Autoblog

Click above to view video of the 2008 Smart fortwo crash test

Anybody who watches Autoline on Detroit or reads our Autoline on Autoblog posts will know that John McElroy is a certifiably nice guy. Bob Lutz is known more as a brash talker who isn't afraid to make his views known, regardless of what others may think. Both of them, though, are very closely attuned to the auto industry. The head product-honcho at GM and our very own Mr. Nice Guy share the opinion that the Feds should suspend their ever-increasing crash-testing standards for a few years. If a car is safe enough for our European relatives, it should be safe enough for us, right? In reality, this is not the case, as the U.S. standards differ enough from those across the pond that a car sometimes needs to be designed specifically to pass one or the other. For this reason, the Chevy Beat won't be sold on U.S. soil.

To complete the deal, McElroy also suggests doing the same for environmental standards. As with crash tests, though both the U.S. and the European regulations are strict, they don't quite match. Therefore, many cars -- especially those equipped with diesel engines -- can't be sold in the States despite being available in Europe. Lutz doesn't specifically touch on this point, but we'd hazard a guess that he'd go along with it as well.

[Source: Wards Auto]

Hyundai's all-new Genesis sedan made yet another smashing impression as it pulled-off perfect 5-star ratings in recent U.S. government testing conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Korean luxury vehicle was sent into a fixed barrier at 35 mph with two crash dummies strapped inside. Once the dust settled, instruments revealed both front seat passengers would have had less than a 10 percent chance of injury -- results earning 5-star ratings. Front and rear seat side impact testing revealed a low probability of injury as well, also earning the car 5-star ratings. In NHTSA rollover testing, the Genesis exhibited less than a 10 percent chance of rollover, again placing it among the top performers in that category. The admirable crash test scores earned by Hyundai's first venture into the luxury segment are sure to give the competition even more sleepless nights, especially considering all that luxury and safety starts at just $33,000.

[Source: Hyundai, Safercar.gov]

Vägverket, the Swedish Road Administration, is reporting that General Motors used ten human cadavers for crash research. While it isn't clear which GM vehicle hosted the corpses on their one-way trip into a wall, a spokesman for Vägverket said it was most likely the Saab brand. The spokesman was also quick to point out that all of the cadavers were people "who had donated their own bodies." (Well, that is comforting to know!)

While cadavers were used in the earliest crash tests (first started in the late 1930s), most of us were under the assumption that fully-instrumented million-dollar synthetic crash test dummies, or computer simulations, had replaced human remains in current testing. Apparently, some folks at GM may have been thinking otherwise. As of today, neither General Motors or Saab have acknowledged any tests involving dead bodies, but our hunch says this issue hasn't been laid to rest. Thanks for the tip, Will!

UPDATE: Saab called to let us know that neither it nor General Motors use "postmortem human test subjects" for safety research, nor do they have the facilities to even do so. They do, however, provide funds to certain bio-mechanical research projects, often through universities, the results of which they use to make better crash test dummies.

[Source: The Local]

Click above to view high-res gallery of crash-tested Ford Taurus

Ford has been very quiet about what it will have onstage at the New York Auto Show tomorrow, but one vehicle we do know that will be under the lights is the Ford Taurus. While there will certainly be a number of Taurus models waxed, polished and placed just so in Ford's display at the Jacob Javits Center, one in particular will be a mess. Ford will display a crash-tested Taurus in New York to show off the big car's five-star rating for frontal and side crash tests from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Unlike the mangled Celica that used to sit outside your highschool at prom time, the crash-tested Taurus on display in New York will be interactive. Show goers will be allowed to sit in the post-crash Taurus to see what a crash test dummy sees after a 35-mph meet up with an offset concrete barrier. Looking at the pic above, it is pretty impressive that the passenger compartment remains untouched after such an event. We're looking forward to our seat time with this one, though any trip to the Autoblog Garage might necessitate a tow truck.


[Source: Ford]

Nine major automakers and two automotive suppliers have formed a group to look into and develop virtual crash tests that they say will be more realistic than violently smashing cars into immovable barriers.

DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Toyota joined suppliers TRW and Takata last year to form the Global Human Body Models Consortium LLC. The group is expected to announce its plans today at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit.

And just what are their plans? They have recruited 40 research and university groups worldwide to develop "virtual humans" that will simulate crash test dummies which, they say, will provide better accident prediction data. The group hopes to have the project wrapped up in 2011. The companies will split the budgeted $18 million cost, but are looking to Uncle Sam and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. for a funding boost.

GM spokesman Alan Adler told the Associated Press that the data acquired from simulated tests would still be confirmed using good old crash testing.

Ford has a leg up on the group, having already developed a virtual adult male it uses to develop interiors and some safety devices. TRW also does some simulated tests on their restraint systems, pictured above.

[Source: The Associated Press via Journal and Courier Online]

Getting a five-star crash test rating will get a whole lot tougher with a new proposal from the Bush Administration that would put into effect a requirement for side-impact testing.

Grade inflation is one of the reasons behind the change, and with 87% of all vehicles earning a four- or five-star rating, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) admits that its rating system lacks influence in the car-buying decision (and we all know how much a government agency hates not having sufficient influence).

In addition to a side-impact test that might replicate a broadslide slide into a pole or tree, NHTSA is considering adding weight to the barriers to simulate impacts with heavier vehicles, increasing the speed used in crash tests, and modifying crash-test dummies to better represent smaller female occupants.

[Source: Detroit News]

In an obvious effort to keep its readership alive (and in turn circulation numbers up) Forbes magazine has made a list of the least safe cars of 2007. Before the flame wars start, note that cars on the list are not necessarily unsafe, but instead are not as safe as other cars available. Therefore, they are the least safe 2007 model year cars.

Most of the vehicles on the list are there because they don't have standard side air bags. But three -- Saturn's Ion, as well as Suzuki's Aerio and Forenza -- made the cut even with side air bags. To understand why these particular vehicles were named in the article, Forbes outlines its methodology, which includes crash tests, injury claims and the opinions of Consumer Reports' researchers.

The seven models named by Forbes are after the jump.

[Source: Forbes Magazine]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given the new 2006 Hyundai Azera a frontal offset impact rating of “Good”, the organization’s best rating for crashworthiness. Like many a Hyundai, the Azera’s virtually a padded room on wheels with Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, ABS and eight airbags all standard.

The Azera’s “Good” rating gives Hyundai a full-boat of highly rated vehicles. All current model Hyundai vehicles tested by the IIHS, which includes the Elantra, Santa Fe, Sonata and XG300/XG350, have earned a “Good” frontal offset impact rating.

[Source: Hyundai and IIHS]