As we can recall, Hyundai Sonata tops the <!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –> Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) safety ranking. Now, another Korean maker is making hits when it comes to auto safety. Recently, IIHS chose Kia Forte as its Top Safety Pick. So aside from its sleek design, consumers will be drawn to its safety features as well.

But aside from its safety features, Kia Forte is also known for its well-packaged interior. See for yourself these dashboard and seats and judge.

Source: AutoBlog.com

When it rains, it pours. Seems like that folk wisdom is working for 2011 Hyundai Sonata. With a sleek look, a powerful and efficient engine that can run 35 mpg highway, and being below $20K, this a car that almost everyone surely wants to buy. And again, this car has to something to take pride of.

Recently, it tops the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ranking saying that this car has “good performance in front, side, rollover, and rear tests and standard electronic stability control.”

Congratulations to Hyundai for a job well done.

Oh before I forgot, Hyundai also has a savvy interior too. Check it out.

Source: IIHS.org via AutoBlog.com

Mercedes Benz is so excited about revealing the safety technologies that will be included in their upcoming E-class and S-class releases for 2010 that they even forgot to talk about the models themselves.  Of course, this isn’t anything new for the German automaker, but many hope it won’t be a trend of introducing the tech even before the cars, after all, that’s what they sell: cars.

Ranting aside, these so-called safety tech is more or less the car trying to outsmart the driver.  Now before anyone busts out the SKYNET and John Connor jokes, the premise of Attention Assist is basically to help drivers keep awake and dosing on the wheel en route to vehicular manslaughter.  It may not sound like a big deal, but research points out that around 30% of traffic accidents can be traced to drowsiness.  Again, before one rants about how other automakers have already done this by installing sensors that check the driver’s eye movements (which is by far, not really helping considering the weakness of the design logic), Mercedes takes a different approach.

Attention Assist monitors the steering behavior of the driver.  By using several extensive tests, the mad scientists at Mercedes concluded that a conscious and very aware driver makes smoother and slower steering movements as compared to their quasi-narcoleptic counterparts.  Drowsy drivers tend to fight off the Sandman and as a result jerk the wheel or make sudden turns, which kind of makes a lot of sense, except all the car really does is tell the driver to take a break.

Other features include Pre Safe, which is basically functions that prepare the car for an iminent crash like auto tensioning of seatbelts, gradual braking depending on distance (to avoid sudden falsely triggered panic stops, a new feature), automatic adjustment of headlamp illumination, nightvision modes, HUD indicators like lane assist, blindside assist and the infamous speed limit indicator.  Such state-of-the-art add-ons  basically make the Mercedes interiors like some sort of mini-bridge of some starship… which is either a good thing or a bad thing.

Now all Mercedes needs to do is come up with the cars already.

[Source: Car and Driver]