Luxury Cars Crash Tested
A big, fat price tag doesn't guarantee a safe car, but some luxury vehicles do make the grade.
The latest crash tests are out from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and CBS News Reporter John Hartge says the insurance industry group gave high marks to five new midsize luxury cars.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested the Volvo S80, Cadillac Catera, BMW 328i, Saab 9-5 and Audi A6. The BMW, Volvo and Cadillac were rated good, with the BMW also garnering a "best pick" designation. The Saab and Audi were deemed acceptable.
The 2000 model of each car was tested by running it at an angle into a barrier at 40 miles per hour. The institute's tests are particularly demanding because only the driver's side of a vehicle strikes the barrier, forcing a relatively small portion of the vehicle to absorb the crash energy.
The tests examine how the car holds up structurally in the crash and measures any damage to test dummies, then rates the vehicle good, acceptable, marginal or poor.
The federal government's crash tests involve driving vehicles into a rigid barrier with the full width of the front end making contact. The government had not tested the five luxury vehicles because it focuses its resources on more popular lower-end models.
Brian O'Neill, president of the Insurance Institute, says air bags and seat belts can prevent serious injuries, but the key to performing well in the crash test is a good front-end design that absorbs crash energy.
"It's the same concept as a fragile object - it doesn't matter how well it's protected by foam or other packaging inside a box, if the box gets seriously damaged during transit, the object inside is likely to break," he said.
Adrian Lund, vice president of the Insurance Institute, says the cars are judged on how well they protect what's called "the occupant compartment."
He says the BMW did quite well in meeting that standard. "It protected the occupant compartment very well and we gave it an overall good rating and a best pick."
Lund notes there are more than a few alternatives when shopping for safety. "These are expensive cars and you would expect to have good protection in a class like this. But you don't have to pay this much money. We do have other vehicles that performed very well in this test."
Lund says they include the Volkswagen Passat and the Ford Taurus.
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