It would be difficult for them to test a Fiesta since the US spec one isn't finished yet, and won't be on sale for a good while.

But, what about an Aveo vs. Malibu test?

 

What I am implying is that the Fit, regardless of GD or GE, are safe for what it is... and like someone posted already, why aint there any test among Domestic Vehicles? Oh and whats the idea of crashing an Accord to a Fit or a Camry to a Yaris? Did they try other combinations?

The test report is nothing but a smokescreen for GM's 1.5 Million recall today - GM recalling 1.5 million cars over fire fears - CNN.com

 

I'm sorry, I did not mean to disrespect earlier fits. I wanted to bring attention to the reporter not telling viewers that the crash footage may be old. I believe the fit did well for the situation. I also thought crumble zones were good for slowing down the force of impact. I may have read one report of the crash test as being less than good. Would that mean the crash was not bad or even worse.. Horrible. LOL I think you would survie with some cuts ,bruises , and a broken leg or ankle. Sure the front end is trashed but it may slow the impact from the larger car, and keep the larger from penetrating the passenger area of the. The fit may be totaled but it would give it's life for yours to be safe. Overall I believe the reporters over reacted , not enough news to speak of that day besides the presidents puppy.

 

That insurance agency could have saved some money and made the crash realistic... They could have used GM/crystler? Executives for crash test dummys. They have experiene driving head on into dangerous situations , and the regular dummys cost more than the executives are worth..

 

thats true. But in Japan you're running around with thousands of other micro machines. LOL. But you can die in any car. Just dont drink and drive and drive safe, its the only thing you can do. I mean come on, they say eating ketchup gives you cancer now a days. LOL

 

^^ i agree. no matter what car youre in.. you're putting your life on the line every time you drive. no car is perfectly safe, just some safer than others.

 

and about the GM recall. They're in deep shit already. Shouldnt they be extra careful about the products theyre making? especially in their situation. Whats the procedure for a recall anyways? Do they fix them, or dispose of them? Either way, its more gov't money wasted.

 

Where did you get that Japanese cars are not as safe as American? That's an old stereotype. It's the opposite, in fact.

And while the IIHS testing is a little unsettling, they're not telling the whole story. Like another poster said, it's seems like a news hype in the hopes to give a boost to the "American" auto industry.

Where are the photos of the midsize cars that crashed with the small cars? Just like those celebrity paparazzi shows that twist stories to make them as interesting and scandalous as possible, I think the news is capitalizing on this test.

And keep in mind...that test was the equivalent of an 80 mph crash. It'll be interesting if and when Honda responds to this news.

 

good call.

 

Looking at the result.... this is a totally survivable crash. The car may be toast but it protected the driver.

Seriously, considering speed & size of the other sedan as well as angle of impact the Fit looks like it held up remarkably well.

 

might have broken legs though.. lol

 

More support for my and others theory:

"Needless to say, the folks over at Smart USA were not pleased to see the results of the latest batch of crash testing from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The IIHS did a series of frontal offset crash tests between small and mid-size cars, one of which included a smart ForTwo versus a Mercedes C300. While the results may have been what most people expected, they don't correlate with the ForTwo's results in standardized tests where the IIHS rates the smart as good in front and side impacts. The feds at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration give the smart 4 stars on frontal impact and 5 on side impact.

The problem, as Smart USA sees it, is that the IIHS devised a test that no automaker has designed to and that they claim only represents about one percent of real world accidents. Smart has even set up a site for customer testimonials about the crash safety performance of their ForTwo. Typically in the past, Smarts have actually done quite well in similar vehicle-on-vehicle tests, such as the ones conducted by Mercedes and Auto Motor und Sport after the jump.

The fundamental issue is that car structures are very complex and their response in a crash is highly dependent on the precise nature of the vehicle-to-vehicle interface. Because of standardized tests, cars are optimized to perform well in those, just as the powertrain is optimized to maximize results on the EPA mileage tests. It's not clear at this point how the IIHS methodology varies from what has been done in the past and why the results are so much worse. One thing that's clear: this story is far from over."

Also, if you look at their photos, they don't show the midsize cars on the driver side where most of the damage would be. Instead they show the small cars' driver side. These are offset crashes, keep in mind. Again...the story isn't told straight.

The link:

Smart USA responds to IIHS crash test results

 

the smart car got effed up.

 

sell it and buy a tank...maybe then you'll feel safe?

 

tank doesnt have crumple zones or airbags.. lol

 

View the 2 vids in that Autoblog link. You'll see that the Smart passes the test against the Mercedes S Class.

 

does anyone read reviews before buying a car anymore? IF they did, we wouldn't have threads like this.

 

The main stream media is owned and controlled by the same ultra rich elitist that control most of the corporations in this country..... The corporations that make a huge profit on oil and large gas hogs are losing profits because of those of us that don't feed the pig.... Build cars without cup holder and refrigerators, and equip them with jamming systems that prevent cellular phone use while the cars are running, is a couple of ways that the idiots that drive these buses will become more aware of what they are supposed to be doing when behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.... We that are responsible drivers and drive sensible cars are under attack, because the U.S. auto builders make bigger profits on poorly designed behemoths, that are safe in a frontal collision, but need all kinds of electronics in order to go around a turn without rolling over.

 

This is an age-old debate. Do we give in a get a giant SUV when we don't need one? That just feeds the problem.

Trust me, i commute by bike a lot, and it's scary to have some big expedition go blasting by you. It's much less so to have a Fit or something like that go by.

If more people drive what they truly needed, this wouldn't be as much of an issue. That's never going to happen, so i guess the debate will go on. It saddens me, though, and every day, i see people in their huge SUVs, driving alone and not hauling a thing.

 

Don't despair. Look at the rest of the world...what they drive. US, not even Canada, is the only place in the world that worships the big car. But, with fuel prices on their inevitable rise, along with the development of other means of go-power for vehicles, that American big car stereotype may just be on its way into history.