NHTSA Ratings More Stringent

Out of 34 of the new 2011 car models tested under the new NHTSA crash test rating system, only two earned a perfect five stars: BMW 5 Series and Hyundai Sonata.  That doesn’t mean that your older car from Wayne Mazda Financing that did well in their relative year crash test wouldn’t do well in the new ones or that your vehicle is any less safe.  Out of the 34 cars that have been tested so far, the Nissan Versa received only two stars, the Toyota Camry received three, and the remaining 22 received four stars.  All of this is good news for places like Dodge Butler Rebate because the new crash test scores will help auto engineers make their vehicles even safer than before. 

It can be confusing looking at the crash test ratings while you are shopping at Peoria Chevrolet.  We are no longer able to compare straight across the board the ratings from 2010 to 2011.  A model that got a perfect 5 stars in 2010 is likely only going to get 4 stars for the 2011 model year.  The new car is not less safe, but too many vehicles were getting perfect scores all the time.  While that is good news for consumers and auto engineers alike, it also means that the test was too easy and was due for a face-lift.

The main changes to the crash test ratings include issuing a vehicle an overall score of one through five stars.  Also, a side-pole crash has been included in the data.  This new test will give engineers a new way to look at data rather than the traditional T-bone accident.  The NHTSA is incorporating a wider selection of shapes and sizes for the test-dummies.  The different size dummies will alert engineers to more areas of weakness in the event of a crash. 

new NHTSA, NCAP, crash test ratings 2011