ˆ Green car advocate proves first hand how small cars aren't deathtraps

tags : economy car crash test , economy car safety , economycarcrashtest , economycarsafety , safety , small car safety , smallcarsafety , yaris crash , yaris safety , yariscrash , yarissafety

Despite numerous positive crash test results and assurances from both manufacturers and safety organizations, we still hear people say they'll never trade their bank-safe SUV for one of those little tin cans on wheels. This makes some people wonder what it would take to change folks' minds about automotive safety. A first-hand account from Nick Chambers, an admitted greenie who blogs for gas2.0.org, slammed his Yaris into a dirt embankment then rolled it three times. He not only lived, but walked away from his crumpled Toyota with little more than a bump and a really sore neck. He also admits that before his little off-road excursion in the Yaris, he wasn't completely sold on small car safety. But now he says, "Yes. Yes I would trust my family to a small fuel-efficient car, and I'm miraculously alive and mostly uninjured... so no, it's not a death trap."

posted : 10/27/2008 @4:15:53 PM

ˆ IIHS praises Ford Focus for cheap crash repairs

tags : crash test , crash tests , crashtest , crashtests , economy car crash tests , economycarcrashtests , focus crash tests , focuscrashtests , ford focus , fordfocus , iihs , insurance institute for highway safety , insuranceinstituteforhighwaysafety , prius crash tests , priuscrashtests , small car crash tests , smallcarcrashtests

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

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