{"id":57736,"date":"2013-01-30T15:16:11","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T20:16:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=57736"},"modified":"2013-01-30T15:16:11","modified_gmt":"2013-01-30T20:16:11","slug":"the-10-bestworst-vehicles-for-auto-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2013\/01\/the-10-bestworst-vehicles-for-auto-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Best\/Worst Vehicles for Auto Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The Fiat 500 fares poorly in new safety study.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There was once an old adage in the auto industry, \u201csafety doesn\u2019t sell.\u201d Don\u2019t try to convince today\u2019s motorists.\u00a0 Safety has, in fact, become one of the highest-ranked attributes for most car shoppers, whether they\u2019re looking for a minivan or sports car.<\/p>\n

So, a new study by Insure.com is likely to deliver more than a few surprises when it comes to listing the safest and least safe among 750 different vehicles now on the market.\u00a0 Some of the results might seem intuitive, especially to those who equate size with safety.\u00a0 The pint-sized Fiat 500 is the least-safe vehicle on the list, according to the study which was produced by Insure.com in cooperation with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.\u00a0 On the other hand, the GMC Sierra 1500 pickup was the top-ranked model.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Free Subscription!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“If safety is a priority, you should avoid the smallest cars,” said IIHS spokesman Russ Rader. “Weight counts. Smaller, lighter cars are safer than they used to be, but all things being equal, people riding in bigger, heavier vehicles get more protection in crashes.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Denali version of the GMC Sierra 1500.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But there are also some surprises.\u00a0 While big GMC models took four of the five \u201csafest\u201d slots, the four-door Porsche Cayenne ranked second.\u00a0 On the other hand, the Mercedes-Benz passenger car flagship, the premium CL 500 coupe was fifth on the list of least-safe vehicles.<\/p>\n

From a brand standpoint, General Motors scored particularly well \u2013 as noted, the GMC brand landing four of the top five slots.\u00a0 Along with Mercedes, Toyota also landed in the bottom five, the Insure.com study having little positive to say about the Japanese maker\u2019s Corolla model. In other words, being a best-seller in your segment doesn\u2019t always guarantee buyers will get the best in terms of safety.<\/p>\n

(Toyota announces a pair of recalls covering more than 1 million vehicles, <\/em>Click Here<\/span> for more.)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The study might generate some controversy as there a variety of ways to measure safety.\u00a0 Take the Fiat 500 which has actually generated very good scores in IIHS crash tests with its integrated safety cage and airbags.<\/p>\n

But, “The laws of physics are always in play in crashes,” explained Rader. “Weight counts. Smaller, lighter cars are safer than they used to be, but all things being equal, people riding in bigger, heavier vehicles get more protection in crashes.”<\/p>\n

The Insure.com study relied on an analysis of Personal Injury Protection and Medical Payment records which, the researchers suggest, gives a view of how passengers, rather than crash dummies, make out in the real world.<\/p>\n

Here are the best and worst of the bunch. To find out even more about how the rest of the current automotive line-up fared, Click Here<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Five Safest Vehicles:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GMC Sierra 1500, full-size pickup has physics in its favor;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Porsche Cayenne, four-door sports car scores well on safety, too;<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GMC Yukon Denali, well-contented SUV includes lots of safety features;<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE, a heavy-duty version of the Sierra pickup;<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 GMC Terrain SLE1, 5-passenger CUV scores among the best.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Five Least Safe Vehicles:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fiat 500, boldly styled Italian coupe\/convertible has numerous safety issues;<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Kia Rio 5, sporty design doesn\u2019t overcome safety performance;<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Toyota Corolla L, best-selling compact among worst for safety;<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, sportiest version of the Lancer sedan;<\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mercedes-Benz CL600, sleek design doesn\u2019t overcome safety drawbacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new study is likely to deliver more than a few surprises when it comes to listing the safest and least safe among 750 different vehicles now on the market. But the study amplifies the old argument that bigger vehicles are safer vehicles, the Fiat 500 coming in at the bottom of the list, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57736"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57736"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=57736"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=57736"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=57736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}