Completely redesigned for the 2015 model year, the WRX and range-topping STI received the highest marks in each one of the IIHS crashworthiness evaluations.

The organization praises the new structure for holding up well in the challenging small-overlap test, which replicates an accident with a solid barrier striking the front edge at 40 mph.

“The dummy’s movement was well-controlled, and measures taken from the dummy indicated a low risk of any significant injuries,” the IIHS said in a statement. “The dummy’s head made good contact with the front airbag, which stayed in position during the crash. The side airbag deployed with enough forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects.”

The 2014 Impreza also received high scores in each of the tests, however the IIHS acknowledges significant differences in the newest WRX to warrant a separate round of tests.

Subaru now has six models that have earned 2014 safety awards from IIHS, three with Top Safety Pick designations and three with Top Safety Pick Plus achievements. The latter requires the same level of crashworthiness, along with some form of active front-crash prevention technology.

The announcement marks a potential new focus for Nokia, after the company recently sold its cellphone division to Microsoft. The Finnish company is not completely new to the automotive industry, creating mapping technology and partnering with Audi early this year to explore infotainment systems and tablet integration.

The new fund appears to have a wider scope, hinting at investments in advanced technologies, such as driverless cars, that are being developed by Google and Volvo, among others.

“We believe that connected cars equipped with precise location awareness and sensor data can become powerful devices capable of helping drivers make sense of the world around them,” said Nokia’s Here head Michael Halbherr. “We believe that connected cars equipped with precise location awareness and sensor data can become powerful devices capable of helping drivers make sense of the world around them.”

Nokia’s mapping technology, bolstered by the $8.1 billion Navteq acquisition several years ago, are already used by most automakers for in-car navigation systems. In the mobile arena, the company had been working on advanced features such as augmented reality.

“Vehicles are becoming a new platform for technology adoption very similar to phones or tablets,” said NGP partner Paul Asel.

The fund has yet to announce any specific investments.

Many viewed Ford’s decision to offer the F-150 with a twin-turbocharged as a bit of a gamble, but the roll of the dice has certainly paid off. Today the 3.5L EcoBoost represents 45 percent of F-150 sales and is the most popular engine choice for the full-size pickup.

In comparison, no other half-ton truck maker has cracked a 20 percent take rate for a six-cylinder engine since the EcoBoost launched in the F-150 38 months ago.

“Today’s customer doesn’t hold to the old notion that a truck must be powered by a V8 engine,” said Doug Scott, Ford truck group marketing manager. “Just five years ago, you would have had a hard time making a case for V6 truck engines. Not today. Now, it’s all about fuel effectiveness. Customers are looking for the best combination of city and highway mileage, horsepower, torque, towing capacity, payload and value, asking the key question, ‘What is the most productive, efficient package for the work I need to do?’.”

When compared to a conventional V8, Ford estimates that F-150 EcoBoost customers have collectively saved 56.8 million gallons of gasoline on an annual basis.

Buyers of the 2015 F-150 will have even more economical V6 choices – in addition to the carryover 3.5L EcoBoost, the F-150 will also offer a new 2.7L EcoBoost V6 and a naturally-aspirated 3.5L V6.

The problem is said to be related to a programming error in the engine control module, causing the gauge to show an inaccurate reading by as much as a quarter of a tank.

“An inaccurate fuel gauge may result in the vehicle unexpectedly running out of fuel and stalling, increasing the risk of a crash,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notice notes.

The glitch is believed to be limited to approximately 51,640 vehicles built for the 2014 model year.

Owners will be asked to bring their SUVs in to service centers so technicians can reprogram the engine control module.

The most important changes will be found under the sheet metal, where the SUV will shed up to 440 pounds thanks to the extensive use of weight-saving materials like aluminum. Engineers will improve the SUV’s high-speed stability by adding at least four inches of width to the body and fitting an entirely new front suspension setup.

In Europe, Mercedes will offer the G with engines borrowed from the next-gen E-Class including a new 3.0-liter straight-six engine rated at over 360 horsepower and a 3.0-liter diesel-burning inline-six that will churn out at least 300 ponies. Both mills will spin all four wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission, a unit that is expected to considerably raise the G’s gas mileage.

A potent AMG-tuned version will continue to round out the lineup, but whether the current G55′s V8 engine will remain is not known.

Tentatively dubbed Verisa, the hatchback will be considerably more upscale than the next-gen Mazda2 in order to appeal to a young, image-conscious target audience. The two cars will ride on the same platform but they will not share any sheet metal, indicating the Verisa will be more than merely a badge-engineered 2.

Interestingly, the same report claims Mazda will go after the performance-focused MINI Cooper S with a hot-rodded version of the next Verisa powered by an evolution of the automaker’s 2.2-liter SkyActiv-D four-cylinder engine. Also used in the Mazda6, the mill will be tuned to send at least 150 horsepower and 280 lb-ft. of torque to the front wheels.

More tame versions of the Verisa will be offered with several gasoline- and diesel-burning four-cylinder engines shared with the 2. Whether Mazda’s upmarket hatch will be built alongside the 2 and the next Toyota Yaris in Mazda’s Salamanca, Mexico, plant is not known.

If the rumor proves true, the MINI-fighting Mazda Verisa will greet the public for the first time at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show and go on sale in early 2016. It will be sold in Asia and in Europe, but whether it will be distributed in the United States is up in the air.

“As we seek to establish a more premium image, it is clear there are more and more opportunities for projects that add halo cars to ranges, including the addition of fast cars in the range,” explained Xavier Peugeot, the automaker’s head of product, in an interview with British magazine Autocar.

