2014 Chevrolet Impala scores its highest score from Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports gave the 2014 Chevrolet Impala its highest ever score. The Impala earned Consumer Reports third highest score 95 points out of 100 and the number one spot among all sedans.  The only car to score higher than the Impala among gasoline powered cars is the BMW 135i coupe the Lexus LS 460L and Audi A6 received lower scores than the Impala.

2014 Honda Odyssey receives IIHS Top Safety Pick

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given the 2014 Honda Odyssey the top rating on its stringent new crash test. With the Odyssey’s good rating on the small overlap crash test, the Odyssey now becomes the only minivan to win Top Safety Pick honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Last year the IIHS shook up the industry when it began ranking vehicles on their ability to withstand a crash that happens with the left front corner of the vehicle hits an object like an oncoming car, pole or a tree.

Rather than making the changes in the next redesign a few years from now Honda made the changes in the 2014 model year. The rating has paid off for a major investment by the automaker.

Of all of the automakers Honda now leads with six models receiving the Top Safety Pick approval. 

GM offering wireless smartphone charging in some 2014 vehicles

Next year General Motors will begin offering wireless charging for smartphones in some of their vehicles. Some of the 2014 model year GM vehicles will have a Powermat surface installed in the vehicle. Instead of plugging in cables to charge a smartphone you will be able to place the smartphone onto the Powermat surface and charge your phone. The phone must be capable of recharging with built into the phone technology, or use a phone case designed for this purpose.

Did you know that the first electric car heater was invented in 1890 by Canadian Thomas Ahearn?

Chevrolet and GMC Trucks Receive 5 Star Ratings

The first large pickup trucks to receive an overall rating of five stars since the implementation of a tougher rating system by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) for the model year 2011 are the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 along with the top of the line Silverado High Country and Sierra Denali. The pickup trucks received five star ratings on frontal and side crash test and four stars for the rollover test. The overall rating is a combination of test.

Did you know the first crash tummy was the Sierra Sam created in 1949?

A ruling today by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires U.S. automakers to install an online recall search tool to their websites that will allow consumers to find out if a recall has been made on their vehicle.  Automakers have to comply by 8/14/2014.

A recall for Nissan's 2014 Versa Note

Nissan is recalling over 11,000 of its 2014 Versa Notes for rear seats that were bolted with improperly manufactured bolts. The bolts holding the body side sills and rear seat may be brittle, loose or missing which could cause the rear seat to detach in a crash. These cars were built in Mexico for North American markets.