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A new test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has shamed luxury automakers,
finding 8 out of 11 models tested flunked a new crash test. Here’s WFXB with the changes
that were made to the traditional crash test.
“Most cars have safety cages in the event of a head on collision, but the new test seeks
to improve performance in crashes that catch a car's outer edges.”
In the new test, cars traveling at 40 miles per hour hit a barrier with a quarter of the
driver’s side bumper, causing the impact to be concentrated in a tight area and prompting
the car to spin. The popular Mercedes-Benz C-class, Lexus IS and ES and the Audi A4 all
earned the worst rating in the test. But that doesn’t mean all automakers are buying its
results. CNN Money writes...
“Most automakers with models that performed poorly in the tests pointed out that their
cars still meet all federal safety standards and have done well in other crash tests.”
But those other crash tests don’t mimic real life says a commentator for HLN...
“But that’s not really how it happens in real life. Often maybe another car could
go head on into yours, or if you ran off the road, you might end up going into a tree.
It’s very different from hitting a flat wall.”
And what does this new test mean for not-so-fancy cars? The Los Angeles Times writes...
“If luxury vehicles are failing at a high rate, it is likely that most cars won't do
well.”
The Examiner points out with every new car released, a new test will be invented to test
its limits.
“As automakers continually improve their products to master a series of ever-demanding
crash tests...the insurance industry-funded nonprofit and the federal agency continue
to develop new metrics designed to help consumers separate the safety wheat from the chaff.”
Honda’s Acura TL and Volvo’s S60 earned the best scores from the new test.