Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid nab five-star ratings from NHTSA

Ford's Fusion and Fusion Hybrid have both received the highest five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The rating is a big upgrade for the Fusion, which was completely redesigned for 2013. The previous model fell one star short of the top rating, after scoring only three stars in the frontal crash test and four stars in the side crash test and rollover evaluations. The 2013 Fusion received four stars in side crash and rollover testing and a full five stars in the front crash test.

Test results for the 2013 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid were greatly improved at least in part due to Ford's Personal Safety System. The system utilizes smarter sensors to gather crash data and tailor the car's restraint systems to the occupants. Seatbelt usage and seat position are taken into account to ensure airbags deploy with less pressure for smaller drivers, more for larger drivers.

The 2013 Fusion twins also received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick+ designation. Read the official press release below.

Opa! Flaming cheese closes tunnel in Norway after truck fire [w/video]

Behold, the power of cheese. Flaming fromage has clogged up the Brattlitunnelen in Norway for almost a week. According to Reuters, a truck was hauling brunost, a caramelized Norwegian goat cheese, through the tunnel when the cheese somehow caught fire. Due to its high percentage of fat and sugar, the cheese can burn "almost like petrol" if it gets hot enough, and the fire-concentrating properties of the tunnel meant it took four days to put out the flames.

But there's still the toxic fumes to deal with the tunnel near the costal town of Narvik remains closed and might not reopen for another week until fondue and its odors are cleared. You can watch firefighters work to put out The Tunneling Inferno in the video below.

DOT sued over legality of digital billboards [w/poll]

Tired of seeing those bright, digital billboards on the side of the road while driving (especially at night)? Well so is a group called Scenic America that recently filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get the Federal Highway Administration to reverse a 2007 ruling that allowed these billboards to pop up along US roadways since. The advantage of digital billboards is that companies can sell multiple advertisements that change frequently, and it's this part of the billboards that are at the heart of this debate.

According to an article in Ad Week, Scenic America contends that the FHWA (a division of the US Department of Transportation) issued a "guidance memorandum" that circumvented the usual chain of law allowing "intermittent" messages, which was a part of the Highway Beautification Act. On the opposite side of the argument, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America said that digital billboards follow the rules since there is no flashing or animation involved.

What do you think about digital billboards? Let us know in the poll below.

Should digital billboards be illegal?

A) Yes, absolutely	5666 (43.1%)
B) No, absolutely not	5782 (44.0%)
C) I'm not sure	1688 (12.9%)

Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid nab five-star ratings from NHTSA

Ford's Fusion and Fusion Hybrid have both received the highest five-star overall safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The rating is a big upgrade for the Fusion, which was completely redesigned for 2013. The previous model fell one star short of the top rating, after scoring only three stars in the frontal crash test and four stars in the side crash test and rollover evaluations. The 2013 Fusion received four stars in side crash and rollover testing and a full five stars in the front crash test.

Test results for the 2013 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid were greatly improved at least in part due to Ford's Personal Safety System. The system utilizes smarter sensors to gather crash data and tailor the car's restraint systems to the occupants. Seatbelt usage and seat position are taken into account to ensure airbags deploy with less pressure for smaller drivers, more for larger drivers.

The 2013 Fusion twins also received the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick+ designation. Read the official press release below.

DOT sued over legality of digital billboards [w/poll]

Tired of seeing those bright, digital billboards on the side of the road while driving (especially at night)? Well so is a group called Scenic America that recently filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get the Federal Highway Administration to reverse a 2007 ruling that allowed these billboards to pop up along US roadways since. The advantage of digital billboards is that companies can sell multiple advertisements that change frequently, and it's this part of the billboards that are at the heart of this debate.

According to an article in Ad Week, Scenic America contends that the FHWA (a division of the US Department of Transportation) issued a "guidance memorandum" that circumvented the usual chain of law allowing "intermittent" messages, which was a part of the Highway Beautification Act. On the opposite side of the argument, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America said that digital billboards follow the rules since there is no flashing or animation involved.

What do you think about digital billboards? Let us know in the poll below.

Should digital billboards be illegal?

A) Yes, absolutely	5666 (43.1%)
B) No, absolutely not	5782 (44.0%)
C) I'm not sure	1688 (12.9%)

Watch this man's natural-gas pickup explode as he refuels it

We've reported before on the proliferation of natural-gas powered vehicles in the heavily oil-sanctioned state of Iran. Now we've got some further very dramatic circumstantial evidence that not all of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles are as safe as their Iranian owners would hope.

It's hard to say just what caused the violent ending in this pickup refilling video a KTLA rebroadcast from an unidentified news source but the result is terrifying. In light of this catastrophic clip, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that CNG vehicles have an excellent safety record here in the US. Follow on below to watch the video clip.

Watch this man's natural-gas pickup explode as he refuels it

We've reported before on the proliferation of natural-gas powered vehicles in the heavily oil-sanctioned state of Iran. Now we've got some further very dramatic circumstantial evidence that not all of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles are as safe as their Iranian owners would hope.

It's hard to say just what caused the violent ending in this pickup refilling video a KTLA rebroadcast from an unidentified news source but the result is terrifying. In light of this catastrophic clip, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that CNG vehicles have an excellent safety record here in the US. Follow on below to watch the video clip.