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IIHS praises Ford Focus for cheap crash repairs

Reminding us once again that there's more than meets the eye when shopping for a vehicle are recent impact tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that measure how much it costs to fix a vehicle after after a low-speed accident. Sure, we're all interested in safety and styling, but we should also be concerned with how much these low-speed impacts will cost to repair. The winner of the testing was the Ford Focus, which scored light damage all the way around. The IIHS heaped praise on Ford for designing a bumper that can truly take a bump -- a novel idea. Amazingly, some small cars like the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius and VW Rabbit cost up to a third of the car's worth to fix from damage resulting from a minor impact. That's a big problem for any car, but especially so for those sold on the merits of economy. To prove that it's not too difficult for auto manufacturers to design a better bumper, the IIHS made a few simple changes to a Prius that didn't affect the looks of the car. After retesting, it made it through the impact tests with a fraction of the damage. For the complete rundown on the testing procedures and results, click past the break.
posted : 9/22/2008 @11:32:20 PM

VIDEO: Fiat 500 vs. Audi Q7, guess who wins

Small, fuel efficient vehicles are all the rage right now, and many SUV owners are willing to do just about anything to get out of their gas guzzling transportation. Problem is, if you do get a new MINI or Yaris, you still have to drive it out into the automotive wilderness. SUVs and big pickup trucks are still omnipresent, and driving a vehicle that barely comes up to the bumper on an F-150 just doesn't look that safe. Automakers will tell you that their new go-karts get five stars in crash tests and that they're as safe as ever, but wouldn't you like to see what would happen if a three-ton SUV hit one of these miniature motor vehicles?

The good news is that there is just such a video that resides on YouTube, and it pits the massive Audi Q7 against the cute and tiny Fiat 500. While we would desperately like the folks at Fiat to send the 500 State-side, watching the video doesn't exactly make us want to drive one ourselves. Hit the jump to see how the Fiat fared, but if you have a strong affinity for crash test dummies, you may want to take a pass on this one.
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posted : 8/7/2008 @8:36:04 PM
IIHS releases official results on the smart fortwo

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has finally released its official data on the smart fortwo, and it appears that the lil' urban runabout held its own during the IIHS' tests. The fortwo racked up a rating of "good" on both the frontal and side-impact tests, while rear impacts were scored as "acceptable." IIHS President, Adrian Lund, made it clear that normally bigger and heavier vehicles are the safer choice, "but among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."
posted : 5/14/2008 @9:52:50 PM
New York '08 Preview: Ford featuring crash-tested Taurus

Ford has been very quiet about what it will have onstage at the New York Auto Show tomorrow, but one vehicle we do know that will be under the lights is the Ford Taurus. While there will certainly be a number of Taurus models waxed, polished and placed just so in Ford's display at the Jacob Javits Center, one in particular will be a mess. Ford will display a crash-tested Taurus in New York to show off the big car's five-star rating for frontal and side crash tests from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unlike the mangled Celica that used to sit outside your highschool at prom time, the crash-tested Taurus on display in New York will be interactive. Show goers will be allowed to sit in the post-crash Taurus to see what a crash test dummy sees after a 35-mph meet up with an offset concrete barrier. Looking at the pic above, it is pretty impressive that the passenger compartment remains untouched after such an event. We're looking forward to our seat time with this one, though any trip to the Autoblog Garage might necessitate a tow truck.
posted : 3/22/2008 @2:08:36 AM
VIDEO: Hyundai Genesis hits the wall hard for crash test

The Hyundai Genesis has just finished shooting its close-up. Shot in what looks like ABC Super Slo Mo, you get a pretty good idea of how you'll fare in a Genesis should you encounter another large object at speed. During the frontal impact test the passenger cabin remained virtually unaffected, and after seeing the side impact test all we can say is thank goodness for side airbags. Who knows, if the Genesis keeps turning in these kinds of performances, it could one day be a star. Follow the jump for the footage.
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posted : 1/23/2008 @3:15:56 PM
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