Crash tests show improved sport-utility vehicle designs. (Property/Casualty).Among 11 midsize sport-utility vehicles with new or modified designs tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a U.S. non-profit organization funded by auto insurers. It works to reduce the number of motor vehicle crashes, and the rate of injuries and amount of property damage in the crashes that still occur. in 2001, five were rated "good" and two received the organization's "best pick" designation. The vehicles were tested for structural integrity and the ability to protect occupants and prevent injury, the institute said. The 11 models tested in this series were rated as "good" or "acceptable" for structural performance, indicating that manufacturers are doing a better job of designing the vehicles' safety cages and crumple zones, the institute said. The top performer in the group was the 2001 Acura MDX The Acura MDX (Honda MDX in Japan and Australia) is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV produced by the Japanese automaker Acura since the 2001 model year. The MDX is the first crossover SUV to have third-row seating. It is built by Honda of Canada Manufacturing Ltd. , which protected the test dummies from all but very minor injuries in the crash simulation A crash simulation is a virtual recreation of a destructive crash test of a car using a computer simulation in order to examine the level of safety of the car and its occupants. , the institute said. Other models that improved their designs included the 2002 Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a mid-size sport utility vehicle sold in North America and built by the Ford Motor Company since 1990. , the 2001-02 Toyota Highlander, the 2001-02 Suzuki Grand Vitara The Suzuki Grand Vitara is a compact SUV, namely a long-wheelbase version of the Vitara, produced by the Japanese automaker Suzuki since 1999. It was facelifted in 2002 and 2004, and redesigned in 2006. and the 2002 Chevrolet TrailBlazer. The test results are based primarily on results from offset frontal crashes at 40 mph, the institute said. The research focuses on countermeasures aimed at all three factors in motor vehicle crashes--human, vehicular and environmental--and on interventions that can occur before, during and after crashes to reduce both property losses and human injuries. The institute's affiliate organization, the Highway Loss Data Institute, gathers data on the ways in which insurance losses vary among different kinds of vehicles. |
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