The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) low-speed bumper repair data [download here] is good news for owners of the 2009 Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6 and Nissan Maxima: repair costs sank from 2007 levels. Moving beyond the headlines, the IIHS gives the Nissan a “poor” rating ($1,500 plus). And reports that the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and 2010 Ford Fusion’s bumper repairs costs have soared. “Ford fit the Fusion’s front and rear with weaker bumper beams, and this had a big effect on the test performance,” IIHS Veep Joe Nolan’s PR flack writes. “The difference is easy to see in the 6 mph full rear test, which simulates a common parking mishap like backing into another vehicle. The Fusion’s bumper buckled, which caused it to underride the test barrier, resulting in twice as much damage as the 2007 model in the rear test. In the full front test, the Fusion had $2,529 in damage, more than any other vehicle.” Malibu misegos the jump.
GM raised the Malibu’s rear bumper so it’s higher than on the earlier model, but it’s still the lowest among recently tested bumpers. In the full rear test, the bumper underrode the barrier, resulting in almost $3,500 in damage, the highest among the midsize cars evaluated. GM lowered the front bumper, which didn’t help in the full front test. Damage totaled $2,092, partly because the Malibu’s front grille overlays the center of the bumper. The result is that the grille, Chevy emblem, and decorative chromed plastic trim get hit before the bumper does in this test.
“The reverse is the case for the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and 2010 Ford Fusion”
Is that in terms to their costs rising (as it states in the headline) or in terms of them getting a “good” rating as opposed to Nissan’s “poor” rating???
Let’s see… the Family Truckster gets five stars for head injuries, four stars for side-impact and rollovers, but is ranked “poor” for bumper repair costs. I wonder how it does in the frequency-of-headlights-burning-out index?
Too much information, not enough wisdom.
The “Insurance” part of “IIHS” must get its due as well.
$3500 for backing into something at 6mph.
What happened to the 5 mph bumpers that were supposed to lower costs so much in the 1970s?
True, car safety is better than ever (watch some videos of even 15 year old cars on YouTube versus new cars like the Camry), but this is insane.
This is how our Corporista insurance industry addled country operates.
No matter what you do in most cases a front or rear 6 mph impact is going to cost more than even a $500 deductible, so the insurance industry wants to embarass the automakers into building vehicles that cost less to repair from an accident so they can payout less and make even more profit.
Sucks to be them!
I learned from watching demolition derbies which cars had the strongest bumpers: Those 1974-77 full-size Mopar cars that resembled 71 GM designs. It took a helluva bang to bend one of those. It seems to me that at least some of those were made of aluminum alloy.
so the insurance industry wants to embarass the automakers into building vehicles that cost less to repair from an accident so they can payout less and make even more profit.
You don’t think, even a tiny bit, that decreasing repair costs and expected payouts would decrease premiums? Really? To reword it, do you not think that higher repair costs and expected payouts would cause them to raise premiums? Because those are two sides of the same coin; if one is true, so is the other.
In any case, if you really believe that the problem with insurance is profits, you should belong to a mutual insurance company, like State Farm, that pays dividends to its policyholders, who are the owners. (There are no shareholders.)
Wonderful information.
I realize the news world is fast-paced, so I’ll try to help . . . let’s make sure we don’t miss this great news item:
Hybrid Ford Fusion Gets Excellent Rating in Consumer Reports, Now on Par With Toyota Camry Hybrid
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-03-2009/0005071057&EDATE=
And I’m sure the lack of the following article was just an oversight:
Honda adds 440,000 cars to recall over airbags
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/31/honda.recall/
I mean, it sounds newsworthy to me . . .
“In some vehicles, airbag inflators can produce over-pressurization of the driver’s [front] airbag inflator mechanism during airbag deployment,” the release said. “If an affected inflator deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator casing to rupture. Metal fragments could pass through the cloth airbag cushion material, possibly causing an injury or fatality to vehicle occupants.”
