Safe Vehicles For 2008

Anthony Fontanelle
November 16, 2007

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently named the thirty-four 2008 model year vehicles which were given their highest safety rating. Called the Top Safety Pick award, the system is developed to name the best vehicles in the market in terms of protecting its occupants in the unfortunate event of a crash. The IIHS tests vehicles for their adequacy in protecting motorists during, frontal, side, and rear crashes. Vehicles should be rated highly at the said tests before they could be given the Top Safety Pick award.

With the advent of technology, the IIHS added another requirement and that is the presence of the electronic stability control or ESC. The said system is now widely used in the auto industry because of its efficiency in keeping vehicles from rolling over.

The trend witnessed by the IHHS is positive as the number of vehicles able to attain their Top Safety Pick award increased this year. At the start of the 2007 model year, only a handful received the Top Safety Pick rating - 13 to be exact. After that dismal start, automakers stepped up their efforts in making their vehicles safer. After changes have been made by automakers, ten more vehicles are added during the course of the year. And now, for the 2008 model year, 11 more models are added to the list.

"For 2008, consumers have the widest selection of vehicles they've ever had that afford the best protection in the most common kinds of crashes," said Adrian Lund, the president of the IIHS. Since safety is one of the major concerns of auto buyers, the Top Safety Pick rating will help them in their decision of which new vehicle to buy.

Lund pointed out that an ESC can be of great help to keep motorists away from accidents. "Vehicles should be designed to provide good occupant protection when crashes occur, but now with ESC we have the possibility of preventing many crashes altogether," he said. "If all vehicles were equipped with ESC, as many as 10,000 fatal crashes could be avoided each year."

ESC comes in various names as automakers have different names for this system. Chevrolet vehicles with StabiliTrak are actually equipped with ESC. StabiliTrak is Chevrolet’s name for the ESC. For Nissan, it goes by the name of Vehicle Dynamic Control. Ford calls it the Advance Trac with Roll Stability Control or RSC.

The vehicles included in the list are not only safe but also are reliable and durable as replacement shocks. Some of the vehicles included in the list are the Honda Accord, Audi A3, Subaru Impreza, BMW X5, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Tundra, Ford Taurus, and the Volvo XC90.

Source:  Amazines.com