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Posts Tagged “

Crash Test

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accidents

Brilliance BS4 Barrel Rolls Down Hill, Driver Not Obliterated

After the soda can performance of a Brilliance BS6 in a German test, the crash survival of drivers in a Brilliance car was assumed to be heavily based on divine intervention. The driver of this BS4 seems to have tested those limits after crashing through a guard rail at 60 MPH and rolling over twice going downa hill. Aside from destroying the car, the driver walked away with nothing more than seat belt bruising. We're impressed with the quality of that front wheel casting almost as much as this guy's survival.


[China Car Times via WCF]

5:05 PM on Tue May 6 2008
By Ben Wojdyla
1,980 views, 29 comments

Latest by n/a: You are all forgetting one thing.....The driver walked away ALIVE. Does it matter what the car looks like? more »

2008 smart fortwo

2008 Smart Fortwo IIHS Crash Film Leaks To Web

Thanks to the NYT, we already knew the folks at NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) noted a "safety concern" after the driver's door on the new US-Spec 2008 Smart Fortwo popped open during a side-impact crash test. Although the little Smart got a five star rating for protecting the head and chest of the dummy we just learned a lot from, the door "issue" could potentially "increase the likelihood of occupant ejection." Ouch. Well, now IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has taken a 40 MPH run at an offset barrier in the small-yet-feels-somehow-smaller Smart for the US market. Although the video and ratings haven't yet been made public, somehow the video of the crash has made it out in to the wilds of the web. More »

9:40 AM on Thu May 1 2008
By Ray Wert
5,903 views, 66 comments

Latest by n/a: The last time I saw an SUV that had been involved in an accident it had understeered across a bend on Sepulveda in Los ANgeles, hit an oncoming car, rolled over and was on fire. That's all you need top more »

new york auto show

Ford Shows Off Demolished Taurus As Safety Movie Theater?

What to do with all of those cars smashed in federal and IIHS crash testing? In theory, you could take them back for further study to help improve safety for future vehicles. Of course, that would mean wasting an advertising opportunity. And while we prefer the RoboCop Taurus, we'll admit that showing a wrecked version of your car isn't the worst way to show off that the only major hazard that comes with driving a new Taurus is death-by-boredom. Press release after the jump.

More »

Feature

1:00 PM on Mon Mar 24 2008
By Matt Hardigree
1,820 views, 13 comments

Latest by n/a: @ranwhenparked: Same here. I really, really like the new Taurus. I know I'll take some flak for this, but I like the styling. I'm a headlights and taillights guy, and I like these ones. Given the more »

crash test

Ach du Lieber Harry! T3 Transporter Crash Test

How good were T3-generation VW Transporters at preserving life and limb at high speed into a flat wall? Let's just say the last thing to go through the mind of whatever dummy was behind the wheel of this doppeltkabin was about a quarter-ton of gravel. But c'mon, it's wall-on-wall action; what'd you think would happen? [Thanks to Jeremy for the tip.]

1:10 PM on Thu Oct 18 2007
By Mike Spinelli
6,501 views, 62 comments

safety

The Sir Vival: Safe At Any Speed!

With all your side-curtain this and active-restraint that these days, all mandated by a vast bureaucracy, it's hard to imagine a time when safety features were something that crazy white-coaters cooked up in their labs. Stuff like seats that swiveled backwards right before a crash, or a car made in two separate sections, like a locomotive-and-caboose combo. Here's an interesting article on these and other innovations, courtesy of the Gray Lady. [New York Times]

12:00 PM on Mon Sep 24 2007
By Murilee Martin
1,494 views, 8 comments

now you tell us

Forbes Warns: Most Dangerous Cars

Nissan and Honda fanboys, double-check your blind spots. The 350Z and S2000 are on Forbes's list of most dangerous cars, gleaned via a pair of usual car-data suspects. While Consumer Reports largely calls out cheap-o subcompacts and aging pickups and SUVs sans curtain air bags, The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety notes the Nissan has a death rate that's around double that of the average sports car. Mainly, they say, due to its young, inexperienced and hoontastic driver base. The S2000's shortfall is curtain airbags, thanks to its, well, convertible top. Where the hell were these guys when the Fiat 124 faced down runaway Buick LeSabres on the nation's highways? [Forbes]

12:30 PM on Mon Jul 30 2007
By Mike Spinelli
3,171 views, 28 comments

Latest by Luis Neng: I own an Honda S2000 and it's only dangerous for peoples without enough driving techniques that abuse it. It's a pure sports car without and electronics stability control. more »

what would jg ballard do?

