Archive for the ‘crash tests’ Category

To put it bluntly, crash-test results in their present state can be frustrating for shoppers. Take a look either at crash-test ratings from the federal government or from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and you’re bound to be confused by the sheer number of vehicles that have all garnered top ratings.

For some types of vehicles, like compact or mid-size crossover vehicles, it’s become virtually impossible to separate the safest vehicles from the merely safe ones. For several years now, the federal government hasn’t given any crash-test scores below three stars and the IIHS has awarded more ‘good’ scores in its frontal and...

The stylish and delicate-looking front and rear bumper areas of most new vehicles are, just as they appear, damage-prone and expensive to fix, even from minor parking-lot-speed impacts. However the new 2010 Subaru Legacy fares well; in the latest round of bumper evaluations from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), it gets one of the best ratings yet.

The most impressive area of improvement was in the front full-width test, where the vehicle is run into a steel barrier that simulates another car bumper. In this, the 2010 Subaru Legacy sustained just $847 in damage, versus an estimated $4,049 for the previous 2007 Legacy...

If you consider safety one of the top priorities in your next new-car purchase—as you should—and are carefully combing through features and occupant protection ratings, you're in for a pleasant surprise: There are a lot more models designated Top Safety Picks this year from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Why? Although some models have been redesigned with stronger, more crash-resistant structures, improved side protection, and other features, along with electronic stability control (a requisite for the award), in a number of other models it was as simple as redesigning the seats.

The 2010 Chrysler Sebring and 2010 Dodge...