NHTSA Releases List Of Model Year 2003 Vehicles To Be Rated for Safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
November 26, 2002

NHTSA 73-02
Tuesday, November 26, 2002
Contact: Tim Hurd
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today released a list of the model year 2003 vehicles it will test in frontal, side, and rollover consumer information programs. This list will provide important safety information and will assist consumers in their vehicle purchasing decisions.

Of the model year 2003 vehicles to be evaluated, 67 will be examined in frontal or side impacts and 71 will be evaluated in rollover tests.In addition, many vehicles are incorporated on NHTSA's list as carry-over models; these vehicles' structural and safety features have remained unaltered from the previous year.

In total, NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) will crash test 37 passenger cars, 22 sport utility vehicles, 2 vans, and 6 pickups. The frontal impact program will test 37 vehicles; the side impact program will examine 30 vehicles. Once the frontal and side impact programs are completed, safety information will have been provided for approximately 84 percent of the model year 2003 vehicles to be sold in the United States.

Rollover resistance will be rated for 71 vehicles, many of which were models also tested in the frontal or side impact programs.These include 43 passenger cars, 21 sport utility vehicles, 1 van, and 6 pickups. The integration of the rollover results with the carry-over data will offer safety information for approximately 85 percent of the model year 2003 vehicles to be sold in the United States.

Test results for previous model years, as well as additional information on the NCAP program, can be obtained by visiting the web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ or by calling NHTSA's toll-free Auto Safety Hotline, (800) 424-9393 or at (202) 366-0123 in the Washington Metro area.

The list of vehicles to be rated follows.

2003 Frontal, Side and Rollover NCAP Vehicle Selected
for NCAP Tests and Carry-over Vehicles

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