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Poor headlights cause 40 cars to miss IIHS Top Safety Pick rating

Over the past few months, we've noticed a number of cars and SUVs that have come incredibly close to earning one of the IIHS's highest accolades, the Top Safety Pick rating. They have great crash test scores and solid automatic emergency braking and forward collision warning systems. What trips them up is headlights. That got us wondering, how many vehicles are there that are coming up short because they don't have headlights that meet the organization's criteria for an "Acceptable" or "Good" rating. This is a revision made after 2017, a year in which headlights weren't factored in for this specific award. This is also why why some vehicles, such as the Ford F-150, might have had the award last year, but have lost it for this year. We reached out to someone at IIHS to find out. He responded with the following car models. Depending on how you count, a whopping 40 models crash well enough to receive the rating, but don't get it because their headlights are either "Poor" or "Marginal." We say depending on how you count because the IIHS actual counts truck body styles differently, and the Infiniti Q70 is a special case. Apparently the version of the Q70 that has good headlights doesn't have adequate forward collision prevention technology. And the one that has good forward collision tech doesn't have good enough headlights. We've provided the entire list of vehicles below in alphabetical order. Interestingly, it seems the Volkswagen Group is having the most difficulty providing good headlights with its otherwise safe cars. It had the most models on the list at 9 split between Audi and Volkswagen. GM is next in line with 7 models. It is worth noting again that though these vehicles have subpar headlights and don't quite earn Top Safety Pick awards, that doesn't mean they're unsafe. They all score well enough in crash testing and forward collision prevention that they would get the coveted award if the lights were better.

Five reasons to love, or hate, the culture of German cars

A few months back, we took a 500-foot view of the culture of American cars, dissecting prides and prejudices on our way to the conclusion that automotive allegiances can be simultaneously embraced and derided. We had so much fun with the narrative that we decided to do it again, this time taking a look at Germany and its world-renowned lineup of automakers, including the likes of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen, among others. Join us below as we discuss the points and counterpoints that make or have made the German auto industry what it is today. And remember, Germany did pretty much invent the automobile, after all... The V12 Engine If America is known for the proliferation of the V8 engine, an argument could be made that Germany owns the V12. Yes, of course, other companies have created V12 engines – Ferrari, Jaguar and Lamborghini immediately come to mind – but the big 12-cylinder powerplants from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in particular, have proven to be some of the most effortless, luxurious and downright over-built engines the world has ever seen. These days, having 12 cylinders is more a case of wretched excess than ever before, and yet, you can still stroll into your local BMW or Mercedes dealership and get a brand-new 760i, S600 or even an over-the-top G65 AMG, efficiency be damned. Best of all, since the majority of these German powerhouses depreciate as fast as an anchor sinks, nearly any auto enthusiast who dreams of a dozen cylinders can satisfy their carnal desires. Current Star: 2016 Mercedes-Maybach S600 View 28 Photos Diesel Engines Remember how we talked about those glorious V12 engines? Well, you can even get one from Audi that runs on diesel. If your compression-ignition fantasies err more on the side of fuel savings, that's no problem, either. Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen have got you covered, with engines starting as small as 800 cubic centimeters (Smart Fortwo). If you want something a little more practical, it's hard to argue with a VW Golf TDI, which will provide plenty of space for you and three of your best friends, plus a fair bit of luggage, all while returning 50-ish miles per gallon. For the purposes of this discussion, we'd rather focus on the asinine levels of torque provided by Germany's high-end diesel engines than the lower-end fuel sippers.

VW issues orders for police version of e-Golf

If the Toyota Prius could be used (in fiction, anyway) as a quiet way to do a drive-by shooting, then a pure electric vehicle should have some silent benefits for the police. It's happening in the real world thanks to the new police-spec VW e-Golf. On display at an international police equipment conference in Germany this week (the Internationalen Fachmesse fur Polizeiausrustung), the 5-0-ready EV has a special paint job as well as the required top lights and digital communications gear. VW says the special e-Golf also stands ready to serve the mission of emissions reduction. The powertrain is the same as what you'll find in the civilian e-Golf, which means an 85-kW electric motor that can zip up to 62 miles per hour in 10.4 seconds and a li-ion battery that provides something between 80 and 118 miles of range. We imagine using this little car for a high-speed car chase will shrink that down a bit. Volkswagen Konzern prasentiert Fahrzeuge mit Spezialausstattung auf Polizei-Fachmesse Internationale Premiere: Der e-Golf* als Polizei-Einsatzfahrzeug Der Volkswagen Konzern prasentiert eine breite Palette seiner Fahrzeugmodelle mit speziellen Polizei-Sonderausstattungen auf der 8. Internationalen Fachmesse fur Polizeiausrustung. Vertreten sind die Marken Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT, SKODA und Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge. Die Volkswagen Leasing GmbH komplettiert als Finanzdienstleister den Konzernauftritt. Die Fachmesse findet vom 9. bis 11. September 2014 auf dem Messegelande in Leipzig statt. Als Messehighlight wird der e-Golf als Polizeieinsatzfahrzeug prasentiert. Damit verfolgt Volkswagen auch in diesem speziellen Fahrzeugsegment das Ziel der Schadstoffreduktion. Die Ausstattung umfasst neben der Sondersignalanlage unter anderem Digitalfunk und das klassische Erscheinungsbild in typisch blauer Beklebung. Ausgestellt werden weiterhin ein Golf Variant, ein T5 und ein Audi Q5 als Funkstreifenwagen sowie ein SKODA Octavia Kombi RS und ein SEAT Leon FR in der zivilen Variante. Fachbesucher finden den Volkswagen Messestand in der Halle 1, Stand H02. Der e-Golf uberzeugt mit einem wegweisend niedrigen Verbrauch von 12,7 kWh/100 km. Der Elektromotor leistet 85 kW/115 PS und entwickelt aus dem Stand maximal 270 Nm Drehmoment. In 4,2 Sekunden werden 60 km/h erreicht, nach 10,4 Sekunden 100 km/h. Die Reichweite liegt je nach Streckenprofil, Fahrweise, Einsatz von Komfort- und Nebenverbrauchern sowie Zuladung zwischen 130 und 190 Kilometern.