Honda and Acura lead Safety Ratings

Anthony Fontanelle
December 3, 2007

In the recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick awards for 2008, several Honda and Acura vehicles gained top crash safety ratings. The awarded vehicles include the Honda Accord, Honda Element, Honda Pilot, Acura MDX and the Acura RDX.

The 2008 IIHS Top Safety Pick award, the highest rating the non-profit organization could give was bestowed to the 2008 Honda Accord. The recognitions, given every year are always given to vehicles that had proven exceptional protection for their passengers in cases of front, side and rear crashes. To be an entry, a vehicle must have standard or optional electronic stability control and for Honda and Acura vehicles, such system is named Vehicle Stability Assist ™ along with protective air bags. The institute will conduct a series of crash tests to determine the winners.

Divided in Two divisions based on the vehicle brand, Honda and Acura get the honor of having the most number of vehicles awarded by the IIHS. The Honda brand was honored by the Accord, CR-V, Element, Odyssey, and Pilot, all for the 2008 year model. The Top Safety Pick award for Acura was for their RDX and MDX models. The VSA and air bags are standard to all these vehicles.

"Honda has consistently challenged itself to pursue vehicle safety as part of its core business strategy," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. "American Honda will put more Top Safety Pick-rated vehicles on the road next year than any other automaker."

Vehicle safety had been seriously defined in all Honda and Acura vehicles. The automakers are seeking to give its consumers the optimum level of occupant protection and pedestrian injury mitigation. The comprehensive approach of Honda to safety was launched in 2003 in their “Safety for Everyone” program. Regardless of the vehicle’s price and size, Honda and Acura vehicles are feature-full for safety.

Like any other Honda vehicles, the 2008 Honda Accord is the absolute figure for Honda’s safety approach. Honda foresees that aside from the safety features of the Accord, other Honda technologies in the vehicle will make it a big hit. Honda expects that all their efforts will not be wasted if the Accord meets their 400,000 unit sales target. On the other hand, the MDX is also the icon for Acura. The 7-passenger sport utility vehicle is multi awarded not just for its powerful engine and nice sporty handling nut primarily the passenger protection features including its braking system primarily done by Acura brakes. The MDX already gained Frontal five-star and Side five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Source:  Amazines.com