Forbes names the 20 Most Dangerous Vehicles for sale today
Tiger, you should be ashamed pushing that beastly Buick Rendezvous on an unsuspecting public. Not only was it little more than a warmed-over minivan trying to look hip, Forbes says it's possibly the most dangerous new vehicle for sale today. Luckily for all the uninformed car shoppers out there, the Rendezvous and several others, like the Ford Ranger, on the list won't be on sale much longer.
Forbes took many factors into consideration when deciding what constituted a dangerous vehicle. Instead of using only crash test data or fatality statistics, the magazine also looked at safety equipment and Consumer Reports' accident avoidance ratings.
Lots of weight was given to standard safety equipment which is what damned vaunted nameplates like Toyota's Matrix, Chrysler's PT Cruiser and Ford's Focus. But at least those cars have optional side air bags, Suzuki's Reno and Forenza don't even offer them as optional equipment.
There were some surprises, though. Forbes praises the Honda S2000 for having admirable crash test results and superior handling that could help in crash avoidance, but puts it on the list anyway for not having standard side air bags.
Check out the story and entire list here.
[Source: Forbes]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
djSyndrome 11:43AM (7/27/2007)
FTA: "The Matrix and the closely related Vibe fair acceptably with four- and five-star results in the federal government's crash tests."
I have a hard time taking the word of a publication that can't even use the word 'fare' properly.
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Don 2:42PM (7/27/2007)
I'm not even listening to Forbes based on this small fact: all these cars are safer than what we all drove 20 yrs ago.
And I will not be kowtowed into making "safety" my number one priority when buying a vehicle.
MD 11:51AM (7/27/2007)
"But at least those cars have optional side air bags, Suzuki's Reno and Forenza don't even offer them as optional equipment."
Wait a minute, Reno and Forenza don't have to offer side air bags as options because they are standard equipment.
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1337 12:06PM (7/27/2007)
I'm sure Forbes did not know that.
1337 12:07PM (7/27/2007)
They probably looked through a Forenza brochure and were like "side airbags...not optional...must not have them."
Bob-omb 11:54AM (7/27/2007)
The Reno and the Forenza DO have side airbags, standard even. They're just the combo head-torso ones -- the same style that's in the Saab 9-2X, which has won a lot of safety awards. But I do prefer the separate torso/curtain kind.
This report has a lot of inaccuracies, though. They say the Cobalt has curtain and torso bags optional when it doesn't offer torso bags at all. Plus, curtain bags will be standard in '08.
Half this list is just showing small cars need to have standard side airbags. Duh, we already know that.
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1337 12:09PM (7/27/2007)
Forbes seemed to avoid the cars that have optional side airbags. The Crown Vic and 300 are awful without side airbags, but Forbes didn't seem to notice that.
testa di cazzo 11:56AM (7/27/2007)
every time i see one of these rankings from publications like forbes, who know nothing about vehicles, i get more and more pissed off...
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1337 12:05PM (7/27/2007)
Yeah, I have no idea why Autoblog bothers to post Forbes' awful car listings.
1337 12:03PM (7/27/2007)
Rendevous = Based on Chevy Venture, what do you expect? Speaking of which, why is the Uplander not on the list?
Ranger--ancient design, what do you expect?
Frontier--How is it so much worse than the Xterra?
Escape--It's an old mini-ute design; most little SUVs used to be unsafe.
Yaris--Get a Honda Fit
Accent--Hyundai's new spurt of quality doesn't seem to reach the bottom of its lineup
Matrix--Why is the nearly identical Corolla not on the list at all?
Rio--It's a restyled Ford Aspire. It should have scored worse than the Ranger.
Aveo--Surprising that it didn't do worse than the Yaris.
Reno/Forenza
Focus--old design; it's slightly ironic that it is also on Forbes "Greenest Cars" list.
Liberty--surprised it didn't do worse.
Dakota--Think 1997-2003 F-150.
Cobalt--should be higher on the list!
Xterra--How can it be safer than the Frontier? They're very similar, and, judging by the full wagon body, the Xterra probably has a higher center of gravity, thus making it more likely to roll over.
Ion--how can it be that much different from Cobalt?
PT Cruiser--glorified previous generation Dodge Neon. Why isn't the Caliber on here?
S2000--can you get side airbags on the Elise?
tC--its handling is enough to get it on this list.
Mazda3--Makes you wonder about the safety of the similar Volvo S40
I agree that the Ranger, Escape, Yaris, Aveo, Liberty, Rio, Reno/Forenza, and PT Cruiser belong on this list. The other spots should be reserved for less qualified applicants, such as the Chevrolet Uplander.
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1337 12:04PM (7/27/2007)
Reno/Forenza--Why would anyone buy one?
rv 1:48PM (7/27/2007)
Hold off on the McHonda Fit and wait for the 2008 Scion xD. Enough torque for highway/freeway driving, speedier and it looks sporty and has a much nicer interior and better features. And its not a McHonda. No comparison, really.
1337 2:12PM (7/27/2007)
I am not holding my breath for the xD. While it is certainly an improvement over the xA, Car and Driver says that the xD is plagued with the numb steering that affects the Yaris.
From what I've read, the Fit, despite its low-output engine, has handling to rival a VW GTI and is quickly becoming an autocross favorite. It is also slightly less expensive than the xD--and it's not based on the "unsafe" Yaris.
1337 2:14PM (7/27/2007)
Oops, I was thinking price for the xB. The xD and Fit are similarly priced. However, I still prefer the Fit.
Phillip 12:06PM (7/27/2007)
Hey look, my 1969 Chevy CST10 is on the list! And it has no abs, no stability control, no traction control, no air bags (yet, it has a foam dash pad on the top edge of the steel dash), and just lap belts and its survived 38 years with no dead people! (sarcastic example)
Forbes, isnt a viable publication for naming the top 20 most dangerous cars. Heck, that chinese B24 or what ever should be #1 on the list. Theres more variables than just whats on paper.
But, what ever sells issues theyll publish I guess.
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Phillip 12:07PM (7/27/2007)
*"isnt on the list", my bad, early morning
1337 12:08PM (7/27/2007)
I think GM would encourage Brilliance to sell the BS6 in the US so that the Rendezvous doesn't top the list anymore.
jstand6 12:27PM (7/27/2007)
I was surprised to see the S2000 on the list. The Solstice/Sky don't offer side airbags either, and at least the S2000 has stability and traction control as standard equipment, plus roll hoops. The Solstice/Sky has no rollover protection (and no way to add aftermarket roll bars), and stability control is only offered on the high-performance versions.
Looking at the other comments, it's true that Forbes has no business rating cars. At least until they can get proper researchers.
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rv 2:00PM (7/27/2007)
I'm not. Drive one. Any non-enthusiast driver just getting a convertible for sunny weekend driving better know how to control the thing or they could easily throw the rear out and lose control. The racing tight suspension isn't going to help the average driver out much - at least on our roads in California. I'm surprised the S2000 didn't get a worse writeup, considering...
1337 2:31PM (7/27/2007)
In that case, why is the Lotus Elise not on this list? Hell, why not the Bugatti Veyron...you could get in a pretty wild accident in one of those.