Crash Test Simulations All The Rage

Since übercomputers can be used to model the behavior of subatomic particles in a fission explosion or air molocules in the atmosphere, why not use them to simulate crashes on as-yet-nonexistent cars? With the push toward smaller, lighter vehicles becoming more of a relentless shove and the expense of vehicle design climbing like the price of convenience-store bottled water after a hurricane, automakers have no choice but to rely on crash simulations. Hey, how about a Make Your Own Crash version of the software for home users, so we can simulate a head-on between, say, a Stanley Steamer and a street-sweeper truck? – Murilee Martin More »

3:30 PM on Mon Jun 18 2007
By Murilee Martin
310 views, 8 comments

Latest by Turboner: @Adam: I'm going to run a contact stimulation between a rod and a slot tomorrow after work. Someone should let my wife know... more »

hoon of the day

Misses (sic) Santa Claus Rolls Her Volvo Police Car!

This video, which appears to be a promotion of some sort done by a German crash-testing company, has some sort of vague story background, but who cares? We got a cop Volvo with a Santa-hat-wearin' crash dummy behind the wheel, getting launched onto a rollover ramp and filmed in loving slo-mo! This one doesn't really register on the Hoon-O-Meter, because it's all about safety, but there's sufficient hoonic motivation behind the whole smash-up-cars-yeehaw deal to warrant inclusion as HOTD. – Murilee Martin More »

11:00 AM on Thu Jun 14 2007
By Murilee Martin
446 views, 2 comments

Latest by Hilarious Hilario!: The cop car is Swiss, not German. more »

news

Toyota Continues The Tundra Two-Step On Truck's Four-Star Rating

We've got an update on the four-star rating ToMoCo received on the Regular Cab Tundra in NHTSA testing, and it looks like the boys and girls over at PickupTruck.com have the scoop:
"In a phone call this morning with Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong, Kwong tells PickupTruck.com that, 'We're surprised with the results from the NHTSA tests. During our internal testing, which was all done according to NHTSA criteria, we consistently showed (simulated) ratings of five stars from the get go for the Tundra. Right now our engineering team is reviewing the results but it's going to take several weeks to sort out. When we finish (reviewing the data) we'll determine what we might need to fix to make it right.'"
Good to hear ToMoCo wants to make things right to get that five-star rating, but somehow I don't think that's going to stop the General, FoMoCo, the German-American hybrid and Nismo from trying for a bite as they're probably already smelling the blood in the water. – Ray Wert More »

3:46 PM on Tue Mar 20 2007
By Ray Wert
1,298 views, 13 comments

Latest by rsrtampa: It's still ugly. more »

news

Tundra Breaks Nose, Only Gets Four Stars In Front-End Crash Test

The Tundra's just not having a very good day today. First we heard ToMoCo's offering $2000 to dealerships to give up their current parts-haulers, and now this news. According to the folks obsessed with personal mass-market passenger vehicles that haul, carry and tow, NHTSA just awarded ratings for driver and passenger safety to ToMoCo's Tundra. The pickup, the super number one awesome best automaker from the land of the rising sun's first entry into the full-size hauler market, received four stars out of the star-too-far five stars needed for "perfection" — aka, a score matching the 2007 Chevy Silverado, the new Ford F-150 and the Dodge Ram 1500. We'll let the boys at Pickuptruck.com explain why that's important, and provide you with a video of the crash test just below the jump. More »

12:00 PM on Mon Mar 19 2007
By Ray Wert
1,866 views, 13 comments

Latest by joedoe: Maybe it's just me, but that seat belt does not look like it is properly working after the impact which is letting the dummy bounce around... a lot. more »

news

Safest Cars: Insurance Institute's Stability Control Requirement Hurts US Automakers' Safety Scores


This year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (HIMOM) won't even think about naming a car to its top safety list if it doesn't have stability control. Going nannyless is a dealbreaker, says the agency, which is lobbying for a Federal mandate for automakers to put stability control on all cars by 2012. That 's bad juju for domestic automakers, which are somewhat behind the Europeans on offering stability control, arguably a top-down technology that's only just begun trickling into cars costing below $25,000. It's the ABS debate all over again — with insurance companies' Cole Haans again placed at the necks of carmakers and consumers. Oh, please protect us, you all-knowing beings of the actuarial tables, we are not worthy of your attention. – Mike Spinelli More »

