Ford has made safety one of its top priorities, and its efforts have paid off. Not only does the Blue Oval have more five-star crash rated vehicles than any other automaker, but it’s added another notch to its safety belt with NHTSA giving the Flex five stars for both front and side impact tests. A front crash impact score of five stars means that there is a 10% or less chance of serious injury at 35 mph, and the five star side impact score indicates a 5% chance of serious injury at 38.5 mph. The Flex comes standard with dual front air bags, headliner mounted side curtain air bags, traction and stability control, and tire pressure monitoring, which helps with NHTSA scoring. The Flex also received four stars for rollover protection, tying the CUV for best in class in the crossover segment.

With a Volvo-derived platform and plenty of heft, we’re not surprised the Flex achieved a five-star score in NHTSA testing. Then again, it doesn’t hurt that just about every automaker engineers all new cars and trucks specifically to score well on the Fed’s tests. Continued

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Smart Car Fortwo, the tiniest car for sale on the US market, on Wednesday received top marks in its class in crash tests by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the group said.

The positive safety ratings, combined with rising fuel costs, could spell good news for the Daimler AG vehicle which was introduced this year amid skepticism from a US public that tends to favor larger trucks and sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

The car “earned the top rating of ‘good’ for front and side crash protection,” the institute said, adding that it earned the “second highest rating of ‘acceptable’ for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.”

The test results “generally demonstrate how well vehicles stack up against others of similar size and weight,” the institute said, noting that a “small car that earns a good rating isn’t safer than a large car that’s rated less than good.”

The frontal crash test involved a 40 mile-per-hour (64 kilometer-per-hour) crash test with a dummy in the driver’s seat, while the side tests involved a moving barrier striking the car at 31 mph (50 kph).

The rear crash simulation involves a stationary vehicle struck at 20 mph (32 kph).

“All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better,” said Adrian Lund, institute president. “But among the smallest cars, the engineers of Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package.”

The Smart Fortwo falls into the microcar category, meaning it is even smaller than a minicar. At 1,800 pounds (816 kilograms) it is 700 pounds (318 kilograms) lighter and three feet (one meter) shorter than a Mini Cooper.

Although commonly seen on the streets of Europe, the Smart Car Fortwo was introduced to the United States in January, and Daimler hopes to sell 20,000-25,000 models at 68 points of sale.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The smallest car for sale in the U.S. market has earned the highest rating in front-end and side-impact testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The 2008 Smart Fortwo’s seat and head restraints also earned the second highest rating of  “acceptable” for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.

“The Smart engineers have done their homework,” IIHS spokesman Russ Rader told CTV’s Canada AM on Wednesday. “They’ve designed safety into a very small package.”

The IIHS classifies the Smart Fortwo as a micro-car, meaning it’s smaller even than mini-cars such as the Mini Cooper.

Frontal ratings can’t be compared across weight classes, says the IIHS.

That means a small car that earns a good rating isn’t safer than a large car that’s rated less than good.

Still, Rader said the Smart car is ideal for a certain demographic of drivers.

“If you’re someone who just drives in dense, city traffic where speeds are low and high-speed crashes are rare, then a small car may be practical,” he said.

Rader said if drivers decide to go with a small car they should research the standard equipment that comes with the vehicle.

The Smart Fortwo includes seat-mounted combination side airbags designed to protect both the heads and chests of the driver and passenger.

It also has an electronic stability program which helps avoid accidents in the first place, said Rader.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Popularity: 2% [?]