If so, there’s plenty to sell in today’s cars and trucks
Automakers have attempted to sell the safety attributes of their vehicles with varying degrees of success over at least the past 75 years. Advanced safety features did nothing to help sales of the ill-fated 1934 Chrysler Airflow. Nor did Ford’s pioneering focus on safety in its 1956 models prove much of an incentive for customers.
Since then, however, safety has proven to be more of a selling point, particularly for certain brands that chose to promote their safety consciousness. Volvo and Mercedes, for example, helped build their reputations on the public perception of their superior safety features and performance.
Today, safety is a more egalitarian commodity, in part because ever-tightening safety standards have forced all automakers to step up their games (e.g., mandated Electronic Stability Control systems in all 2012 models). But also, in part, because consumer expectations have been raised and manufacturers that don’t keep up with those expectations are likely to be punished in the marketplace.
There may be no better evidence of just how far the industry has come in terms of safety improvements than the list of “Top Safety Picks” from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS). It includes 115 vehicles for 2012.
Tough test criteria
The IIHS is an independent, nonprofit organization supported by the insurance industry (in the U.S.). As well as researching real-world crash data, it conducts its own testing on new-model vehicles to establish the data used in determining its “Top Safety Picks.”
That point is significant, for the tests the IIHS conducts go well beyond the requirements of the mandated federal safety standards in force in the U.S and Canada.
They include minimum requirements for performance in frontal and side-impact crash tests, roof-strength crush tests and simulated rear-impact crash tests.
The IIHS’s frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of frontal offset crash tests into a barrier at 64 km/h. Performance is evaluated on the basis of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a sophisticated, instrumented dummy in the driver seat and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.
Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the test vehicle is struck in the side by a moving barrier, simulating the front of a pickup or SUV, travelling at 50 km/h. Ratings are based on injury measures recorded on two instrumented side-impact dummies, assessment of head protection countermeasures and the vehicle’s structural performance during the impact.
In the roof strength test, a metal plate is pushed against one side of a roof at a fixed rate. To earn a good rating for rollover protection, the roof must withstand a force of four times the vehicle’s weight before reaching 127 mm of crush.
Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure, beginning with measurements of head restraint geometry specifically, the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head. Those restraints with good or acceptable geometry are then tested dynamically, using a dummy that measures forces on the neck in a simulation of a stationary vehicle being struck in the rear at 32 km/h.
These are very demanding tests. And a vehicle has to achieve or exceed minimum standards established by the IIHS in all four areas to be designated a “Top Safety Pick.”
Top Safety Picks
Further emphasizing the magnitude of the safety improvements the industry has made, only 11 vehicles made the list of Top Safety Picks when the award was launched in 2005, according to the IIHS. And just 66 were on it a year ago.
The bottom line is, any vehicle that makes that list has earned its safety credentials at least in terms of crash protection.
Every major automaker has at least one winner, so chances are good that something in your showroom is on the list. Subaru is the only manufacturer to earn awards for every model it sells, and, in terms of numbers, Toyota (including Lexus and Scion) leads the way with 15 models. General Motors is next in line with 14, followed by Volkswagen/Audi with 13, and Ford/Lincoln and Honda/Acura with 12 awards apiece.
To see what models are included, check out the complete list here.
And make sure your customers understand the significance of having a “Top Safety Pick” designation. It could save their lives!
