Safest Cars for Teens, Seniors

(CBS)  Almost 34,000 people died in traffic accidents in the United States last year.

In general, the two groups of drivers most at risk on the road are teens and seniors.

And Consumer Reports just named the vehicles it deems the safest ones for them.

On "The Early Show", David Champion, the senior director of the magazine's Automotive Test Center in East Haddam, Conn., pointed out that teens often want flashy, fast cars that wouldn't be their wisest choice, and many seniors aren't aware of many of the newer brands and models that could help as their mobility fades and other aging issues arise.

Teen Motorist Must-Haves
* Reasonably Sized
* Good Crash Test Results
* 4 Cylinder Engine Without Too Much Power
* Numerous Safety Features

For teens, Champion explained, you want to find a car, even a used car, that's a reasonably-sized sedan with safety features such as electronic stability control and curtain air bags, and good crash-test results, but that don't have too much power. Make sure the car has a strong structure.

Electronic stability control, he adds, has been around since 1998 and basically keeps the car from going out of control. It takes electronic traction control a step further. The technology helps keep the vehicle on its intended path during a turn, to avoid sliding or skidding. It uses a computer linked to a series of sensors that detect wheel speed, steering angle, sideways motion and spin. If the car starts to drift, the stability-control system momentarily brakes one or more wheels and, depending on the system, reduces engine power to keep the car back on course. This technology is currently available on many high-end vehicles, but will be standard on all 2012 cars. It's important technology and will save thousands of lives, many of them those of teens and less experienced drivers.

When you're looking for cars with electronic stability control, note that it comes under different names. Consumer Reports hopes "ESC" will become a standard abbreviation in the future (the Society of Automotive Engineers has asked that all manufacturers use electronic stability control, or ESC, as common terminology when referring to their stability-control systems), but automakers are using a variety of proprietary names and acronyms. You might see it called Stabilitrack, Vehicle Stability Assist, or AdvanceTrac, or with variations abbreviations such as ESP, VSC, VDC, and many more.

Parents often think putting their child in the biggest car is the safest way to go, but that's not so. Teens are the most inexperienced drivers on the road, so you don't want to put them in big, heavy cars that are more difficult to control. Instead, choose something that handles well, is agile and has as many safety features as possible.

Also, rather than handing down and old car to a teen, parents should get him or her a new one, with all the safety features. Parents are the skilled, experienced drivers and know all the idiosyncrasies of their vehicles. This is one time in their lives when you're not there to supervise what they're doing. It's the most dangerous part of their lives, so give them the safest car possible.

To get more of the magazine's take on the safest cars for teens, click here.

Among Consumer Reports' picks:
Small sedans: Hyundai Elantra SE (2008-2010), Mazda3 (2007 - ), Scion xB (2008 - )
Midsized sedans: Acura TSX (2004-), Honda Accord (2008 - ), Kia Optima (2007 - )
Small SUVs: Honda CR-V (2005 - ), Nissan Rogue (2008 - )

The Mazda3, Champion says, is a very nice small call. It has good stability, good size, good crash test results, side curtain air bags and good brakes. The handling is precise and responsive, and the ride is firm and comfortable. The pleasant, practical, fun-to-drive Mazda3 uses a 2.0-liter engine that's relatively quick and stingy with fuel. It's been one of Consumer Reports' top-scoring small cars for several years and, with a price tag of $13,025 - $19,070, is an excellent car for teens.

2010 Honda Accord EX, Champion says, has been a perennial top pick of the magazine The Accord is one of the best sedans on the market. It has enough performance, agile handling, and good crash test results. All models have standard stability control. The Accord is the only vehicle to make both lists: It's a best for teens as well as a Best Family Sedan for Senior Drivers. For seniors, it works well because of its wide seats, and because it's easy to get in and out of. The controls are simple and well-marked (controls go across the center of the dash). The driving position is excellent, the seats are supportive, visibility is impressive, and the rear seat is very roomy. It lists for $22,795.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »

[Colby92]

I too would disagree with Consumer Reports (like I usually do). If you look at the real world crash statistics, you'll find that Hondas are less safe than Fords! Honda does *not* build safe vehicles. They are much more concerned about building very light vehicles (tin can on wheels) to achieve the best fuel economy.

