safe cars
Which cars are the safest?
Cars. For some people, a car is nothing more than a method of getting from point A to point B safely and efficiently. For others, car's are a life, a passion, something to coddle, and love, and hold. Reguardless of what side of the spectrum you are on, both sides can agree that a safe car, is a great car. No one wants to drive around in what is essentially a rolling coffin. Some vehicles have been sold in North America that are just that - A death trap. Even today, in our safety-obsessed lives, cars aren't required to pass a five star crash test rating. Infact, cars with abysmal crash test ratings can be sold in the United States and Canada. Don't even get me started on China, who's human rights record should be evidence enough that they might not make safety a priority when building a vehicle. Don't believe me? Watch the video below.
The mangled wreck you see above, is the Jiangling Landwind. Fortinutely for North America, the Landwind isn't sold here. The Landwind recieved the worst crash test ratings in the last twenty years. Yet it's still sold in Europe. Don't think I'm picking on Chinese made cars however, as Americans have also got it wrong on several different occasions, too!
The above minivan, the Montana, was sold by Pontiac from 1997 through 2004. The Insurance Institute For Highway Safety called the Pontiac Montana unsafe to drive! Yet people still bought it. Who knows why. Maybe because most people have no clue about where to find crash test results for vehicles.
So just what car's ARE safe?
Don't be dismayed, there are actually a lot of cars sold in North America that are safe! Honda's, Toyota's, Volvo's, Ford's, Chevy's, and yes, Pontiac too, have all made safe cars that have recieved good crash test ratings. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that the only car you should ever own is a Toyota Corolla, or a Honda Civic. I'm going to give you a link so that YOU can figure out if the car's you're interested in are safe. Neither Honda nor Toyota have me on their payroll, so I have no desire to push their products.
SafeCar.gov. Safecar is a government run website that has all the crash test results, starting from way back in 1990. If you're looking at something older than 17 years old... Well, just assume it will kill you if you get into a fender bender. Not neccesarily because they were unsafe when new, but because of metal fatigue from hundreds of thousands of miles of driving.
- Safe Cars
Find the crash test results for ALL North American sold automobiles, with results starting at 1990.
