Royal Subaru

Subaru Recognized as the Only Manufacturer with All Vehicles Rated a TOP SAFETY PICK by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety

 

Cherry Hill, N.J., November 18, 2009 - Subaru of America, Inc. today announced that it has been recognized as the only manufacturer with all vehicles named a TOP SAFETY PICK by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

 

"We are extremely pleased to be the only manufacturer with all vehicles named a TOP SAFETY PICK. This is an outstanding success and a tribute to the engineering that goes into Subaru products," said Tom Doll, executive vice president and COO, Subaru of America, Inc. "To have this recognition by the IIHS reinforces to our customers that we maintain the highest standards when producing vehicles that are safe, durable, reliable as well as fun-to-drive."

 

"Subaru is the only manufacturer with a TOP SAFETY PICK winner in every vehicle class in which it competes," said IIHS president Adrian Lund. "The vehicles that earn this designation are the cream of the crop for protecting people in the most common kinds of crashes, and they have electronic stability control for helping drivers stay out of many crashes altogether."

 

The TOP SAFETY PICK recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rear, and now rollover crashes based on 'good' ratings, which denotes 'good' as the top ranking status possible in Institute tests. Winners also must have electronic stability control.

 

About IIHS

The Institute's frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. Each vehicle's overall evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, injury measures recorded on a Hybrid III dummy in the driver seat, and analysis of slow-motion film to assess how well the restraint system controlled dummy movement during the test.

Side evaluations are based on performance in a crash test in which the side of a vehicle is struck by a barrier moving at 31 mph. The barrier represents the front end of a pickup or SUV. Ratings reflect injury measures recorded on 2 instrumented SID-IIs dummies representing a 5th percentile woman, assessment of head protection countermeasures, and the vehicle's structural performance during the impact.

 

Rear crash protection is rated according to a two-step procedure. Starting points for the ratings are measurements of head restraint geometry - the height of a restraint and its horizontal distance behind the back of the head of an average size man. Seat/head restraints with good or acceptable geometry are tested dynamically using a dummy that measures forces on the neck. This test simulates a collision in which a stationary vehicle is struck in the rear at 20 mph. Seats without good or acceptable geometry are rated poor overall because they can't be positioned to protect many people.

 

In the roof strength test, a metal plate is pushed against 1 side of a roof at a constant speed. To earn a good rating for rollover protection, the roof must withstand a force of 4 times the vehicle's weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. This is called a strength-to-weight ratio. For an acceptable rating, the minimum required strength-to-weight ratio is 3.25. A marginal rating value is 2.5. Anything lower than that is rated poor.

To View the "Today Show" News Report on IIHS Top Safety Picks and Subaru