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Small Cars Flunk Side Impact Crash Test

March 7, 2005
The adage that "you get what you pay for" is borne out in the latest side impact crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. While small cars may save you a few bucks at the dealership and at the gas pump, you may wind up paying a higher price - possibly your life.

The Dodge Neon

In the institute's recent side impact crash tests, 14 of 16 cars earned poor ratings. The worst of the lot was the Dodge Neon, which Institute chief operating officer Adrian Lund called "a disaster."

The Neon has "major problems beginning with its structure," Lund says. "The structure is poor, and both dummies' heads were hit by the barrier during the crash test. High forces were recorded on the head, torso, and pelvis of the driver dummy. If this had been a real driver in a real crash, it's likely it wouldn't have been survivable."

While combination head and torso side airbags for the front occupants are available on the Neon, DaimlerChrysler did not ask for a second test with the airbags.

"With a poor structure, the company probably didn't think side airbags would make a big difference in the Neon's performance," Lund says. Pointing to the Neon's marginal rating in the Institute's frontal test, he adds that "if safety is a priority, the Neon is a small car to be avoided."

Small cars also earning poor ratings:

• Dodge Neon
• Ford Focus
• Hyundai Elantra
• Kia Spectra
• Mazda 3
• Mitsubishi Lancer
• Nissan Sentra
• Saturn ION (tested with and without side airbags)
• Suzuki Forenza
• Suzuki Aerio, and
• Volkswagen New Beetle.

Only the Chevrolet Cobalt and Toyota Corolla, both equipped with optional side airbags with head protection, performed well enough to earn the Institute's second highest rating of acceptable. Without the optional airbags, the Cobalt and Corolla are rated poor for side impact protection.

IIHS-Auto Safety • Small Car Bumpers Fail to Prevent Expensive Damage • GM SUVs, Crossovers Win IIHS Safety Label • Insurance Group Adds 6 Small SUVs to Safety List • Luxury Sedan, SUV Win Insurance Industry Safety Award • Acura TSX Luxury Sedan Top Safety Pick • Nissan Murano Leads SUV Safety Test • Lexus EX35, Cadillac CTS Named Top Safety Picks • Nissan Quest Worst Performer in Minivan Bumper Test • Study: Crash Tests Predict Fatalities In Cars, Not Trucks • Top Safety Awards Go to 34 Cars, SUVs and a Pickup • Midsize SUVs Perform Poorly in Side Impacts • BMW 5 Series Performs Poorly in New Impact Test • Luxury Cars a "Mediocre Lot" in Low-Speed Collisions • Light Trucks Vulnerable to Whiplash --- • More IIHS Tests

Three more small cars will be tested in side impacts later this year. The Mini Cooper and Subaru Impreza will have new design features that are intended to improve side impact protection. The Honda Civic will be a completely redesigned model.

"These side impact results are similar to the results in 1997 when the Institute first rated small cars in the frontal offset crash test," says Lund. "Back then, no small car earned a good frontal crash test rating. Now almost every small car earns a good rating in the frontal test. As manufacturers redesign their vehicles, we expect that small cars will get better in the side impact test too."

In the Institute's side impact test, a moving deformable barrier strikes the driver side of a passenger vehicle at 31 mph. The barrier weighs 3,300 pounds and has a front end that is shaped to simulate the front end of a typical pickup or SUV. In each side-struck vehicle are two instrumented dummies the size of a small (5th percentile) woman, one positioned in the driver seat and one in the rear seat behind the driver.

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