New Findings By IIHS Show Vulnerability in Many Luxury Cars
A new crash test designed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has automakers concerned that their top-of-the-line luxury vehicles aren't as safe as originally thought.
Of the eleven midsize luxury and near-luxury vehicles that were tested in the new overlap frontal crash test, only three performed well enough to merit "good" or "acceptable" ratings. While many newer models are very safe in head on collisions, the small overlap crashes are a growing cause for concern.
At least a quarter of fatal front end collisions are the result of "overlap" crashes, which usually involve a car's front corners instead of a direct, head on crash. These types of crashes are exposing a vulnerability in new luxury models that has generated a mixed response from the automakers.
A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz questioned the authenticity and relevance of the new test in a statement released to ABC news: "We believe that the IIHS ‘small overlap frontal crash test’ replicates an unusually severe and correspondingly uncommon accident scenario, and that there are parts of the testing protocol which may have put the C-Class wrongfully at a disadvantage,” the statement reads. “We think this is because actual deformation characteristics and real-world kinematics of vehicles involved in this type of crash are very different from the construct of the IIHS test.”
A spokesman for Mercedes-Benz questioned the authenticity and relevance of the new test in a statement released to ABC news: "We believe that the IIHS ‘small overlap frontal crash test’ replicates an unusually severe and correspondingly uncommon accident scenario, and that there are parts of the testing protocol which may have put the C-Class wrongfully at a disadvantage,” the statement reads. “We think this is because actual deformation characteristics and real-world kinematics of vehicles involved in this type of crash are very different from the construct of the IIHS test.”
Toyota, the parent company of Lexus, has offered a different response to the test's results. The company has indicated that it will "respond to this challenge as we design new vehicles" adding that the new IIHS test has "raised the bar again."
"What we’re seeing is the Insurance Institute is going to push the industry into further improving the crash protection in cars for the future,” said Consumer Reports Deputy Automotive Editor Jeff Bartlett. “The good news is that, in years to come, manufacturers will be looking very closely at this and making changes that will further improve their crash worthiness.”
Here's an overview of how the eleven vehicles fared in the test:
Good Ratings:
Acura TL
Volvo S60
Acceptable ratings:
Infiniti G
Marginal ratings:
Acura TSX
BMW 3 series
Lincoln MKZ
Volkswagen CC
Poor ratings:
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Lexus IS 250/350
Audi A4
Lexus ES 350
A detailed report of the IIHS findings can be found here
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Source: Partial Collisions Prove More Dangerous in New Crash Test
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