Best buys for 2011 and Google's driverless cars

(Kia)

NADAguides names Best Buys for 2011
NADAguides, an online provider of vehicle pricing and information, has named its Best Car Buys for 2011. Vehicles were scored on price, first year depreciation value, fuel efficiency, warranty coverage and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety ratings. The top models in each segment:

Van: 2011 Kia Sedona Four Door LWB LX
Wagon: 2011 Ford Fiesta Four Door Hatchback SE
Sedan: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Four Door Sedan ECO with 1XF
Luxury: 2011 BMW 5 Series Four Door Sedan 528i RWD
Coupe: 2011 Honda CR-Z Three Door Manual
Sport: 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport Two Wheel Drive Four Door CVT SE
SUV: 2011 Kia Sorento Two Wheel Drive Four Door I4 EX (pictures)
Truck: 2011 Toyota Tacoma Two Wheel Drive Reg I4 MT
Hybrid: 2011 Toyota Prius Five Door HB I

--The Associated Press

A Google engineer road tests a self-driving car in California last October. (Ramin Rahimian / The Associated Press)

Google pushing driverless cars bills
Google, a pioneer of driverless cars, is quietly lobbying for legislation that would make Nevada the first state where they could be legally operated on public roads. Two bills are being introduced less than a year after the giant search engine company acknowledged that it was developing cars that could be safely driven without human intervention. Google has given little indication what its commercial intent for the cars might be.

--New York Times News Service