Wow…and the Ford’s just keep getting more expensive.
Honda adds 440,000 cars to recall over airbags
Honda is recalling vehicles…taking responsibility safety issues with their automobiles.
Where is the Ford recall for the cam sprockets on the 1996-1999 Taurus SHO V8 sliding all around the cam shaft?
Or the recall for the spark plugs that would shoot out of the head on the modular V8s?
You can’t rip on Honda for issuing a recall and then NOT rip on Ford for ignoring HUGE problems with their products.
Plus, the Honda recall has nothing to do with the Fusion’s bumpers.
And, Yes, I drive a Silverado and love it…so don’t try the old, tired attack of I hate Domestic Automakers.
“What happened to the 5 mph bumpers that were supposed to lower costs so much in the 1970s?”
The difference between the height of normal-sized cars and “light” trucks is large enough that my biggest fear is that a light-truck will miss my bumper entirely and go right for the hood or trunk sheet metal.
The IIHS should enforce low-bumper-height standards for all vehicles that are to be used in non-commercial settings.
5 MPH sounds like a pretty quick speed to be going when parallel parking.
I think the Malibu’s rear, with the low, short bumper is a style statement. I like it, and it certainly makes it stand out. As long as people are protected, who cares if it costs more to repair? That’s why you have insurance. Duh!
Also, in general, bumpers are made to completely fall apart in collisions. It takes the brunt of the energy instead of the occupants. It’s like a crumple zone. Am I wrong?
johnthacker mentions State Farm as an example of a mutual insurance company.
There are multiple State Farm insurance companies; if you want a mutual policy (and want a dividend), you have to ASK for it and it may not even be sold in some states.
Some companies, such as Amica Mutual, have a very good reputation continually year after year after year in Consumer Reports, and do so well that they don’t even have to advertise. I’m with them and have been for years. I have my house with them too, so I get TWO dividend checks a year – one from my homeowner’s policy and another from our cars (my collector car is not with them, however; different kettle of fish – there are no mutual classic car insurers to my knowledge, or at least companies which ‘solely’ do classics). My collector car is insured by Hagerty Insurance, as well thought of in collector car circles as Amica is in smart daily driver circles and Consumer Reports.
US market cars used to have to have 5 mph bumpers, but somewhere along the lines, 2.5 mph bumpers became “legal” again as in 1972 or 1973, wasn’t it? (One year only, if memory serves). This means slightly lighter cars (but with modern bumpers, with high-strength ‘styrofoam’ type stuff, weight is not such a problem as 35 years ago), but means way worse collision costs for insurance companies, which generally will provide lower insurance costs for those cars sold in the US WITH 5 mph bumpers.
Canada mandates 8km/hr (5mph) bumpers.
Yeah, I missed the coverage here about the Honda hand gren–er, shrapnel-filled airbags. But I guess costly bumpers are much worse.
dkulmacz: I’m not claiming to speak for Robert, but generally TTAC does not regurgitate PR items unless there is a good reason to mock it. Nor does TTAC cover recalls unless it serves to illustrate a point.
Regarding the bumper tests: the most common parking mishap I’ve seen is to back into the concrete base of a lamp standard. I don’t see that the IIHS test addresses this one, because you won’t underride the “barrier.”
OK.
So what’s the big deal?
Not so sure about the 2.5 or 5 mph bumber…or how much we are supposed to save the insurance companies.
But…
If I am not mistaken, new car design now have as much energy from a collision spreading AROUND the car, making the passenger cage safer.
Right?
I mean, the whole car is gone, but the passenger survies.
That’s the plan.
NOT less damage, more survivors.
This the whole plan?
How much damage is sustained if a car is hit at 5 mph in the side?
It cost me $1300 just to have the damage from a shopping cart repaired!!!!
johnthacker:
“You don’t think, even a tiny bit, that decreasing repair costs and expected payouts would decrease premiums? Really? To reword it, do you not think that higher repair costs and expected payouts would cause them to raise premiums? Because those are two sides of the same coin; if one is true, so is the other.”