1:08 PM on Tue Nov 21 2006
By Mike Spinelli
720 views, 3 comments

Latest by rpvitiello: I count my self as an enthusiast, and honestly I would like to see this passed, just as long as the car has an off button for the aid. It has been shown that stability control can reduce single car accidents/fatalities more »

news

Happy Crash! China To Begin Crash Testing Cars

According to China Daily, the Chinese government's gonna do crash tests of their own. We think it sounds like a great idea, and we vote a crash-off between the Chery four-door and the Geely four-door. Given that no Chinese automaker has yet developed a car that can meet US and European safety standards, and if it goes anything like the Landwind SUV crash test above, it should be nothing short of hilarious. By the way — the Landwind, a Jianling Motors SUV — scored the amazingly putrid "zero" in Euro head-on NCAP testing. More »

6:16 PM on Mon Aug 28 2006
By Ray Wert
548 views, 3 comments

Latest by mattias: I assume the Zonghua that arrives in Europe next year that was jointly developed with the likes of Pininfarina has already been crash-tested. more »

news

Uh Oh, Aveo: Europe's NCAP Calls Out Three-Star-Safe Chevy for Poor Front Crash Performance

According to Europe's car-safety gurus, NCAP, the Chevrolet Aveo is a safe car, as long as you don't hit anything head-on. Then, it turns into the most economical enabler of catastrophic chest compression you can buy. Singled out as having an "unacceptably high risk of life-threatening injury to the driver s chest," the Aveo nonetheless scored a three-star rating from the agency. More »

3:30 PM on Mon Mar 13 2006
By Mike Spinelli
1,215 views, Comment

news

IIHS Announces Top Safety Picks: Ford, Subaru, Saab, Honda Top List

NBC's Dateline again had the exclusive story on the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety's top safety picks for 2006 last night, with reporter Lea Thompson again cast in the role of safetymarm. The determining factor in both Silver and Gold categories was the inclusion of side curtain air bags, which help prevent noggin smackdowns during both frontal-offset and side-impact crashes. Separating Silver and Gold winners, however, were headrests sufficient to provide whiplash. Click through for results. More »

7:30 AM on Mon Dec 5 2005
By Mike Spinelli
229 views, 1 comment

news: industry news

Major Automakers Agree on Truck/Car Crash Standards

The Big Nine: Stanford, Crocker, Burbank, Hoover, Rickenbacker, Carnegie, Trump and Tweed, have agreed on standards to limit the devastation in automobile vs. truck accidents. The companies came to some sort of consensus that the beams they're installing on trucks to prevent cars from sliding underneath would meet some undisclosed new strength test by 2009. They also decided on new crash tests to ensure said beams work as they're intended. More »

1:30 PM on Wed Nov 16 2005
By Davey G. Johnson
88 views, Comment

news

Minivans Receive Poor Crash-Test Ratings for Neck Injury

A number of minivans may not save passengers' necks in a crash. (By "necks" we mean their actual necks, not their metaphoric ones.) The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave a number of minivans poor marks for preventing injuries during rear-end accidents. Vans that received the "poor" ratings, including Dodge Caravan/ Chrysler Town and Country, Toyota Sienna and nearly all of GM's newest minivans like the Buick Terraza (pictured), were those not equipped with optional adjustable lumbar and head restraints. When fitted with such restraints, some of the vans were bumped up to "acceptable." Ford got a much-needed chance to gloat, though its victory was bittersweet, as its doomed 2004-2006 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey received the highest rating (i.e., "good") from the Institute. More »

11:14 AM on Tue Sep 20 2005
By Mike Spinelli
140 views

news

More on The Great Landwind Crash-Test Fiasco of 2005

Woo. Those poor crash test dummies on the Landwind account deserve at least a round of drinks and, more likely, a complete reconditioning. According to tests recently done by Germany's ADAC auto club, referring the Chinese SUV "junk" would be an insult to the legendary fishing boats of Hong Kong. What does a zero safety rating look like in twisted sheetmetal and dummy carnage? Click through. More »

9:43 AM on Mon Sep 19 2005
By Mike Spinelli
1,716 views