Adrian Lund
Adrian Lund
crash double hope light pickup red runs sign stop strikes test time vehicle
The institute's side-impact test mimics a real-world crash in which a pickup or SUV runs a red light or stop sign and strikes a vehicle in the side. The A6's double best-pick performance, especially, is the kind we hope to see every time we test a vehicle.
built car crash help protection
If you're not belted in the crash, all of that crash protection built into your car just can't help you.
absorb crash driver energy freestyle good likely minor needs performance performer severity side sustain vehicle
In the frontal test, the driver's side of the vehicle needs to absorb the energy of the crash and keep the occupant compartment intact, ... The Freestyle's performance is what we like to see. A driver in a real-world crash of this severity would be likely to sustain only minor injuries. The Freestyle is a good performer and a 'best pick' in the frontal test.
consumers crash information offset providing tests useful
The frontal offset crash tests aren't providing consumers with much useful information anymore.
both crash designed front hard heads hit including key people pickup protected protection reducing represents risks side striking tall test vehicle
The heads of both dummies were protected from being hit by any hard structures, including the intruding test barrier. Side airbags, especially those designed to protect the head, are key in reducing risks to people in side impacts. The Institute's test represents a crash in which the striking vehicle has a tall front end like a pickup or SUV, so head protection is critical.
common good kinds protection provide results serious
Results for (the Rav4) show manufacturers can provide good protection for occupants in the two most common kinds of serious crashes,
bumper choice decent equipped extend low match open systems today until utility
SUVs can have the same utility they do today and still be equipped with decent bumper systems that extend down to where they match up with those on cars, ... Until then, motorists who bump into mismatched vehicles, even at very low speeds, will have no choice but to open their wallets.
impact poor rated rear seats
It's disappointing that so many minivan seats are rated poor for rear impact protection,
head looking protection provide rear seats
They don't provide seats with head restraints that provide the kind of protection we're looking for in rear crashes.
aspect auto head improve marginal poor restraint stage testing
It's encouraging that only 12 of the 58 seat/head restraint combinations we evaluated didn't make it to the testing stage because of marginal or poor geometry. The auto manufacturers have been working to improve this aspect of head restraint design.
adequate against begin below buyers decided designs five ford freestyle good head hundred inches job less means people protection provide puzzling ranger recent restraint seat taller three top
Ford has been doing a good job with some of its recent seat designs such as those in the Freestyle SUV and Five Hundred sedan. But the new Ranger head restraint is more than three inches below the top of the head of an average-size man. This means it won't begin to provide adequate protection for many taller people in rear-end crashes. It's puzzling why Ford decided that buyers of the new Ranger should get less protection against whiplash than people in some of its other vehicles.
attention attracting
It's attracting a lot of attention for distinctive styling, ... but the bumpers aren't praiseworthy.
ahead both buyers engineered models quickly results
Audi and Infiniti are ahead of many of their competitors in side-impact protection. They engineered the new models to do well in both of the Institute's tests, and they want to get the results out more quickly to demonstrate to buyers their cars' state-of-the-art crashworthiness.
devices good head likely people protection restraint safety vehicle
People think of head restraints as headrests, but they're not. They're important safety devices. You're more likely to need the protection of a good head restraint in a collision than the other safety devices in your vehicle because rear-end collisions are so common.