So you think the present time is full of bad news. Just bad news. To break the ice, let me tell you that there's something to be happy about in the auto industry.

Now, there's more to choose from...

Thirty-four vehicles garnered the highest safety rating of 5 stars in the latest crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The figure is up from 13 a year ago. Asian automakers grab the biggest slice of the top-rated vehicles, with 17. Detroit automakers, meanwhile, had 6 vehicles on the list, while Germany and Sweden had 6 and 5, respectively.

The results, which were released Nov. 15, arrive as automakers strive to augment their safety ratings. They do this by adding airbags, crumple zones s well as crash-avoidance electronics. This is also the automakers effort to respond to consumers clamor for innovative safety features.

Toyota's Tundra is the first pickup truck to make the list. Subaru's Impreza is the first small car since more dogmatic criteria were introduced last year. The automakers join Hyundai's Entourage minivan, Daimler's Mercedes-Benz M-Class SUV and Ford's Volvo XC90 SUV, which were also present on last year's list.

Vehicles have to be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC) and garner a top score of "good" in front-, side- and rear-impact crash tests to be able to receive top rating. Other ratings include "acceptable," "marginal" and "poor."

Yahoo reports:

Drivers have long been drawn to vehicles that have more horsepower, luxury amenities or conveniences than the competition. But as creature comforts such as heated leather seats, CD changers and navigation systems have proliferated even among budget-priced cars, drivers and car makers have begun to focus on safety features. As a result, attributes such as side-curtain air bags, which cushion occupants in a side collision, and stability control systems, which help drivers avoid accidents, are now among the latest must-haves.

The test results also show that automakers are moving faster than ever to make vehicles more appealing to consumers through safety improvements. Some cars made the list only after their makers quickly made changes to improve their safety ratings. Making such design changes in the past could take several years.

"Consumer demand and government regulations will continue to make safety more of a core element in vehicle design," said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst with at Global Insight in Lexington, Mass. "As fuel-economy standards increase, for example, some cars will become smaller and lighter, necessitating new safety features."

"Federal mandates will drive some of this, but it's also happening because of consumer demand," she concluded.