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I am not sure if these have been posted or mentioned yet or not, but its a new test being conducted by IIHS. This test is more severe than the moderate overlap off-set crash test.
Looks like automakers will be having to improve in this test as many cars are failing in this test.
Some good performers are the new '13 Honda Accord ('12-'13 Toyota Camry performed poorly and the Prius was horrible) and another good one was the Suzuki Kizashi (though it only had an acceptable in the roof strength test). Many cars however did receive an acceptable rating, while some which are brand new designs only earned a marginal rating (new Malibu), which is still better than the fairly new Camry design. I wish they had of tested the new Civic.
More research, apparently this test has been around for a couple of years... here is a '09 Civic in a "pole" test, which seems the same as the small overlap test that the IIHS is now doing. There is also a video of an '05 Civic that also did well. They may have just did that recently, but used an older car.
On this '09 Civic, the passenger cage holds up very well... it did much better than the new Prius and Camry in the IIHS test.
"The IIHS just found a new way to destroy cars. The organization recently developed a test to simulate crashing into a tree, with numerous models failing with flying colors.
"The IIHS says this is going to help reduce the number of deaths from frontal crashes, but if you ask me it looks like this test is just designed to peel the side off of a car..."
1. They have height and weight on their sides. My full-frame Silverado from that time period isn't a great crash test example either, but I've been rear-ended a number of times by passenger cars. They go under the rear bumper, minimizing my damage and maximizing theirs (totalled a Neon once when he broke motor mounts ) and I imagine that would happen in a frontal crash (never hit anything worse than a shopping cart). I realize the F-150 offset test turned the F-Series into an E-Series, but if that F-150 went up against a passenger car the results would have been kinder.
2. Seen the new test of the VW CC? The door fell off. LOLOLOL...
1. They have height and weight on their sides. My full-frame Silverado from that time period isn't a great crash test example either, but I've been rear-ended a number of times by passenger cars. They go under the rear bumper, minimizing my damage and maximizing theirs (totalled a Neon once when he broke motor mounts ) and I imagine that would happen in a frontal crash (never hit anything worse than a shopping cart). I realize the F-150 offset test turned the F-Series into an E-Series, but if that F-150 went up against a passenger car the results would have been kinder.
2. Seen the new test of the VW CC? The door fell off. LOLOLOL...
Many things people fail to consider with trucks, especially older ones, are the poor brakes and rollover risk. Even today's trucks take 20 to 40 more feet to stop from 60 than typical cars.
Now that you mention it I've seen many fatal accidents where car leaves the road and impacts a tree sideways and the driver or passenger(s) are killed. A local driver was just killed by hitting a pole. From the back the car didn't look too bad but the pole sheared the car like a knife in the front.
Thats one thing I hate about all new cars, they all have the center consoles and front bucket seats. Bench seats in the front are much safer and prevent leg injuries to the front seat occupants.
1. They have height and weight on their sides. My full-frame Silverado from that time period isn't a great crash test example either, but I've been rear-ended a number of times by passenger cars. They go under the rear bumper, minimizing my damage and maximizing theirs (totalled a Neon once when he broke motor mounts ) and I imagine that would happen in a frontal crash (never hit anything worse than a shopping cart). I realize the F-150 offset test turned the F-Series into an E-Series, but if that F-150 went up against a passenger car the results would have been kinder.
2. Seen the new test of the VW CC? The door fell off. LOLOLOL...
Yeah and these older trucks posted is actually the "moderate offset" crash that has been around by the IIHS since 1995. Most all 2005+ model vehicles now perform excellent in this test, which is why I think the IIHS started this new small overlap test which is an even more severe test than the moderate overlap offset crash since it puts most of the force only on the A-pillar and bypassing the cars frontal frame. Many people are confusing these small overlap tests with the moderate overlap tests that have been around since '95.
I actually seen a non-IIHS test of a newer Dodge Ram (2011) in this test and it actually performed very well. Here is that video... this was actually performed by NHTSA, so they seem to be doing these tests as well. They do it differently however, they have a very fast moving barrier moving toward the stopped car. Here is the small overlap for a 2011 Dodge Ram by NHTSA:
They finally released the test for the 2013 Honda Civic... did very well, much better than the new Camry. Not too many cars doing well in this very demanding test right now. Both the Civic and Accord got good ratings, as well as the Subaru Legacy and a few others.
another good one was the Suzuki Kizashi (though it only had an acceptable in the roof strength test).
Unfortunately, there is not much else to recommend about that car, which is essentially just something to yawn about.
And, with Suzuki's impending departure from the US market, these cars will be left with little or no "factory support" for future problems.
But, they should be very cheap in the near future if someone wants a low-priced, fairly uninteresting car.
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