(AOL Autos) — You don’t have to look too far into the past to find a time when automakers didn’t see car safety as a “selling point.” But over the last 30 years, car safety has become a prime factor in the minds of car buyers.

So, automakers responded — and as a result, cars and trucks are much safer today than they were 30, 20, even 10 years ago.

One car segment that has especially benefited from this overall improvement in safety is the sub-compact category. And it’s a good thing, too, because as gas prices have soared in the last two years, more buyers are turning away from big trucks, monster SUVs and gas-thirsty muscle cars in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Indeed, the small-car category is the fastest-growing segment in the U.S. auto industry, with sales increasing by 12 percent this year, and everyone expects that growth to continue as long as gas prices keep rising — or even if they just hold steady and don’t drop. That’s why many automakers have even more sub-compact models in their product pipelines.

So, as Americans’ buying preferences have shifted to smaller vehicles, the old debate about the safety of small cars has ignited anew. Some drivers who’ve been in an SUV for the last six years have been apprehensive about not being surrounded by a massive steel structure and a few dozen feet of sheet metal.

read more from "Small “Cars” But Terrible"

The jeepney is one vehicular oddity that shows just how resourceful the Pinoy (Filipino) is.

Who else but the ingenious Pinoy could have taken military Jeeps discarded by GI’s and converted them into an immensely-popular public transport?

The so-called King of The Road comes in various permutations. Some can barely accommodate eight passengers while some are humongous enough to seat 24 people! Some are so old and rickety you half-expect the body to break in half as it hits the next pothole while some are so sleek and flashy they look like they rolled out of a sci-fi film. Some offer no other entertainment apart from the view of your co-passengers sleeping while others are decked with eardrum-busting stereos and even mini-TV’s that show your favorite soap.

Whatever its seating capacity or amenities, though, you can count on the jeepney to be painted with the most riotous colors ever mixed and decorated with the gaudiest trinkets known to man. It’s this festive appearance that has, in fact, made the jeepney internationally famous. Just like Bangus Restaurant, you really can’t get any more Pinoy than the jeep.

And while there have been many calls to send the loud and unsafe-looking jeepney into retirement, you can bet this fiesta-on-wheels will be happily plying the streets for a long, long time.