the first annual Todd Bodine’s Onion Slice Open Golf Tournament benefiting the John Heinz Medical Center will take place. The John Heinz Institute provides comprehensive, state of the art physical rehabilitation services to over 800 children annually. The event will take place at Blue Ridge Trail Golf Course in Mountaintop, PA.

Todd Bodine, a NASCAR race car and race truck driver for more than 25 years, has earned victories in two of the top three national NASCAR divisions and was crowned champion of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Todd and his wife, Janet,  both feel they have been put in a position to work to improve  young lives -the lives of children needing medical care. This is why they have created this golf tournament.

MotorWorld will be sponsoring a couple of holes at this golf tournament.

If you would like to participate you can print out a registration form here.

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