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Lexus EX35, Cadillac CTS Named Top Safety Picks

Insurance Institute picks state-of-the-art vehicles

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 10, 2008

The new Infiniti EX35 SUV and Cadillac CTS won the designation. The EX35 is the first Infiniti to earn this award. The redesigned Cadillac CTS is one of only three large luxury cars to be named a top safety pick. The others are the Audi A6 and Volvo S80.

Winners of top safety pick awards afford superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their class, according to the IIHS. To qualify a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good in the Institute's front, side, and rear tests and be equipped with electronic stability control.

"Criteria to win are tough because the award is intended to drive continued safety improvements such as top crash test ratings and rapid addition of electronic stability control, which is standard equipment on the EX35," says Institute president Adrian Lund.

"Recognizing vehicles at the head of the class for safety helps consumers distinguish the best overall choices without having to sort through multiple test results."

The IIHS reports that the number of vehicles earning the award is increasing. Only 13 cars, minivans, and SUVs initially qualified for 2007 awards. At the beginning of the 2008 model year, the number of winners more than doubled to 34.

"The EX35 is a leader in its class for state-of-the-art safety," Lund said. "You don't know what kind of crash you're going to be in. That's why it's important to choose a vehicle that will protect you in all kinds of crashes."

The 2003 to 2007 CTS was rated poor for rear crash protection. General Motors redesigned the seats in the 2008 CTS and earned a better rating.

"All luxury cars should perform as well as the CTS," Lund said. "It's a leader in its class for safety. Frontal crash worthiness has improved dramatically for all cars in recent years, but there are still significant differences in how vehicles perform in our side and rear tests."

In 2007 the Institute made the criteria to earn the award tougher by adding a requirement that winners must be equipped with electronic stability control (ESC). The IIHS has concluded that ESC significantly reduces the risk of driver involvement in crashes in the first place.

ESC lowers also the risk of a fatal single-vehicle crash by about half and lowers the risk of a fatal rollover crash by as much as 80 percent, according to IIHS research.

The Institute's frontal crash worthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle's overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a Hybrid III dummy in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.

Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV.

Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on two instrumented SID-IIs dummies, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle's structural performance during the impact. Injury measures obtained from the two dummies, one in the driver seat and the other in the back seat behind the driver, are used to determine the likelihood that a driver and or passenger in a similar real-world crash would sustain serious injury to various parts of the body.

The movements and contacts of the dummies' heads during the test also are evaluated. Structural performance is based on measurements indicating the amount of B-pillar intrusion into the occupant compartment.

Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry — the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average-size man. Seat and head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck.

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