Another one makes the list. This time around, it’s the all-new 2011 Scion tC sports coupe that’s been awarded the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) top overall rating of five stars.

The Scion tC, which made its way to dealerships in October 2010, earned top ratings in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and is the latest Scion model to meet these standards. This is a consumer information program created by NHTSA that rates vehicles for crash and rollover safety. In these tests, vehicles are put through their paces in a series of controlled crash and rollover tests.

Helping to make it extra safe, the tC comes with a host of features designed to give drivers peace of mind, including driver and front passenger airbags, seat-mounted side airbags, driver and front-passenger knee airbag, and side curtain airbags. It also comes with Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) and Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), Traction Control (TRAC), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) Smart Stop Technology (SST0), a tire pressure monitoring system and active front headrests.

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2011 Scion tC Review

Toyota Motor Sales USA has announced that it will be offering a new Online Ordering system for the Prius Plug-in hybrid.

The first phase, dubbed Priority Registration, began last week on April 22nd (Earth Day) and gave potential customers the chance to log on to a dedicated website and be among the first to order one of the Plug-in Hybrids.

The actual system will allow punters to choose options and configurations, exterior colors, the dealership they wish to purchase from (selected within 14 of the 15 launch states) as well as the ability for them to track their specific vehicle order through the phases of production, shipping and delivery.

Said launch markets for the latest edition to the Prius fleet in the US are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Hawaii (though on-line ordering will not be available in Hawaii at launch).

Customers in these states will be able to receive their Plug-in Prius models in Spring 2012, with a full nationwide rollout scheduled to follow in 2013.

Click here for more information about the ordering system and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

The Cadillac CTS coupe might be new, but the wagon and especially the sedan has been around for a few years now. So it was about time for a mid life nip and tuck.

So for the 2012 model year, the CTS range will be sporting a new grille. According to Cadillac, premium finishes have been added to highlight the combination of mesh and grille better. A newly tweaked logo has also been introduced with brighter colors and raised ridges.

A touring package is also available which has a darker grille and 19-inch alloy wheels on the outside, while the interior gets suede inserts on the seats, shift-knob and steering wheel, plus some extra bits like dark sapele wood and steel pedals. Bluetooth is now standard and the curvy coupe model now gets a blind spot monitoring system.

A much more welcome upgrade is received by the motor. It remains a 3.6-liter, direct-injected V6, but whereas the old motor produced 304-hp and 273 lb/ft of torque, the new and improved motor will produce 318-hp and 275 lb/ft of torque. The power gains are modest, but since the aluminum motor now sports a composite intake manifold and a lighter front cover, this engine is 20.5 lbs lighter than it used to be. Fuel economy has slightly improved also, with EPA averaging 18-mpg for the city and 27-mpg for the highway.

There is some bad news for the enthusiasts though, Cadillac is dropping the six-speed manual option with the 3.6 motor, blaming lack of sales. Thankfully the V-versions will still be available with a manual gearbox, and we hope it stays that way.

Look for the facelifted CTS to hit showrooms very soon.

You want it all… you just can’t afford it. But what you can afford is the Luxury Toys For Men book that is full of toys you will never own.

Offering 138 full-color photographs, this book is available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian and features the ultimate wish list of luxury toys that men want. And making it to the top of the list is the Aston Martin One-77. For a mere $1.7 million, the special edition Aston Martin One-77 is limited to only 77 cars. A few of the other luxury vehicles that made it into the book include the Audi R8 GT, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Jaguar XKR Special Edition, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S Awards Edition and the Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible.

The book also features luxe living necessities such as electronics, accessories and gadgets. Just a few of the things you wish you had are the Ecosse Titanium Series RR motorcycle, SportRiva 56′ and Aguti 20M yachts, Challenger 850 and Citation CJ4 jets, and Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Grand Prix watches.

[Source: Born Rich]

In hoping to continue capturing a huge emerging market, Spyker has announced a special edition C8 Laviolette that will be available in China. Not many details have been revealed about the C8 Laviolette Special Edition, but it will be offered in a unique orange finish for around $735,000.

This is all in line with Spyker’s interest in the Chinese market, having produced a road-legal version of their GT2 just for China. In addition, Spyker has also announced previously that it would be building a China-specific sedan in hopes of converting China to their second largest market, behind the United States. Another special edition vehicle will surely help those efforts.

The BMW 335d was voted “Diesel Car of the Year” at the New York Auto Show, by readers of The Diesel Driver magazine.

Diesel gets its own magazine? You better believe it, buddy, and those fans are pretty influential—the 335 beat out 12 other cars and SUVs who make their diesels available in the United States, with factors ranging from performance, comfort and emissions to that all-important fuel economy. The 335 received 29.6 percent of the votes; 83% of total votes came Stateside.

