Cost isn't necessarily an indicator of safety in convertibles
By Martin Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 31, 2007
When it comes to buying a crash-worthy convertible, paying more doesn't always get you more, researchers have found.
With starting prices above $39,000, the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4 Cabriolet were among the most expensive of 10 ragtops tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, yet they placed near the bottom of the safety rankings.
The institute rated the costly Saab 9-3 and the Volvo C70 — which list at between $35,000 and $40,000 — as the convertibles giving occupants the best chances of surviving accidents.
But entries from Volkswagen and Mitsubishi priced below $30,000 got high marks too....
The lowest-rated car was the Pontiac G6 from General Motors Corp., which received "marginal" ratings for both side and rear collisions and an "acceptable" rating for head-on impacts. The car's compartment held up well during the frontal crash, the institute reported, but the driver's seat came loose on one side, causing a crash dummy's head to slide around the air bag and hit the dashboard...
The Audi 4 and BMW 3 series convertibles performed well in the institute's front-end tests but received marginal ratings for side crashes and poor ratings for rear-end impacts.
Subpar performance in rear-end crashes was typical of all of the tested models except for the top-rated cars from Saab and Volvo...
BMW contended that safety restraints in its vehicle weren't properly adjusted in the rear-end tests, leading to the poor results. The German automaker said BMWs were built to meet a wide variety of crash-test requirements around the globe.
The institute didn't rate the convertibles for rollover protection. Like the other European models, the Audi and BMW convertibles are equipped with pop-up roll bars, which can provide greater protection during a rollover accident...
Front Side Rear-end Base
Make and model crash crash crash price*
Saab 9-3 Good Good Good $37,495
Volvo C70 Good Good Good 39,090
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Spyder Good Good Marginal 25,389
Volkswagen Eos Good Good Marginal 28,110
Chrysler Sebring Good Good Poor 25,470
Toyota Camry Solara Good Acceptable Poor 27,190
Ford Mustang Acceptable Good Poor 24,075
BMW 3 series Good Marginal Poor 43,200
Audi A4 Cabriolet Good Marginal Poor 39,100
Pontiac G6 Acceptable Marginal Marginal 28,750
*2007 model year except for Chrysler Sebring, which is 2008
**
Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Edmunds.com
GO TO LA TIMES.COM, BUSINESS SECTION, AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE TEST VIDEOS. WOW!!!!
By Martin Zimmerman, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 31, 2007
When it comes to buying a crash-worthy convertible, paying more doesn't always get you more, researchers have found.
With starting prices above $39,000, the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4 Cabriolet were among the most expensive of 10 ragtops tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, yet they placed near the bottom of the safety rankings.
The institute rated the costly Saab 9-3 and the Volvo C70 — which list at between $35,000 and $40,000 — as the convertibles giving occupants the best chances of surviving accidents.
But entries from Volkswagen and Mitsubishi priced below $30,000 got high marks too....
The lowest-rated car was the Pontiac G6 from General Motors Corp., which received "marginal" ratings for both side and rear collisions and an "acceptable" rating for head-on impacts. The car's compartment held up well during the frontal crash, the institute reported, but the driver's seat came loose on one side, causing a crash dummy's head to slide around the air bag and hit the dashboard...
The Audi 4 and BMW 3 series convertibles performed well in the institute's front-end tests but received marginal ratings for side crashes and poor ratings for rear-end impacts.
Subpar performance in rear-end crashes was typical of all of the tested models except for the top-rated cars from Saab and Volvo...
BMW contended that safety restraints in its vehicle weren't properly adjusted in the rear-end tests, leading to the poor results. The German automaker said BMWs were built to meet a wide variety of crash-test requirements around the globe.
The institute didn't rate the convertibles for rollover protection. Like the other European models, the Audi and BMW convertibles are equipped with pop-up roll bars, which can provide greater protection during a rollover accident...
Front Side Rear-end Base
Make and model crash crash crash price*
Saab 9-3 Good Good Good $37,495
Volvo C70 Good Good Good 39,090
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Spyder Good Good Marginal 25,389
Volkswagen Eos Good Good Marginal 28,110
Chrysler Sebring Good Good Poor 25,470
Toyota Camry Solara Good Acceptable Poor 27,190
Ford Mustang Acceptable Good Poor 24,075
BMW 3 series Good Marginal Poor 43,200
Audi A4 Cabriolet Good Marginal Poor 39,100
Pontiac G6 Acceptable Marginal Marginal 28,750
*2007 model year except for Chrysler Sebring, which is 2008
**
Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Edmunds.com
GO TO LA TIMES.COM, BUSINESS SECTION, AND YOU CAN SEE ALL THE TEST VIDEOS. WOW!!!!
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