2013 Chrysler 200 Touring on 2040-cars

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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.

Chrysler 300 Glacier edition ready to chill with AWD

It seems that word is finally out on the redone Chrysler 300, as evidenced by the fact that the model's sales almost doubled last year compared to 2011 (when the distinctive sedan was a little slow out of the gates). One thing that's likely helping the car is a growing number of unique models like the 300S, 300 SRT8 and the new 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition, and now one more trim has joined the lineup. Initially announced back in September, the 300 Glacier is on sale now with a starting price of $36,845 (*not including a $995 destination charge).
Designed with cold-weather climates in mind, the 300 Glacier is only available with all-wheel drive. Chrysler says the Glacier will run an additional $1,500 over the 300S AWD off which this car is based, but that extra money gets unique 19-inch aluminum wheels, an exclusive Glacier Blue Pearl Coat paint job and special interior treatments including piano black accents and fancier leather seats and stitching. Like the 300S, power from the Pentastar V6 has been bumped up to an even 300 horsepower (up from 292 hp) with the aid of a cold-air induction and freer-breathing exhaust. Naturally, the 363-hp Hemi V8 is still available, too.
For more information, scroll down to check out Chrysler's official press release.

I sold my Viper, but the memories I'll keep

The following is written by auto industry veteran Tow Kowaleski. The words are his own, but the memories now belong to everyone thanks to his willingness to share. If you're an industry veteran with a story to share, contact us at tipsATautoblogDOTcom.
It became the flame that started the fire of belief in the next life of Chrysler.
I just sold a car. Nothing new. Millions do it every day. But my car was a 1995 Dodge Viper, so maybe it was a bit more unique since just 12,000 were built. And like others selling a car that's been a part of the family for close to 20 years, this was a confluence of emotions for me. I was sad to see it go, but happy to have the cash and one less big, shiny, under-utilized object in my life.