Tag Archives: iihs

IIHS Slams Luxury Cars over Frontal Crash Protection Results

Posted on 14 August 2012 by Ken Zino

Only three of 11 midsize luxury and near-luxury cars evaluated earn good or acceptable ratings in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s new small overlap frontal crash test, the latest addition to a series of tests designed to force automakers to continue to develop safer vehicles that perform well beyond government mandated regulations. Continue reading →

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Web Wacko of the Month – Quicksilver Magazine on IIHS

Posted on 24 February 2012 by Ken Zino

A reader sent me a copy of Quicksilver, the magazine of the International Mercury Owners Assn., whose winter 2012 issue contains a piece by John Harvey claiming that the well publicized offset crash test between a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and a 1959 Bel Air was rigged. It is Harvey’s contention that the Bel Air did not have an engine in it when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crashed the disparate Chevys in a spectacular 40 mph impact. This is pure, unadulterated hooey. The Bel Air was in running condition, and the offset crash test was conducted in the presence of the news media. The Bel Air – its engine forced rearward into the occupant compartment, has been on display ever since at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center. Continue reading →

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The Top Stolen Cadillac Escalade Has New Antitheft Devices

Posted on 29 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Cadillac Escalade is more than 6 times as likely as the average vehicle to be targeted by thieves and has overall theft losses more than 10 times as big, according the Highway Loss Data Institute – HLDI. So little wonder that Cadillac in a release today is touting what it claims are new security enhancements developed to thwart thieves on Escalade models. Continue reading →

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IIHS Posts a Record 115 Winners for 2012 Top Safety Pick

Posted on 27 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick has a record number of choices – 115 – among 2012 models. The best vehicles are those in IIHS’s view that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes. Continue reading →

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Chevrolet Volt Earns 5 Stars in Euro NCAP with No Battery Fires. GM Announces Volt Export Plans to China Next Year

Posted on 28 November 2011 by Ken Zino

At the same time the National Highway Traffic safety Administration was preparing to announce that a formal investigation had begun over Chevrolet Volt battery fires, the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) released its latest results, which gave the Opel Ampera a top 5-star rating. The Ampera is a virtual clone of the Chevrolet Volt.

Continue reading →

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General Motors to Debut World’s First Center Airbag in 2013

Posted on 29 September 2011 by Ken Zino

A GM analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System database (FARS) found that far-side impact crashes accounted for 11% of the belted front occupant fatalities in non-rollover impacts between 2004 and 2009. Also implied in the data GM looked at is that much more work remains to be done on interior design, including seat belts that don’t hold an occupant laterally, the now ubiquitous center consoles that are causing serious and fatal injuries, and the seat itself, which allows deadly movement. With intense engineering, some of these problems could be dealt with by passive solutions, which could be far less expensive than adding another airbag to every new vehicle. Continue reading →

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Cadillac Escalade, Ford F-250, Chrysler 300 Liked by Thieves

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Ken Zino

Immobilizers can’t prevent all types of theft, and even Escalades have them as standard equipment. Moreover, the devices don’t affect theft of property from a vehicle, which also is reflected in the rankings. Continue reading →

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SUVs Now Among the Safest as Electronics Stop Rollovers

Posted on 9 June 2011 by Ken Zino

The safety improvements are so large that SUVs drivers are now statistically less likely to die in a crash than drivers of equivalent size cars. This conclusion on driver death rates was published today by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which for decades pointed out that SUVs were among the most dangerous vehicles on the road. Continue reading →

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Small Cars Improve in Latest Crash Tests. Size Still Matters

Posted on 27 May 2011 by Ken Zino

While you can’t change the laws of physics, you can use them to improve crash test results for vehicles. Six of 13 small cars tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety earned the Top Safety Pick award. None earned … Continue reading →

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Truck Underride Guards Fail in Crashes so IIHS Wants New Rule

Posted on 20 April 2011 by Ken Zino

In 2009, 70% of the 3,163 people who died in all large truck crashes were occupants of cars or other passenger vehicles. Underride crashes makes death or serious injury more likely since the upper part of the passenger vehicle’s occupant compartment typically crushes as the truck body intrudes into the vehicle safety cage. Continue reading →

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