This list needs to include cars made by Volvo, SAAB, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. I bought a used Volvo S80 for less than a comparable Honda Accord, and I have no regrets. Furthermore, I feel confident driving that vehicle as it has all the modern safety features (ESC, side airbags, whiplash reducing seats, SIPS, etc). It would do far better than a Honda Accord in an accident. Only SAAB, BMW and Mercedes-Benz come close to Volvo in safety engineering. Also, fuel economy is not much worse either... fuel is very expensive in Europe, so they design for that too. Reliability varies more but, all 4 of these European automakers have vehicles that could last just as long, if not longer, than a Honda (plus, Hondas rust like no other).

NHTSA and the IIHS have both conducted studies and found that the European imports are the safest and that Japanese imports are no more safe than American domestics. If you can afford it, get a European import otherwise, buy a Ford. They're safer than a Honda.

[leta7]

What is the safest AMERICAN car? My kid doesn't want to drive a "rice burner" so I need to know the safest used car made by GM, Chrysler or Dodge.

[dickerin]

Terrible article with a very questionable, narrow list of recommended vehicles. Not one Volvo made the list?

Great advice on not repairing body damage for teens (boys). After his third crash, my son asked when we were going to repair his car's dented door so he could roll the window up. After we told him that we would not be repairing it he coincidentally stopped hitting things.

[tmittelstaed]

This is a horrendous article. For starters, COUNT ON your teen driver having a few fender benders. Getting them a new car is insane - your going to have to get full insurance on it, and something like a non-structurally damaging bent fender that could be ignored on an older car your going to have to fix on a new one - costing you $$$ and your insurance rates to skyrocket.

Teens are EXTREMELY image conscious and the very best thing you can do is hand them an old car and tell them that if they get in ANY accidents, that it will ONLY BE MADE DRIVABLE AGAIN BUT THE BODY WILL NOT BE FIXED - you will get the crowbar and sledgehammer out and bang on the car until it's drivable - and if it looks like hell-on-weels with a crushed-in side door as a result of their foolishness, well then they can just deal with all their friends laughing at them. And if they completely smash it up, then your just going to replace it with something that looks worse than the cars from Rent-a-Wreck.

The other thing is by all means get your teen a manual transmission vehicle. If they don't learn to drive a manual when they are learning to drive they never will - and manual transmissions save 2-3 MPG over automatics no matter what chassis they are used in. Consider your teen will probably be driving 60 more years and at the US average of 14K miles a year that is 840,000 miles during their lives, with current fuel prices the dollar savings over their lifetime if they drive a manual is over $20,000.00 . And manuals are more fun, anyway.

If you really want to make sure your teen stays safe then buy a tracking computer, there are many listed here:

http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com/teen-car-tracking.html

These plug in and record the speed of the car, and you as a parent can sit down and review the report at the end of the day with your teen. So your teen speeds at 65Mph in a 55Mh zone? No problem. But your teen speeds 45Mph in a 35Mph zone? Big problem. The fact is that most ADULT drivers who drive regularly very likely DO NOT KNOW THE POSTED SPEED ON MANY ROADS THEY DRIVE - as we all should know, municipalities LOVE to CHANGE THE POSTED SPEED AT RANDOM on feeder roads as a way of ENHANCING TICKET REVENUE. So these tracking devices can help your teen to learn the appropriate speed on the roads that they drive AND AVOID REVENUE-GENERATING TRAFFIC TICKETS.

[retiredgustav]

I can agree with you on everything except the manuel transmission. The automatics get the same if not better mileage than standards. A new driver on a standard shift is going to screw up the clutch. Now days that is a very expensive repair job if you can find someone to do it. In my oppinion the best vehicle for a teen is an older Saturn.

[saneObserver]

I suppose having a key for teens that limits the radio volume, makes sure safety belts are being used, governs the top speed and ensures that safety features are activated along with 5 star crash ratings like Fords have wouldn't make for a safe teen car?

[buttonjockey]

The safest car is the one driven by a safe driver! We need to be more diligent with drivers' education, traffic enforcement, and suspension of driving privileges. This is the only way to groom or eliminate the bad drivers.

[sjc_1]

People should have to take a drivers class every few years. Bad habits occur over time and the driver is not aware of them.