Peugeot has an illustrious, decades-long racing heritage and it was one of the major players in the hot hatch war that raged across Europe over the course of the 1980s. The company gradually stopped building performance cars in the 1990s, but it returned to the segment recently with the 208 GTi and the RCZ R. Strong sales of both models have encouraged the company’s top brass to invest in horsepower.

One of the performance-focused models rumored to be in the pipelines is a production version of the 308 R Concept that was introduced last September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Presented as merely a design study, the 308 R packed a 1.6-liter four-cylinder THP mill developed jointly by BMW and PSA that was tuned to make 270 horsepower at 6,000 rpms and 243 lb-ft. of torque at 1,900 rpms.

Other performance-focused models are expected to include a hardcore version of the 2008 crossover inspired by the 2008 DKR that will make its racing debut next January.

The production version of the 308 R could bow as soon as next October’s Paris Motor Show. Other models will follow over the coming year.

France’s Renault has traveled to a trade show in Birmingham, England, to unveil the facelifted Master full-size van. Sold all across Europe, the Master is aimed at the Fiat Ducato (known as the Ram ProMaster in the U.S.), the Ford Transit and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.

The bulk of the updates are found under the hood, where the Master gains a 2.3-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel dCi engine available with either 110, 125 135 or 165 horsepower. All variants of the four-banger promise to return better fuel mileage while providing the Master with more grunt to haul cargo around.

In addition to a cleaner engine, the Master features an ECOmode function that saves fuel by adjusting the engine’s torque output and the settings of the climate control system. The ECOmode is primarily designed to be used when the van is empty.

Renault has added a host of electronic safety features to the Master including a Hill Start Assist, the latest generation of the automaker’s load-based Electronic Stability Control, a Trailer Swing Assist and an Extended Grip function that helps the van tackle tough conditions such as ice, mud and sand.

The updates carried out to the front end of the van are minor and largely limited to a new radiator grille adorned by an oversized version of Renault’s trademarked lozenge emblem.

The updated 2014 Renault Master will go on sale across Europe this summer. It will continue to be offered in a dizzying array of wheelbase lengths, heights and body styles including both cargo- and passenger-carrying variants.

The Nissan NV400 and the Opel Movano, the Master’s badge-engineered twins, will undergo similar updates over the coming months.

Positioned directly below the Golf, the Polo stretches 156.3 inches long, 66.8 inches wide and 57.2 inches tall, dimensions that make it a little over three inches shorter than a Ford Fiesta hatchback. Both the five-door and the three-door variants of the city car boast 9.8 cubic feet of trunk space, a figure that grows to 33.6 when the second row of seats is folded flat.

It admittedly takes a well-trained eye to tell the facelifted Polo apart from its predecessor. Visually, the hatchback features only discreet evolutionary modifications such as a new radiator grille accented by a lone chromed slat, a redesigned front bumper with a large air intake, available LED headlights and redrawn tail lamps. Six new alloy wheel designs and eight additional body colors round out the updates, but, generally speaking, the conservative Golf-inspired look carries over unchanged.

Quiet Revolution
The story is different beneath the skin, where Volkswagen has made the Polo more efficient and quieter thanks to a long list of updates that are largely invisible to the naked eye. For starters, the outgoing Polo’s entire lineup of engines was tossed out in favor of three- and four-cylinder units that are either brand new or new to the lineup.

The gasoline offering currently includes five engines rated at 59, 73, 88, 93 and 108 horsepower, respectively. A 147-horsepower BlueGT model equipped with automatic cylinder shut-off and a range-topping GTI-badged hot hatch that boasts 189 ponies will round out the lineup later this year.

Buyers who prefer oil-burners can pick between three TDI turbodiesels available with 73, 88 or 103 horsepower. The headline-grabber is a 1.4-liter three-cylinder turbodiesel unit that will gradually be offered on other Volkswagen products including the Golf.

Volkswagen put a big emphasis on gas mileage when updating the Polo, and the most efficient BlueMotion-badged model is powered by specially-tuned version of the aforementioned 1.4-liter TDI engine officially rated at 75 mpg in a mixed European cycle. To further improve efficiency all across the board, a start/stop system and a regenerative braking system are both standard on cars with an output of 90-horsepower or greater.

The California division of OSHA cited Tesla with a total of seven safety violations, six of which were considered “serious,” for a November 13 accident that seriously injured three workers. The incident occurred when a low-pressure aluminum casting press failed, spilling molten metal on the workers.

“Molten metal was released splattering the three victims, the victims’ clothing caught fire, they stopped and rolled on the floor,” Cal-OSHA wrote in the report, which was obtained by the San Jose Mercury News. “The safety department called 911. The Fremont Fire Department arrived within 10 minutes, approximately.”

All three employees involved in the accident suffered second- and third-degree burns. Two of the employees have since returned to work, while the third is still recuperating after sustaining burns across his hands, stomach, hip, lower back and ankles.

OSHA ruled that poor maintenance and a broken safety interlock caused the accident. OSHA also found that Tesla didn’t properly train the employees on the equipment and didn’t enforce a policy that required eye and face protection.

Tesla plans to appeal the fines.

“We take safety extremely seriously and have taken numerous steps to ensure nothing like it happens again,” the company said in a statement. “We fully shut down the low-pressure die casting operation and decommissioned the equipment. We provided the injured employees with dedicated HR support and maintained full pay beyond that provided by workers’ compensation.”

Tesla also states, citing Bureau of Labor data, that its safety record at the Fremont plant “is nearly twice as good as the automotive industry average.”

Tesla purchased the Fremont plant in late 2010. Now home to the Model S, the plant was formerly a joint-venture facility between Toyota and General Motors.