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IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Toyota Calls IIHS Top Safety Pick Results "Extreme And Misleading"
Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings

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AmishJohn
11/18/09

In reply to Toyota Calls IIHS Top Safety Pick Results "Extreme And Misleading"
Toyota failed because the testers kept falling asleep from boredom.
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Thrashy, perpetual Minardi
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Far be it from me to support Toyota here, but I would not be surprised to see the IIHS demand vehicles be capable of surviving atmospheric reentry. As long as they continue in their myopic focus on building safety barges to reduce medical claims resulting from accidents instead of active safety and enabling good drivers to drive well, they're going to be perfectly irrelevant as far as I'm concerned.
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Novaload
11/18/09

@Thrashy, perpetual Minardi: I disagree because I see them as providing information--I can use that information or not, but it's out there, and car makers are conscious of it. Look at Kia, for example.
Reinforced roof? Who wouldn't want that? Ever seen the stats for head injuries in US car rollovers before this became an issue? They collapsed like collapsed like a cheap lawnchair. It was shocking.
And of course there are many car makers out there who are getting "satisfactory" or even "unsatisfactory" ratings because they are not making changes. IIHS is not the law. But if a car has hidden defects that might kill me, yeah, I'd at least like to have that information. And the other side of the "lowered medical costs" is a) you being alive and not dead and b) lower insurance rates if you're in a safer model.
Still seems to be tons of free choice there to me, for both buyers and makers.
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dolo54 blows minds and blows engines!
11/18/09

@Novaload: Ironically, the increased weight up top to reinforce the roof makes a car more prone to rollover.
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Frisco Fairlane500
11/19/09

@dolo54 blows minds and blows engines!: I believe that it is driving like a jackass and overcorrecting is what causes most rollovers. Rollovers don't happen because a car doesn't have stability control or because of a high CG, rollovers happen because people are not prepared to successfully pull off emergency maneuvers and they are unfamiliar with the performance of their own vehicles.
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dolo54 blows minds and blows engines!
11/19/09

@Frisco Fairlane500: uhh, no a high CG is the main cause of rollovers.

#tips
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Captain America
11/20/09

@Novaload: Dead is cheaper.
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Novaload
11/20/09

@Captain America: Actually, that was Ford's argument in the notorious Pinto case--cheaper to pay off the occasional death settlement than replace the Pinto parts. That, of course, proved to be a miscalculation. The same thing was starting to happen with SUV rollovers, in terms of law suits. Suddenly, stronger roofs seem like a good idea! And money well spent!
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Novaload
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is

Volvo says, put up or shut up. From a 1971 ad. The Headline was "Are you in the market for a hardtop?"
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UnlimitedRevs
11/18/09

@Novaload: The good old days of car advertising.
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ozyran
11/18/09

@Novaload: THAT is AWESOME.

Heart clicky for you.
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mowog001
11/18/09

@Novaload: That photo was taken at the abandoned Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, Alabama in the early 70's. I lived there and watched them stack the cars. There were wooden platforms between the cars to steady them. After the photo session wrapped, the crane operator knocked the stack over. BIG FUN! The next morning several of the cars came up missing - some of the neighborhood hooligans rolled them back on their wheels and 'liberated' them. The local fuzz found the cars and the ad agency refused to press charges. The cars were water damaged during shipping - they found one more use for them before the cars were crushed. Thanks for the memories!
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KeyserSoze
11/18/09

@Novaload: I thought i heard somewhere a while back that this ad was debunked and that volvo had a bunch of 2x4s in the car to brace up the roof. Could have been a rumor though. Anyone know?
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Novaload
11/18/09

@KeyserSoze: No--see mowog's comment above...
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Novaload
11/18/09

@UnlimitedRevs: Truly. I have a decent collection of some old ads, I post them here when they fit...
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KeyserSoze
11/18/09

@Novaload: I did some googling around and it was actually an ad where they dropped the Volvo onto it's roof, but it had welded supports in it to prevent it from crushing in. I mixed up the 2 ad's.
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Flattire
11/19/09

@Novaload: My 960 sedan was a Tank, I would love to have it back!!
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MadHungarian
12/03/09

