The 2013 Infiniti M is an impressive vehicle in many respects, with a well-styled interior, curvaceous exterior, and brisk performance. It turns out it's also quite safe as well, scoring an IIHS Top Safety Pick award today.

It's worth noting that Top Safety Pick isn't the highest designation available anymore. The new top mark, Top Safety Pick+, requires the same moderate overlap front, side, rollover, and rear crash tests, but adds the small overlap front crash test.

To score a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must score a top rating of "good" in each of the four tests; for a Top Safety Pick+, a vehicle must score "good" in four of the five tests, an no worse than "acceptable" in the fifth.

Regardless of the Infiniti M's not-quite-best-score in the IIHS' crash testing, it's clearly a well-built, safe luxury sedan.

Unfortunately, the value of the Infiniti M having won an IIHS Top Safety Pick may be small to Infiniti--and to shoppers. Why? Because there won't be an Infiniti M in 2014.

Or at least that car we know as the Infiniti M won't be called by that name. Instead, it will be the Infiniti Q70, joining the 2014 Infiniti Q50 among the rest of the Q- and QX-named lineup.

Good luck explaining that to your mom the next time she asks for advice on buying a safe, well-priced, fun-to-drive luxury sedan.