Honda Passes Safety Test for 2010

Only 27 new vehicles made the list for the safest cars of 2010. In 2009, 94 vehicles made the list for top safety cars, which are 67 less than this year. Apparently the safety rating got a lot tougher, like the addition of a new roof strength requirement. The roof strength requirement aims to protect passengers against rollover crashes. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety added the roof strength test to address the increasing circumstances where people are injured or killed in accidents. Honda not only got one of its vehicles to make the top 27 list, but two. The Honda Civic and the Honda Element were two of the Honda vehicles that performed very well on these rigorous safety tests. The Honda Accord missed the list by a synch due to minor details. The Institute named 19 cars and eight sport-utility vehicles as the top safety vehicles for 2010. Among them are the Audi A3, Honda Civic, Dodge Journey and Ford Taurus. Among major automakers with no top picks is Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota's Camry came close with good front, side and rollover protection, but fell short in the rear-impact test. To become a top safety pick, a vehicle has to have the insurance group's top rating of "good" in front, side, rollover and rear-impact crash tests and also have electronic stability control, which helps drivers maintain control of their vehicles in situations that might otherwise result in crashes. Roof strength has long been a point of contention between the Insurance Institute and the auto industry, as well as among safety experts. Carmakers have never been fond of roof strength testing because they say these test do not show a conclusive relationship between roof strength and occupant safety. Carmakers also conclude that roof strength testing does not show how well a vehicles structure performs in crash collisions. A representative of the Institute, Mr. Lund, responded by stating that their research on rollover crashes showed that weaker vehicles roofs more often than not result in death. Honda has been known for over a decade for its reliable and safe vehicles and once again has been recognized for it. Make sure to stop by your local Miami dealership to test drive your safe Honda vehicle.