“The 335d truly is changing the way Americans feel about diesel,” said Paul Ferraiolo, BMW manager of product planning and strategy. “Fans of ‘The Diesel Driver’ share our passion for the great performance and efficiency of our BMW Advanced Diesels. They are the embodiment of BMW EfficientDynamics.”

Teeth whitening, salsa dance classes, fancy types of facials we can’t pronounce – Groupon delivers them to our inbox at a super discount. How can we ever pay full price for anything ever again? Now, Hyundai has gotten in the savings sprit and have tried out a Groupon deal… with big success.

This Groupon deal also marks the first time an automaker has gotten in on the promotion, and by all accounts, it’s workout out really well for Hyundai. The deal was offered in Chicago and 1,323 people got in a $29 oil change, inspection and tire rotation offered by 10 Hyundai dealers. Groupon daily deals let consumers pool their collective buying power. Once a certain number of people get in on a daily deal, it’s on, and they can save a bundle.

“We’re always looking for innovative ways to build dealers’ service business. Our Central Region team and a number of Chicago dealers recognized the power of Groupon to offer a compelling deal and generate new service leads,” said Brian O’Malley, general manager of Hyundai Motor America’s Central Region. “Based on initial response, we can clearly call the pilot program a success in driving traffic. If the long-term results are as encouraging as the initial data and dealers are supportive, we’ll certainly look at other ways to use Groupon in the future.”

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Debuting the new 2012 Impreza at the New York Auto Show, Subaru has followed through on a larger plan to deliver vehicles that better suit the demands of customers, with toned-down styling and more interior room. Plus, like all new compact cars, fuel economy has increased significantly.

Billing the car as the most fuel efficient AWD car to be offered in North America, the Impreza will get 27-mpg in the city and 36-mpg on the highway. That’s a few clicks short of most competitors, but the Impreza is unique in offering AWD.

Power comes from a new 2.0-liter 4-cylinder boxer engine with 148-hp and 145 lb-ft of torque and comes with either a 5-speed manual or CVT automatic.

See AutoGuide’s complete 2011 New York Auto Show coverage here.

GALLERY: 2012 Subaru Impreza

It’s almost a perfect storm. The aftermath of the deadly earthquake in Japan, combined with a dramatic increase in oil prices fueled by the ongoing crisis in Libya and the reduction in domestic stockpiles is pushing up the price of new automobiles in a manner not seen in years.

Already Toyota, Ford and GM have announced price increases for their vehicles, with others set to follow suit. But an interesting trend is the price of small cars. Compared with a year ago, the average price for these vehicles has increased by some 4.2 percent, in the subcompact segment it’s even more – 6.3 percent – according to website TrueCar.com.

Although, given the global nature of the auto business today, companies across the world are facing disruptions, those that are most affected remain Japanese brands. So far, Nippon based companies have delayed the introduction of some 500,000 vehicles because of supply issues resulting from last month’s quake and one industry analyst predicts that amount will grow to some 3.6 million vehicles worldwide by August.

However, this current set of circumstances might provide an opportunity, particularly for Detroit car makers, who’ve been struggling in recent years. In particular, demand for such models as the Ford Fiesta and Chevrolet Cruze, both of which have been well received, could result in some buyers shifting their allegiance from Japanese brands, which have dominated the market for small cars for so long. The situation is likely to exacerbated by the fact that some models, particularly those imported from Japan such as the Toyota Prius, are currently in short supply, a scenario that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

Nevertheless, although many automakers are rethinking their supply chains as a result of the issues in Japan, it’s unlikely there will be a major realignment in the way parts distribution and production are configured, at least in the short term.

However, given the current economic environment, the auto sector is becoming less of a buyer’s market by the day, particularly for small cars. As a result those consumers in the market for a new vehicle, are likely better off to take the plunge now, while there’s still good deals to be had, rather than sitting on the fence and waiting.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

The first of 333 limited edition Audi R8 GTs was delivered to its rightful owner in the UK this week. Sporting 560-hp, the Audi R8 GT has already been accounted for by future owners in 23 different countries. The first one to hit the streets however will be a Phantom Black R8 GT and we’re hoping it won’t be one of those that end up on our blog wrecked and demolished.

Enhancements to the already potent R8 from Audi makes the R8 GT one of the most exclusive sports cars in the world. It features a hand-built aluminum body constructed of Audi Space Frame and weighs in at merely 463-lbs. By incorporating more carbon fiber throughout the car, Audi also reduces the overall weight of the R8 GT by 220-lbs compared to its R8 5.2 FSI quattro counterpart.

Powered by a 5.2L V10, its 560-hp compared with the 3,362-lb weight of the R8 GT makes for an impressive driving experience. For aesthetics, the R8 GT has subtle differences in its newly designed bumpers in carbon fiber while the interior receives bucket seats. The R8 GT was available with a starting price of $276,780.

GALLERY: Audi R8 GT