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Rowan Atkinson crashes at Goodwood Revival

To quote Harry Hogge (played by Robert Duvall) in Days of Thunder, "rubbin, son, is racin'." That can mean some unfortunate damage to high-end racing machinery, which may be repaired easily enough in stock car racing, but when it comes to vintage racing, the stakes can be that much higher. And yet incidents do occur, like at this weekend's Goodwood Revival.
Among the many competitors taking part in the retro racing event in England was none other than Rowan Atkinson, the actor perhaps best known for playing Mr. Bean. Driving a classic Ford Falcon Sprint in the Shelby Cup event, Atkinson (pictured above at the 2012 revival) reportedly crashed head-on into another car on track.
According to reports, the two cars up spun out. The driver in between managed to avoid a pile-up, but Atkinson couldn't steer clear and hit the obstructing vehicle. Fortunately Rowan walked away unscathed (and, we imagine, in a humorous manner), but while we don't know how extensive the damage was to the Falcon, it was enough to take it out of the race.

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.

Ford sets world record for biggest Hot Wheels track loop

Take Your Child to Work Day looks like a pretty amazing experience for a child if their parent works at Ford. For the recent event, workers at the Blue Oval set up the world's largest Hot Wheels track loop in the atrium of the company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, MI, and launched toy cars from over three stories. The idea came from Ford dynamometer technician Matt West who had been building progressively larger loops with his son. This one was the biggest ever, though, with a ramp 35.5-feet high and a 12.5-foot loop to crush the previous record of nine feet, nine inches tall. Fittingly, the track was inaugurated with a Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car taking the first run. To support such a massive size, the Hot Wheels track fits into a plywood structure that's bolted together. Beyond just being fun and looking incredibly cool, the stunt was meant to teach kids about mathematics and engineering. Ford Sets World Record for Biggest Hot Wheels Car Track Loop in Support of Take Your Child to Work Day • To help children cultivate an interest in science and engineering, Ford attempted to set a new world record for building the largest Hot Wheels® car track loop as part of this year's Take Your Child to Work Day • Ford Mustang Hot Wheels car started at more than three stories high inside Ford Research and Innovation Center • Old record loop stood at nine feet, nine inches tall DEARBORN, Mich., April 23, 2015 – Ford ran circles around the old Hot Wheels® record loop as part of this year's Take Your Child to Work Day. When the effort was complete, Ford had made a world record attempt with a Hot Wheels car track loop that exceeded 12 feet tall. The world record attempt was the brainchild of Ford dynamometer technician Matt West, who had built increasingly large Hot Wheels loops with his six-year-old son Blade at their home in Monroe, Michigan. The attempt took place in the three-story atrium of the company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn in support of Ford's participation in national Take Your Child to Work Day. "It started as part-fun, part-physics lesson with my son at home," said West. "We built one in our playroom, and then built a five-foot- tall loop in our backyard.