Automakers are adding more and better safety features into new cars, right across their model lines. Needless to say, the insurance industry is down with that. According to MSNBC, the number of cars considered “safest” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has grown by nearly 300 percent. Last year, 13 vehicles made the list. This year, 34 new models can tout an IIHS “top safety pick” award. Ford joined Honda on the virtual podium to claim the largest number of vehicles garnering the gong. According to the report, Toyota could have had 10 additional vehicles on the list (and Volkswagen four) if they offered better seat- and head restraint designs. Sidestepping the criticism, Toyota spokesperson Bill Kwong diverts your attention points out that their ‘08 vehicles have active headrests, which provide a “great level of safety for the customer in the real world.”
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I thought the “Gong” was a bad thing?
Man… They need to bring back The Gong Show. It was a zillion times better than American Idol…
Oh! Yeah! Safety! Good on Ford! These guys might actually be doing something right for a change, first, they make serious strides in the Consumer Reports reliability survey, now this.
I actually think they just might make it.
Quick comment, just because a vehicle isn’t in the ‘Top Picks’ list doesn’t mean that it is unsafe, it could also mean that it simply has not been fully tested by the IIHS. There are also some vehicles that don’t have ESC or side airbags as standard but when equiped would be rated a ‘top pick’.
SkiD666 – too bad so many of those models routinely slathered with optional NAV, DVD, etc that lack ESC, SIPS, etc. as standard features are all you can find on your friendly, neighborhood dealer’s lot.
Unfortunately, it’s too often really difficult finding midlevel equipped cars with safety equipment when it’s not standard…
SkiD666: They do take the ESC into account. They mention that the Ford Taurus makes the list if equipped with ESC.
This looks like another non-scientific rating. They don’t actually test the ESC. As long as the car has ESC and it performed well in the crash tests, it makes the grade.
What if it is a crappy ESC?
I actually think the IIHS test is the least bad of all the tests out there. They actually want to know the risks of injuries because they advise insurance companies. The government crash tests are pretty meaningless and only exist to create a high barrier to entry for small new companies.
Although, I do think that rather than giving star ratings (like the government) or good, acceptable, poor (like the IIHS), I think that all cars should be ranked. That way the manufacturers have something to compete with. Right now they only need to work hard enough to get a 5-star rating.
miked: IIHS DOES rank the vehicles. If you pick a class, say midsize moderately priced cars, they are listed in rank order.