@Novaload: and guess what: the Volvo 240 sedan and wagon had incredible 360 degree visibility. It is obviously possible to build a safe roof without fat A pillars, fatter still C pillars (D in wagons/crossovers), and gun slit side windows. So why don't we?
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Novaload
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
I have had a sneaking suspicion that the mighty Toyota, market monster for so long but never with the "perfect" halo Honda has had, has been up to who knows what.
If I recall, the Euro car makers were laughing at US roof strength a couple of decades ago.
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Novaload
11/18/09

@Novaload: Yeah, Volvo's always been a pretty clean team but they all used to cheat like crazy. Ford had one in the late 60s showing a Galaxie in a field, IIRC, discussing its crystal clear glass. Turned out the window was rolled down.
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bmoreDLJ
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Roh, ry rhe ray, rill Russ Rador rest ra rot rod?
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SantaRita
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
how the hell are auto makers supposed to make everything lighter for fuel economy, faster for gearheads, yet still more crush resistant. good grief!

I'll take 2 ,fast and light. cars are already safe enough, thanks.
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Mobius
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Toyota PR person: "Dude, that's not fair. Chrysler weren't using road-legal tires!"

IIHS PR person: "What? It was inspected to be completely road-spec when their cars got to the facility!"

Toyota PR person: "Dude, that's not fair. Ford weren't using road-legal tires!"

IIHS PR person: "What did I just say? Again, they were pretty thoroughly inspected upon arrival, and what does it matter anyways?"

Toyota PR person: "Dude, that's not fair. Honda weren't using road-legal tires!"

IIHS PR person: "Again, not true, and rather poi...

Toyota PR person: "Dude, that's not fair. Kia weren't using road-legal tires!"

IIHS PR person: "I think you should just bring your cars to the test on whatever tires and see if there's any diffe..."

Toyota PR person: "Dude, that's not fair. Porsche said the same things and I don't get a break?"

IIHS PR person: "Oh f**k this..."
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OA 5599
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
I was talking with a friend the other day. Their family is hosting a foreign exchange student this year. Their house is zoned to a competitive school.

He was complaining that the student has been compeltely brainwashed by his homeland. They've taught him that Americans are academically inferior. The student, at the beginning of the school year, signed up for Advanced Calculus, instead of the math class two levels down, where he should have been. His reasoning was that if the "stupid" American kids could understand it, he would be able to excel at it.

When the first exam was given, he flunked it. He couldn't pass the second exam, either. In fact, he couldn't pass any of them, so they transferred him to the class two levels down, where he should have been originally.

The student blames the Calculus teacher for his failure.
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KeyserSoze
11/18/09

@OA 5599: Naturally. This kind of shit, along with every kid on every team getting a trophy at the end of the season infuriates me. Our nation and culture have gone so soft...
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Ralph Wiley Is Poised
11/18/09

@KeyserSoze: The kid who blames the teacher isn't from "our nation and culture." So your boilerplate rant doesn't make sense.

Here's your trophy for participating in Jalopnik.
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tonyola
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Two evil empires - IIHS and Toyota - in a slap-bout. My reaction to this is like how the US felt about the Sino-Soviet split of the '70s - you don't really care who wins because they're both your enemy, but it's fun to watch.
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zeeboid
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is

Toyota: Pwnd
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AgassihasSECspeed
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
I am forced to agree with Toyota, that test does appear to be a little extreme.
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Elhigh
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
So the Camry will protect your fool head but you get violently buttsexed by that nosey Sebring when it slides upside-down into your backside.

The guy in the Sebring will be okay.

Wah, wah, wah. Invited to play, but unable to compete, Toyota declares the game is...what, exactly? Rigged? A stack of other carmakers scored highly. Too hard? A stack of other carmakers scored highly. Irrelevant? Those other carmakers aren't bitching.

The Toyota I drive was built by a Toyota that had one goal: win the world by building good, competent vehicles. These new Toyotas are probably significantly better in most ways but this one: I don't like the company anymore. It whinges and whines like a congressman at pay raise time.
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pauljones
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Finally, we have a new slap fight in the automotive world, Toyota vs IIHS, and Stud Beefpile is nowhere to be found.

Oh, the humanity.
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Alfisted
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is
Way to pour salt in their bland, Russ.
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Turbolence88
11/18/09

In reply to IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is

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IIHS Fires Back, Tells Toyota To Put Cars Where Its Mouth Is

Toyota Calls IIHS Top Safety Pick Results "Extreme And Misleading"

Kia Soul, Insight And Prius Awarded IIHS Top Safety Ratings

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