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While there are merits to the safety benefits from riding in a taller, heavier vehicle, there are disadvantages as well. According to safety evaluations from NHTSA, the 2012 Chevrolet Suburban suffered a rollover during a side-impact crash test.

Simulating a passenger car striking the driver’s side at 38 miles an hour, the inertia caused the Suburban to land on its side. Along with the Ford Escape and the Nissan Rogue, the Suburban is the third current-model SUV to tip over during the side-impact test. In typical cases, vehicles should only skid on all four wheels.

From plugging in parameters into a mathematical formula, the NHTSA projects that the Chevrolet Suburban has a 24 percent risk of rolling over in a single accident. Neither GM or NHTSA has responded to requests for comment on the crash tests. Moreover, other than the rollover concern, the Suburban earns top scores in both frontal and side impact crash safety for occupants. However, the overall rating was only dropped to four out of five stars because of the mentioned rollover calculations.

GALLERY: 2012 Chevrolet Suburban Side-Impact Crash Test

[Source: The Examiner]

GM is recalling 10,000 trucks and SUVs that have been impacted by two safety issues worldwide. The majority of the recalls are for the 2011 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon (9,215 combined) that could roll away when shifted into park due to a faulty part manufactured in China. The recall will be officially issued out on July 19th, and GM will install new automatic transmission adjustment clips. This recall impacts 6,700 vehicles sold in the United States.

Fortunately this recall (and the other one) doesn’t involve any crashes. The Colorado and Canyon recall was discovered when a vehicle failed to start while at a GM assembly plant. The other recall is being issued out to 891 SUVs and trucks for steering problems. 739 of the vehicles impacted are in the United States. Those impacted will have their intermediate steering shaft bolts properly tightened to ensure no loss of steering can occur. Those letters will be sent out on July 13th.

The 891 SUVs and trucks affected by that recall include the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Sierra all from the 2011 model year.

How the driver was fortunate enough to survive this freak accident is beyond us. Apparently the crash occurred in Washington State, where this lucky driver fell asleep behind the wheel of his Chevy Suburban and ended up colliding head first into the guard rail. It immediately penetrated the passenger side of the SUV, through the motor, passenger seat, and out the rear window.

Somehow it didn’t even touch the driver – not even a scratch. He was cited with careless driving, but we’re sure he learned a big enough lesson waking up and seeing 90 feet of guard rail through his car. What a story to tell your grandchildren huh? Drive through a guard rail and live to tell the story. Make sure to check out the rear photo of the accident – it really puts it into perspective just how bizarre this was.

GALLERY: Freak Guard Rail Car Accident

[Source: MT Standard]

Last year Cadillac took a leap into modern times by offering its new CTS model with Wi-Fi. Now, Chevy has announced that it will offer a dealer-installed Wi-Fi service for seven models including the: Equinox, Traverse, Silverado, Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche and Express.

The on-board system will transform a vehicle (as well as the area within 150 feet) into a Wi-Fi hotspot, letting users surf the internet freely. Passengers can check Facebook or Twitter and even watch YouTube videos thanks to a 3G network connection of up to 1.5 mbps.

In addition the system can support several devices simultaneously and with additional docking stations, the router can be moved from vehicle to vehicle.

Until December 31st, Chevy is offering the Wi-Fi as an option for $199.

Official release after the jump:

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