📰 Auto News Tougher crash test replicates real-world crashes

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Could be bad for some car safety ratings...

Lexus BOMBED the test

PITTSBURGH — A new crash test could lead to safer vehicles, but right now most cars are flunking. The test focuses of a different kind of front-end crashes. Consumer Investigator Robin Taylor takes a look at this tough new standard.

Nearly every new car does really well in standard frontal crash tests, but in the real world, people are still dying, so the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety upped the ante, designing a new test that replicates what's happening on the roads.

Instead of colliding head-on, in the new test the driver's side of the vehicle strikes a barrier at 40 mph. It's what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle or an object like a tree or utility pole.
"Even though vehicles are much safer than they used to be, 10,000 people still die each year in frontal crashes," said Adrian Lund, the president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Frontal crashes, in the real world, often lead to serious injuries or even death, and that's why the Insurance Institute designed what’s called the small overlap test. Using crash test dummies, they can determine how people are hurt and what can be done to protect them.

"They key crash absorbing structure in vehicles is located here in the middle of the front end. People are vulnerable in small overlap crashes because these structures are bypassed and the crash forces can go directly into the occupant compartment," said Lund.

The first tests were done on luxury vehicles because they usually get the latest safety features before other cars.

The Acura TL and the Volvo S60 were the only two vehicles to earn good ratings, while the Infinity G earned an acceptable rating.

"Driver's heads and chests are particularly at risk in small overlap crashes, because the steering wheel and the driver airbag can sometimes move out of position. In this Lincoln MKZ, the dummy's head didn't even touch the airbag," said Lund.

There were 11 midsize cars tested. Click here to see the ratings.

Top-selling models, like the Ford Fusion, the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, will be tested next.

RATINGS - Click Here


lexus (poor rating)-

Acura TL (good rating)-

Click to read more...

 

[Primalzer]

Woot, got good grades even in the old crumby Volvo on that overlap test!

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

i cant wait to see the ratings on all the cheaper cars

 

[Primalzer]

Yeah both of my cars are good to go. I knew buying Volvo was the boring choice, but hey apparently it's the safest choice!

 

[Primalzer]

S60

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

ya i was just looking at that... fucking barely hurt in the volvo

oh and BOWLING SHOES!!!

 

[Eagle]

F150 gets good scores across the boards, the mustang did even better:

 

[Eagle]

baby blue colored mustang test ^^^^

 

[Primalzer]

The OT pictures were extreme overlap test, not the moderate that everything else has been tested against, like the F150.

 

[Primalzer]

Audi A4 2012 Top Safety Pick

 

[Bru]

There are only 11 cars that have been tested with the extreme 25% overlap of the crash barrier in these new tests that's supposed to simulate hitting a tree versus hitting another car. The previous standard is 40% coverage that was supposed to simulate a frontal offset collision with a car. The Acura TL, Volvo S60 and Infiniti G all scored good or acceptable in the 25% test. The rest scored below acceptable in varying degrees of fail.

 

[jason05gt]

They already test for offset crashes and have for years. You cannot engineer against every possible angle of entry. It would result in 6,000 lbs economy sedans.

I didn’t see it noted, but it would be interesting to see what percentage of those deaths are attributed to this smaller offset crash.

 

[10sec]

They already test for offset crashes and have for years. You cannot engineer against every possible angle of entry. It would result in 6,000 lbs economy sedans.

I didn’t see it noted, but it would be interesting to see what percentage of those deaths are attributed to this smaller offset crash.

Every once in a while, your logic get a

 

[Bru]

25% percent attributed to trees and such

 

[Bru]

Light poles, etc.

 

[Bru]

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/...h-test-could-mean-fewer-top-safety-picks.html

 

[Primalzer]

They already test for offset crashes and have for years. You cannot engineer against every possible angle of entry. It would result in 6,000 lbs economy sedans.

I didn’t see it noted, but it would be interesting to see what percentage of those deaths are attributed to this smaller offset crash.

Then why do we have that Volvo and Acura doing so well? They didn't design it to that test. They designed it to be safe, and they are not 6000 pound behemoths

It's called engineering your product. Mercedes for example has been guilty of cutting costs, and this tests seems like a prime example of it. Toyota has obviously been cutting costs in the wake of the tsunami and taking the global recession hard. But Volvo has a long standing tradition of making safe cars and over engineering their products, so it doesn't surprise we with the results. Thinking that safety automatically equals weight is just ignorant.

 

[jason05gt]

Then why do we have that Volvo and Acura doing so well? They didn't design it to that test. They designed it to be safe, and they are not 6000 pound behemoths

I think it's luck. None of these cars were engineered for this test. If you look at the TSX, it didn't fair too well.

 

[Burtonrider10022]

I think it's luck. None of these cars were engineered for this test. If you look at the TSX, it didn't fair too well.

I do agree with you overall, but Volvo definitally engineered their shit for crash saftey, there is no doubt about it. Volvo has always made pretty safe cars and the company prides themselves on that. Other than their crash safety reputation what else do they have going for them? Cheap, not really. Sporty, not the most. Features, some but its not loaded. Luxury, their nice, but its no Bentley. Economy, maybe that little 2 door hatch back lol.

 

[Chester Copperpot]

baby blue colored mustang test ^^^^

Of course with a stone interior.

 

[jason05gt]

I do agree with you overall, but Volvo definitally engineered their shit for crash saftey, there is no doubt about it. Volvo has always made pretty safe cars and the company prides themselves on that. Other than their crash safety reputation what else do they have going for them? Cheap, not really. Sporty, not the most. Features, some but its not loaded. Luxury, their nice, but its no Bentley. Economy, maybe that little 2 door hatch back lol.

Mercedes is a brand that is known for safety, arguably one of the safest brands, but did poorly. This is because the manufacturers design the safety structures to ace current testing procedures. I did read that Volvo had a reinforcing side rail, so maybe they internally test for severer offset crashes. My original point is that 5 years from now, they will test from an obsure angle and it will do essentially the same thing we are seeing from above. I am all for safety advances, but it's hard to engineer against every possible scenario.

 

[Primalzer]

Mercedes is a brand that is known for safety, arguably one of the safest brands, but did poorly. This is because the manufacturers design the safety structures to ace current testing procedures. I did read that Volvo had a reinforcing side rail, so maybe they internally test for severer offset crashes. My original point is that 5 years from now, they will test from an obsure angle and it will do essentially the same thing we are seeing from above. I am all for safety advances, but it's hard to engineer against every possible scenario.

Agreed, but you can engineer a car to be as safe as possible by creating a structure around the driver, much like modern racecars. It is harder because you obviously can't have full on roll cages that you have to step over to get into a normal car, but there are engineering tricks and tips that can make the passenger structure very safe.

 

[SRT41320]

SRT-4 at:

 

[jason05gt]

Agreed, but you can engineer a car to be as safe as possible by creating a structure around the driver, much like modern racecars. It is harder because you obviously can't have full on roll cages that you have to step over to get into a normal car, but there are engineering tricks and tips that can make the passenger structure very safe.

Yes, survival tubs in race cars are pretty trick but they are really expensive due to them being made out of carbon fiber. I think one day production cars will use the "trickle down" technology, but right now it's way to expensive. Other options add weight, which is no ideal given the more strigent CAFE standards.

 

[Alacran]

Did they test the Chinese version of the Lexus?