[amerilatino]

When I was 19 years old I saved my pennies and bought a ten-year-old Cobra Jet Mustang Mach 1 behind my mom's back, during the 20 years that I had it, it was bumped twice in the rear by inattentive soccer moms and driven into once by a drunken, 51 year old jerk while parked. I drove the thing pretty hard and not once had a bender on my fault. It's not teenagers who shouldn't be allowed to have performance cars, it's the spastic, unattentive idiots of all ages who can't concentrate on their driving for more than 20 seconds at a time who shouldn't be allowed to drive at all (Other cars owned-Thunderbird Supercoupe, Fiat Dino, Volkswagen Cabriolet w/G60 engine, Euro Mercedes 6.9).

[Brian Loucks]

Absolute agreement with the Honda statistics on fatalaties above. I've worked for Honda, therefore will never own, ride in, or drive one of their products. I've watched accidents in the area of Canada where Hondas are assembled and without fail the car is destroyed and someone is seriously injured or expired. Coffins on wheels applies to this manufacturer.

My comments are meant to be directed at Consumer Reports for their promotion of those foreign, Asian Pacific cars for the teen and senior. We make great cars here in America under the banners of Chrysler, Ford and Genera Motors. They are safe, reliable and have all the features and more than found in any of this offshore product. They provide jobs and require material and manufacturing equipment that we make here in North America.

How many of us remember when we had money to build roads, tall buildings, maintain those properties? We had money for education, health care and amenities that made life in Canada and The USA the best in the world. The money for these luxuries came from taxes and jobs provided by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Products made here, from materials made here, by American and Canadian workers.

This is what one third of our disposable income is spent on, cars. Why are we giving it to another country when we need it at home. Buying a foreign car, in my opinion is giving away our lifestyle, heritage and should be considered akin to treason.

Consumer Reports? I've never believed in you and now you've dug that hole deeper with your stupid promotion on foreign products, when what we make right here would make economic sense for the purchaser and the country as a whole. And you try to tell us nobody pays you for promotion of their product? Get real Consumer Reports!

And Harry, I'm very disappointed that you, and CBS wouldn't look for domestic content before subjecting your viewers to all this foreign products dialogue.

[mjb89]

As a senior citizen, I feel very safe in my Saturn Vue.

[recall03accord]

I disagree with Consumer Reports with respect to Honda. Thirteen people in this country die each day in Hondas. This company has the distinction of being involved with 14.26% of all auto related fatalities in the country.

According to the NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 14.26% of all motor vehicle fatalities in the United States were in Hondas for 2008, the most recent year for which data is available. Every day, 13 lives are cut short while behind the wheel of or traveling inside of a Honda.

Don't let yourself or someone you love become one of the 13 to die in a Honda today. Remember, Toyota is not the only car company to have safety and design issues. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has over 1100 complaints on file about the 2003 Honda Accord. Of the 1139 complaints (as of August 3, 2010) referred to this agency, 379 fall into the "power train: automatic transmission category."

Information from the NHTSA web-site reveals that in the 2003 Honda Accord, transmission failure occurs quickly and many times at highway speeds. The complaints from NHTSA are mostly similar to each other in that the vast majority of the failures happen suddenly at higher speeds and the car's occupant(s) are often unsafely jolted forward while coming to a near stop in the travel lanes.

This is a serious safety issue. Coming to a near complete stop from 60 or 70 miles per hour, in some reported cases, has resulted in some injuries and will eventually result in someone's death.

In April of 2004, Honda issued a recall on the automatic transmissions of Honda Accords, Odysseys, Pilots and Acura 3.2CL and 3.2TL models. According to Honda's own press release, "this condition may lead to gear breakage and possible locking of the vehicle's transmission, creating a potential safety hazard." The very same potential failures cited in the 2004 recall have become frequent for owners of these vehicles in the years subsequent to the recall and the resulting "transmission lockup", referred to in the recall, that "could result in a crash" has become a reality for many.

Honda was supposed to fix the problem when it issued the 2004 recall, however, it appears the company tried to do the cheapest thing for its bottom line in an attempt to have these vehicles fail after the warranty had expired. By not fixing the problem they are putting lives at risk.

Honda's blatant disregard for the safety of its customers and the public at large is best exemplified its refusal to take responsibility for the safety and design flaws engineered into their cars. It is no wonder that Honda has 14.26% of the share of automobile fatalities in the United States.