Ten Best Super Car Crash Tests

The Auto Insider — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:30:00 EDT

In a strange celebration of the multitudes of wrecked exotics we've recently seen, we've compiled the ten best NHTSA crash tests of sports cars and super cars. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll thank us.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does some pretty mean and twisted things to our cars before we ever get behind the wheel and for that you should thank them. They've helped us choose which cars are the safest for ourselves, our children, our pets as well as for other drivers and pedestrians. By now you've probably seen how bad some of these tests can get, most notable being the recent zero star rating that the Chinese-built Brilliance BS4 received in the Euro NCAP (European New Car Assessment Programme) tests, but have you ever really, truly wondered how some of our favorite sports cars and exotic cars have fared in these gruesome tests? Below, you'll find ten crash tests that we've found thanks in part to the magical intarwebz that we've rated in order of least to most cringe-worthy. This has no bearing on how the vehicles actually performed in the test, but more in how they performed based on our ability not to yelp in pain while watching it. You'll either really like or really hate what you'll see, but either way, you'll now know that the NHTSA was in fact looking out for all the tools running around wrecking their exotics. Enjoy!

10. Honda S2000

9. Nissan 350Z

8. Porsche Boxster

7. Corvette C6

6. Mercedes-Benz SL

5. Ford RS200

4. Lamborghini Diablo

3. Jaguar XJ220

2. McLaren F1

1. Formula One

[clips via youtube]

IIHC Wants Car-Like Truck Bumpers, Has Never Seen Aftermarket

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:20:00 EDT

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) will today formally petition the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to consider bumper standards for light trucks which are more car-like. For the sake of argument, let's forget about that whole BlockerBeam system on Ford trucks, and how the difference in vehicle mass contributes to the damage as much as relative contact geometry. We also have to forget about retrofit diamond plate bumpers and grille guards, and lifted trucks too, but we're getting sidetracked by details. The core question is, "why would the IIHS be interested in seeing lower bumper standards on pickups and SUVs?"

The simple answer is "because the IIHS is a consortium of insurance agencies." When massive damage occurs in something like an underride accident (where the car goes under the truck), they have to pay for fixing things. The remarkable part of the article in Automotive News was the complete lack of the term "survivability" in any of the IIHC's arguments. Our favorite part?

The insurance institute contends that its new request is backed up with fresh research showing that vehicle damage could be dramatically reduced with better alignment of bumpers between cars and trucks.

Well sure, you want lower bumpers! Especially if you're paying to have the other car fixed and you don't have to worry about your truck getting stuck on a stump. [Automotive News (Subscription required)]

Photo credit DieselPowerMag.com

Jalopnik: national highway traffic safety administration