Two dozen vehicles, ranging from sedans such as Ford Five Hundred (now Taurus) to SUVs such as the Acura RDX and Mazda CX-7, secured four to five stars in the front and side-impact tests. The Buick Lacrosse (pictured) only received one star in the driver side side-crash. General Motors said, though, it recently upgraded the Lacrosse which is expected to be retested later in the year.
None did well in the roll-over tests which were dominated by the Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky roadsters and the Mazda6 sedan.
The NHTSA’s testing has recently been under fire from both government and consumer groups because too many vehicles secure the four or five stars so coveted by automakers. The organization has been under pressure to “fine tune” its rating system similar to the independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), whose tests are considered to reflect more real-world conditions. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters has stated that the NHTSA is looking at such programs including adding new ones such as testing new crash avoidance systems increasingly found in today’s vehicles.
Additional vehicles and a link to the NHTSA's website can be found at the link. Our take? We think both the NHTSA and the IISA should consider working closer together in methodology and data-exchange. That way, consumers won't be confused when comparing both organizations' test results.
Via SignOnSanDiego