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    Cars Are Getting Safer, 34 Vehicles Are "Top Safety Picks"

    By Meg Marco, 5:37 PM on Fri Nov 16 2007, 1,995 views

    Cars are getting safer says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and the ever-increasing "top safety pick" list is "dominated" by foreign cars according to the Detroit Free Press:

    The IIHS said 34 vehicles earned the designation this year, up from 13 last year. To win the award, a model has to perform well in the institute's front and side crash tests, come with electronic stability control and offer protection from whiplash injuries.
    The institute's tests are tougher than those run by the federal government, and automakers often make changes in the vehicles and pay the institute to re-run its tests to garner better scores for advertising. General Motors Corp. altered the side air bags in its 2008 Saturn Vue to earn a top pick after they failed to deploy correctly in the first test.

    Another 23 models passed all of the institute's tests save for its whiplash prevention standard. While whiplash cases are often minor, the institute has made whiplash a priority because it's the most commonly reported injury from car crashes, costing insurers about $8.5 billion a year. Some automakers have been slow to adopt models to the IIHS standard, which requires changes to seats and head rests.

    For the first time ever, a pickup truck, the Toyota Tundra, won a "top safety pick," from the institute.

    Here is the full list of winners:

    Large cars
    Audi A6
    Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control
    Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control
    Volvo S80

    Midsize cars
    Audi A3, A4
    Honda Accord
    Saab 9-3
    Subaru Legacy with optional electronic stability control

    Midsize convertibles
    Saab 9-3
    Volvo C70

    Small car
    Subaru Impreza with optional electronic stability control

    Minivans
    Honda Odyssey
    Hyundai Entourage
    Kia Sedona

    Midsize SUVs
    Acura MDX, RDX
    BMW X3, X5
    Ford Edge, Taurus X
    Honda Pilot
    Hyundai Santa Fe
    Hyundai Veracruz built after August 2007
    Lincoln MKX
    Mercedes M class
    Saturn VUE built after December 2007
    Subaru Tribeca
    Toyota Highlander
    Volvo XC90

    Small SUVs
    Honda CR-V, Element
    Subaru Forester with optional electronic stability control

    Large pickup
    Toyota Tundra

    2008 winners of Top Safety Pick award [IIHS]

    More vehicles tops in safety [Detroit Free Press]

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