IIHS "poor" rating on 'small overlap front' test crash

When you are about to crash just aim for the middle

 

No need to be scared.

Unless you are dead to the world, asleep, drunk or texting on you cell phone, an alert driver will not likely crash this way. A straight line "small overlap" crash is not likely to happen with an alert driver. The closure angle will NOT likely be a 180 degrees straight line.

Anyway, most all current cars do not fare well in this test.

 

Until this day comes, don't worry about it.

 

Fear sells, and they have achieved their purpose. The test is ridiculous. It is an extremely small fraction of a fraction of a fraction of accidents that are like this. CR just wants to appear modern and groundbreaking. I suspect their next new test will be revealing how shocking it is that most cars won't survive an impact with a 18 wheeler and why you should fear for your life and never leave home again.

 

Easy fix.

Go through an MSF course and buy a motorcycle.
Six months after you do this I PROMISE that you won't feel at all insecure with nearly two tons of car and 10 air bags wrapped around you!

-or- even better......

Consider this.
You would (presumably) have to almost exactly duplicate the IIHS lab conditions in order to expect any repeatability with their "poor" results.
So.....
Don't drive in their labs.

See how easy?
I recently heard a 60-minutes piece that identified 5 things that could wipe out life on the planet.

Spoiler Alert: Driving a Prius Station Wagon wasn't on the list. FWIW? I think that there are safer cars out there to drive than Priuses, and I'm not going to pick up pitchfork or a torch and camp out at the IIHS headquarters.
I don't think that they have a special hate on for Priuses, and if you want to make yourself feel better about it all, then just tell yourself that you have a little more skin in the eco game than the Luddites that are driving Hummers.


You need to drive Wreckless...(get it? like "stainless" )

 

This is an IIHS test, not a CR test. I would not reconsider my purchase for failing the test, but neither would I discount its importance. The incremental gains made by consistently improving each aspect of automotive safety has made cars tremendously safer than they were just 20 years ago. We should all appreciate that.

 

Every car designed before this test will fail it.

New cars designed after this test will be heavier because the designed to pass it.

Eventually our cars won't be able to move at all, but they will be 'safe' I recommend the term cocoons.

 

Not true. There are cars, like the Volvo XC90 that we also own, that pass this test with flying colors. All the more impressive for Volvo considering the XC90 is still on the same platform first released in 2003.

 

I would like to see the 2003 XC90 pass the small-overlap crash test. There are ways to beef up the structure without redesigning the entire vehicle to pass current impact test.

 

Vehicle Details


You will notice that no matter what year you select, the test was actually run on a 2014 model.

 

You can improve the results, but you can't fundamentally change the crush zones without a wholesale re-design. In any case no one car manufacturer was given special advance notice, and even cars like the Civic, updated in 2011, pass this test with better results. If Honda was able to update that generation, why wasn't Toyota able to do something similar?

 

that's it for me, see my add in 'private sales'. probably have to give it away, won't i.

 

Bingo. Full-frontal impact.

 

This article seems to be relevant, although I have not read any reviews of the article.

A Reexamination of the Small Overlap Frontal Crash

I highly recommend reading the entire article and taking your time with it.

 

And getting to the last paragraph of the study to allow yourself to understand the significance the author says we should place on this "failure".

It seems the author was employed by a member of the auto industry which may have an interest in minimizing the impact of the IIHS tests.

Thanks Colin.

 

Not to mention the Honda Accords and Acura TLs passed wth flying colors, also. The current AND the previous generations. It's clear that Toyota designed their entire lineup to game the previous tests, and therefore failed miserably when the test is slightly tweaked.

iPad ? HD

 

You don't think Consumer Reports or the IIHS has their own agenda?

The truth lies somewhere in between.

 

No, not really. Consumer Reports is as unbiased as any testing facility comes. That does not mean that they are above criticism, but they do not deserve the dismissive comments they get here routinely.

They published this follow-up last week. Why Consumer Reports Pulled Its Recommendation on Certain Toyotas - Consumer Reports News

That is an extremely fair assessment of the situation. The fact is, Toyota is way behind the curve here, and they deserve the press they are getting.

Tell me that there is not a significant difference between these two results.

Camry


Accord