Uh, nope. I don’t. Really. Because if you look at the premiums over the last 20-30 years they generally go in one direction – up (not withstanding mutual companies. I don’t know much about them). Let’s put it another way. With all the safety devices and the drop in fatatlities, you would think the medical part of the policies would be going down, right? Now this “decrease” may be offset by the increase in lawyers suing for injuries and other factors that I’m not aware of, but I’ve never seen an insurance company lower their price because cars are safer or their bumpers cost less to repair.
Actually, insurance rates have been declining for a few years.
I suspect the auto manufacturers deliberately make their bumpers weak in order to rake in the additional revenue on crash repair parts.
paulie :
Actually, insurance rates have been declining for a few years.
In Ontario rates are set to increase up to 18%. That’s non-government controlled insurance for ya.
P71 Crown vic: We don’t think you hate the domestics, we just think you are biased against Ford.
Bimmer
Sorry to hear about your auto insurance rates.
But a bit confused about the “non-government” bit.
I hear you health insurance, although governed, is not so successful.
Here in Illinois and MO, the rates have been going down these past years.
At least in most zip codes.
And Geico has been incredible.
dkulmacz :
August 5th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Honda adds 440,000 cars to recall over airbags
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/07/31/honda.recall/
I mean, it sounds newsworthy to me . . .
——————————————
Exactly one person died of the defect. If fatality is some kind of measure, this Honda recall is less than 1% newsworthy than the Ford Exploder refusing to recall and eventual recall.
Recall is not a good measure of car quality or safety. Prior to this recall, the most recent large recall by Honda was due to wrong contact phone number printed on car manual.
Want to know real stuff about car reliability and safety? Read CR, not Fox news.
paulie : I hear you health insurance, although governed, is not so successful.
Well, let’s hear the stats!
As for our socialist auto insurance, guess how much it costs to insure a 2010 Z06 in Saskatchewan, no matter what your age or gender, provided you have a good driving record? $1742 per year. With 10 years of clean driving – and speeding tickets don’t matter, as they found no correlation between speeders and accident rates here – it’s $1394. Personally, I like that nobody is making money off my insurance, despite the employees being paid good wages. But the lack of discrimination isn’t best for everyone; I do realize an older person with a good driving record may be able to get cheaper rates in a system with private insurance, especially if he owns multiple vehicles. You also don’t have the opportunity to sue to collect amounts more than the actual damages, or get paid for injuries that cannot be proven (though you could still sit at home and collect 90% of your wage for non-verifiable soft tissue injuries). Nothing’s perfect, but I’d be interested in hearing what you don’t like about our health care. I’ve never personally heard a complaint or had any problems myself.
i’ll try this. i will look before i back up. problem solved. if that is what this test is supposed check for.
So Ford cheapened the Ford Fusion bumpers, causing a walking-pace “crash” cost to skyrocket from $1300 to $2500. An accident or a willful action to drive up parts sales? We don’t know. Will Ford man-up, admit the mistake, and replace the cheapened parts with the right stuff?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ford is a DETROIT automaker! NOTHING they do is ever wrong. It will be a cold day in Hell before they make something like this right.
CarPerson warned everyone about all that praying at the Ford alter.
@441Zuke: First look for the “Shift” key on your keyboard.
If your “walking pace” is 6mph, you must have some long-ass legs my friend.
Do they rate offset low-speed crashes? I would think a corner-corner hit would be more telling. Does the light bust, does the bumper splay out/over the rear fender, etc…
I miss the days when bumpers were separate units designed to take minor hits without disturbing anything. Typically they were chrome plated, or that cool rubber coated plastic honeycomb thing Saab used to use.
The plastic body colored ones on just about everything today turn into $1000 + repairs from something as simple as hitting a shopping cart.
If people learned to drive, then they won’t have to worry about ripping off their expensive bumpers when trying to park.