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Big Sedans Ace Frontal Crash Tests

June 20, 2005
A group of five large family cars and three large luxury cars earned top ratings in frontal crash tests recently conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

IIHS-Auto Safety • 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

Among the family models that were tested — Buick LaCrosse, Chrysler 300, Ford Five Hundred, Kia Amanti, and Toyota Avalon — all but the Amanti earned the added designation of "best pick" in the frontal test. This is the first time every model in a group of large family cars has earned the top rating.

The large luxury cars — Acura RL, Cadillac STS, and Lexus GS — also earned good ratings, and each is designated "best pick" for frontal crash protection.

"Large cars are a good choice for consumers looking for a safe family vehicle, but some of them haven't always performed well in the Institute's frontal crash test," says Institute chief operating officer Adrian Lund.

"In 1999 a large family model from DaimlerChrysler, the Chrysler LHS, along with its twin 300M, was rated poor for frontal crash protection. With these latest results we now have 10 current large family car designs that are rated good."

The ratings reflect performance in a 40 mph frontal offset crash test into a deformable barrier. Based on the results, the Institute evaluates the crashworthiness of passenger vehicles, assigning each vehicle a rating from good to poor. The better performers among those rated good earn the added designation of "best pick."

If a vehicle earns a good rating, it means in a real-world crash of similar severity a belted driver most likely would be able to walk away with nothing more than minor injuries. About half of all vehicle occupant deaths occur in frontal crashes.

Chrysler 300 is big improvement compared with its predecessors: "The 2005 model 300 is a good performer across the board in the frontal test. This is the kind of performance we like to see," Lund says.

The Institute's offset test is especially demanding of a vehicle's structure. The driver side of a vehicle being tested hits the barrier, so a relatively small area of the front-end structure must manage the energy of the crash. The structure of the 300's occupant compartment maintained its shape very well, and that allowed the seat belt and airbag to do a good job of protecting the driver. After the dummy moved forward into the airbag, it rebounded into the seat without its head coming close to any stiff structure that could cause injury.

In contrast, the structure of the 1999 Chrysler LHS/300M was marginal, and a late-deploying airbag contributed to high forces on the dummy's head.

"The occupant compartment in the LHS/300M buckled during the crash, and there was major intrusion into the footwell area," Lund explains. "The airbag deployed so late in the crash that the dummy's head hit the steering wheel hard." Chrysler made changes to the 2001 model, and its crashworthiness rating improved to acceptable. There was less intrusion into the occupant compartment, and the airbag did a good job of keeping forces on the dummy's head low.

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