Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

posts about #insuranceinstituteforhighwaysafety more →
Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
IIHS: No Mid-Size Cars Score "Good" In Low-Speed Collisions
IIHS: PT Cruiser Most Dangerous New Small Car In America
IIHC Wants Car-Like Truck Bumpers, Has Never Seen Aftermarket
2008 Dodge Caravan Good Up Front, Can't Take It In The Rear
IIHS Announces Top Safety Pick Awards for 2008

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FTGDWolverineEdition'09
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
Of course they are safe. After all they have been designed to cater for the needs of Asian woman drivers.
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Socialvegetable
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
This comes as no surprise to me. I rear-ended a Kia Spectra at about 5-10 mph merging onto a highway. The Kia's rear bumper was a little scuffed. My '96 Firebird on the otherhand is in the body shop getting a new hood, font bumper cover, passenger headlight assembly, and passenger front fender. The Kia driver and I were both stunned by the amount of damage my car took, but I guess we shouldn't have been.

Cost to repair his car: less than $500
Cost to repair mine: hahahaha. I have to laugh to fight back the tears.
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philibuster promoted this comment Socialvegetable was starred Socialvegetable was unstarred

philibuster
08/13/09

@Socialvegetable: Rear enders usually have much more damage than the rear endees. The rear of the car is not built as softly as the front, because how often are you driving backwards quickly into something?
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pauljones
08/13/09

@philibuster: Ask my sister, who somehow managed to launch my uncle's 5.0 liter Mustang in reverse directly into the semi behind her at the light.
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MushyHeirloom
08/13/09

@philibuster: That, and when both vehicles are braking hard, especially a wedge-shaped Firebird, the active vehicle often ends up underneath the passive one's bumper, damaging its hood as well.
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Flathead Smith
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
I don’t trust any deranged entity that destroys perfectly good cars
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FP - Funny how it seems quiet around here, eh? promoted this comment Flathead Smith was starred Flathead Smith was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
08/13/09

@Flathead Smith: There are only two perfectly good cars here.
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STR8SIX
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
The Prius rating must have been blogged before the Li-ion battery pack vented and set the lab on fire.
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FP - Funny how it seems quiet around here, eh? promoted this comment STR8SIX was starred STR8SIX was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
08/13/09

@STR8SIX: JESUS CHRIST IT'S A Li-ION GET OUT OF THE CAR?
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MrHowser
08/13/09

@FP - Funny how it seems quiet around here, eh?: Hahaha TFD... or is that MTTS? Wish I could heart-click you again for that.
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FP - Funny how it seems quiet around here, eh? promoted this comment MrHowser was starred MrHowser was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
08/13/09

@MrHowser: Appears to be the former. I suspected it was.

I've also got his panflute chart Sharpied on my bedroom wall.
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Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
Excellent crash performance should translate into a stiffer chassis and better mounts subframes and components. These should translate into better handling and vehicle dynamics.
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HammSammich
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
So given their excellent crash survivability rating, I'm hoping for a professional demolition derby series featuring only Toyota and Honda hybrids.
"Sunday, Sunday Sunday...8pm at the Fairgrounds, it's Battle of the Hybrids! Watch as your favorite drivers narrowly escape chemical burns and electrocution. If you're not there you better be dead or in Jail...and if you are in Jail...Breakout!"
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Al Navarro promoted this comment HammSammich was starred HammSammich was unstarred

goatrope
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
The IIHS tests are getting too easy to ace. these automakers with their supercomputers are able to dial in their desired scores. It's like the automakers are a frat house with copies of all the old tests filed away for the football players.
Obviously, it's time for the IIHS to modify their testing procedures. I think randomly-placed explosive charges will liven things up a bit.
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Al Navarro promoted this comment goatrope was starred goatrope was unstarred

smalleyxb122
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
I'm pleased that the Soul did well. The prospective drivers of these are probably going to do something stupid, but they've got their whole lives ahead of them to wise up.
But why are we trying to save the Yippies*?
*Yippie:n.1: A former yuppie turned hippie using "ill-gotten" gains in a manner in which to atone for their misdeeds whilst suckling at the corporate teat.
2: A hippie, who is, despite the patchouli stench, gainfully employed, and can afford a Prius over an '83 Vanagon.
var: yippy pl: yippies.
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SagarikaLumos
08/13/09

@smalleyxb122: I'm not sure how the Soul got a good rating in the frontal crash since the driver dummy's head went outside (see the freeze frame shown when the movie is unplayed). It could easily strike the post or mirror whilst flailing about. That isn't safe.
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Al Navarro promoted this comment SagarikaLumos was starred SagarikaLumos was unstarred

Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
08/13/09

@smalleyxb122: Yippie: a member of the Youth International Party; see Abbie Hoffman.
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LBJ's Love Child
08/13/09

@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet:
I still have my membership card from 1970 somewhere. Oh wait, I think I burned it.
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Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet promoted this comment LBJ's Love Child was starred LBJ's Love Child was unstarred

Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet
08/13/09

@LBJ's Love Child: Sure you didn't confuse it with your draft card? Easy mistake.
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Karsten Von Urea for All Sales Event
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
The 2010 Kia Soul (Why not Seoul?) also gets my pick for the only box car I don't absolutely detest. Congratulations on the award and your sexy rear sloping roof.
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pauljones promoted this comment

pauljones
08/13/09

@Karsten Von Urea for All Sales Event: Actually, as odd as it is, the Nissan Cube is pretty cool. I just wish that Toyota would bring back the original xB, as the new one just has no soul, pardon the pun.
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Ash Clutchem, Pokey Master
08/13/09

In reply to Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings
"Why did the wife make me buy this thing?! I give up. There's a tree." SMASH. "Dammit."
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Z71
08/13/09

@Ash78: Investigator: "Ah, it's a classic case of Prius-remorse."
Cop: "But, how did he end up in the grille of that Mack truck if he crashed over there?"
Investigator: "Well, the Prius is just so horrible that when he tried to crash and kill himself he realized that he couldn't. This caused his brain to implode with rage and he ran straight into traffic, causing much more damage."
Cop: If only the Prius was unsafe, it could have saved the lives of those 50 people who crashed when he ran into traffic.
Investigator: "If only..."
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The-Simpsons-Rule!! promoted this comment Z71 was starred Z71 was unstarred

gabeedwards01
08/06/09

In reply to IIHS: No Mid-Size Cars Score "Good" In Low-Speed Collisions
Several points to make here.
1. These cars shown above don't have bumpers. They have a section of the nose and tail which are safety zones for pedestrians. They're filled with nerf material and covered in flexy/brittle plastic so soccer moms can continue taking prozacs, ignoring their kids, and letting them run around in and out of the roadways like little crack-head godzillas.
2. They could make solid steel/rubber bumpers that protruded through or sat flush with the match-painted flexy bodywork ... it would protect the expensive paint job and body, and headlights, but it would violate that whole "safe to hit pedestrians" thing - see point #1.
3. Someone earlier mentioned that only trucks and SUVs have real bumpers. Wrong. Most of the new (since 2000) trucks have a "bumper" (in quotes) which actually consists of a double-layer of aluminum foil which is chromed and sold for well in excess of $600. The get dinged and dented and warped so easily that it really is meaningless to have them (one particularly good example is the 1999 onward Ford Super-duty hunk-o-foil). The newest trucks have chromed tinfoil... and most SUVs (since the word was invented by marketingtards in the early 90's) also don't have bumpers at all (see point #1).
4. Older convertible sports cars (Porsches, Triumphs, MGs, Alfas, etc...) all had chromed steel or steel and rubber bumpers which the owners/customizers were quick to trim, shave, paint or frequently remove... the end result was that a bump would cause a ding or a scrape or a crunch and a large amount of bodywork, but that was the price to pay for a better looking car. A perfect example is the AC Ace versus the Shelby Cobra. One had bumperettes, one didn't.
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FP - Funny how it seems quiet around here, eh? promoted this comment gabeedwards01 was starred gabeedwards01 was unstarred

MushyHeirloom
08/06/09

@Gabe Edwards: Four good points, combined with "little crack-head godzillas", earn you a hearty-click.
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Edited by MushyHeirloom at 08/06/09 3:03 PM MushyHeirloom was starred MushyHeirloom was unstarred

philibuster
08/06/09

@Gabe Edwards: 5. Profit?
And bravo.
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Bentoboxx, My Tank is full of it
08/06/09

In reply to IIHS: No Mid-Size Cars Score "Good" In Low-Speed Collisions
I live in the city where most people have to street park on a daily basis. Almost everyone gets their bumpers chipped and scraped and it just makes the cars look sad.
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Electro Gyrocator
08/06/09

In reply to IIHS: No Mid-Size Cars Score "Good" In Low-Speed Collisions
Who is going to buy these cars and not have full coverage insurance on them? I think that's why people don't really care about this stuff. Nobody is going to go into a dealership and pay cash for ANY of these cars. The bank will require full coverage insurance. When it's paid off, it will get traded in.
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Rockford_Brodie promoted this comment Electro Gyrocator was starred

2trips
08/06/09

In reply to IIHS: No Mid-Size Cars Score "Good" In Low-Speed Collisions
The IIHS fails to take into account that if my bumper is damaged, I will replace it with 2X4, re-bar and barbed wire. Maximum repair cost: $20
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MaWeiTao
08/06/09

In reply to IIHS: No Mid-Size Cars Score "Good" In Low-Speed Collisions
What I'm trying to figure out is how it is that the two domestic cars are so much more expensive to repair than the foreign ones.
And the Maxima, which I'd say has the heaviest damage by far somehow manages to be so cheap? I find it hard to believe that the parts alone are going to be that cheap. Headlights alone run $600+ easily.
But assuming these figures are legitimate either Americans are trying to make up for losses by charging more for parts or there's structural damage not visible in these photos.
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Al Navarro promoted this comment MaWeiTao was starred MaWeiTao was unstarred

Al Navarro
08/06/09

@MaWeiTao:
I got rear ended in my Audi TT a few years back. It appeared to be "but a scratch", but when they took the bumper cover off the underlying structure was also damaged.
And sorry all you retro bumper people...the TT is one car that would look hideous with oldschool bumpers, IMHO.
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