Category Archives: CrashTest

Report: Chevy Volt battery fix may cost $1,000 per car, will hang on to top IIHS rating

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Filed under: Hybrid , Sedan , Government/Legal , Safety , Chevrolet , GM , Electric Spontaneous combustion concerns weeks after a crash may prompt General Motors to spend about $1,000 per Chevrolet Volt to fix, according to a report from Reuters . The proposed fixes , which would cost a total of $9 million, would likely include reinforcements around vulnerable areas of the car’s battery pack, lamination of electric circuitry and better protection for the coolant system to stop leaks. After a severe crash that causes damage to the Volt’s battery pack, coolant can leak out, and if the battery is not discharged, a fire may start. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration discovered the fire danger this past summer when one of its crashed Volts caught fire three weeks after testing.

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Report: Chevy Volt battery fix may cost $1,000 per car, will hang on to top IIHS rating

Official: Step Right Up: NHTSA announces list of 2012 models to be tested

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Filed under: Government/Legal , Safety The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a list of 74 vehicles for the 2012 model year that it plans on crash testing. The vehicles include 42 passengers cars, 22 SUVs, eight trucks and two vans. NHTSA claims the list represents about 81 percent of the 2012 model year vehicles that will be on sold in the U.S., and further claims it will be performing rollover tests on 92 percent of the 2012 fleet. You may remember that NHTSA released the first round of results from its new, tougher crash tests in October 2010, and that first batch of vehicles didn’t fare too well

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Official: Step Right Up: NHTSA announces list of 2012 models to be tested

How government safety standards for car seats fail large children

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Filed under: Etc. , Government/Legal , Safety Every parent worth their salt does his or her best to keep their children safe. Car seats are a big part of that equation, and snapping our little cherubs into a five-point harness makes us feel like we’ve done our very best to care for our precious offspring.

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How government safety standards for car seats fail large children

NHTSA releases first batch of crash test ratings under new safety standards

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Filed under: Government/Legal , Safety Click above for safety ratings of all 30 vehicles tested under NHTSA’s new crash test rating system Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it would be revising its well known five-star crash test rating system for 2011 model year vehicles. This new series of tests, called the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) makes it more difficult for manufacturers’ vehicles to achieve the administration’s prestigious five-star safety rating, which they had been doing a bit too easily in recent years. Also, the latest round of new safety technologies – collision warning, lane departure warning, etc. – are now being tested, and a new pole side crash test has been added to the gauntlet that also includes old favorites like the frontal barrier, side barrier and rollover tests.

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NHTSA releases first batch of crash test ratings under new safety standards

How Ford made vehicles safer with a cadaver’s help

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Filed under: Safety , Technology , Ford Ford’s inflatable seatbelt – Click above for high-res image gallery While we’re all accustomed to seeing crash test vehicles packed with loveable dummies , the truth is that manufacturers can’t always rely on high-tech mannequins to get the information they need. Sometimes, they have to resort to other testing procedures to research how new safety tech will impact the human body. And, as Jalopnik points out, those other procedures involve genuine human cadavers . Now, don’t start thinking that your favorite manufacturer has a covert team of grave robbers on the pay roll

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How Ford made vehicles safer with a cadaver’s help

2011 Kia Sportage bags IIHS ‘Top Safety Pick’

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Filed under: Safety , Crossover , Kia 2011 Kia Sportage – Click above for high-res image gallery When it comes to the 2011 Kia Sportage , there’s a lot to talk about. From where we sit, it’s one of the best-looking compact crossovers on the market, it’s reasonably priced (starting below $20,000) and as we found out in our first drive , it’s a pretty enjoyable steer, too. To add to these selling points, the Sportage was just named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, earning high marks in frontal, side, rear and rollover crash tests.

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2011 Kia Sportage bags IIHS ‘Top Safety Pick’