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IIHS updates overlap test: 2 SUVs get good marks, 9 fare poorly

Vehicles in crashes keep occupants safe by deforming around the cabin in a way that maintains cabin integrity. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's moderate overlap test, introduced in 1995, has been a huge contributor to improved safety for front-row passengers in a crash. IIHS President David Harkey said, "Thanks to automakers’ improvements, drivers in most vehicles are nearly 50% less likely to be killed in a frontal crash today than they were 25 years ago." In the 'unintentional side effects' column, crash safety has gotten worse for passengers in the back seats. When carmakers reengineered the front crash structure to protect the driver, more crash forces got distributed throughout the rear. IIHS research claims rear passengers have a 46% greater risk of fatal injury than front-row passengers, but back-seaters haven't benefited from the same upgrades in safety as the front row. The IIHS updated its moderate overlap test to address the issue, putting 15 vehicles through the new regime. Two earned good ratings — the 2023 Ford Escape and the 2021-2023 Volvo XC40 — one was acceptable, three were marginal and nine were rated poor. Every one of the crossovers sampled got good marks for all passengers in the original test. That test sees 40% of vehicle's width on the driver's side impacting an aluminum honeycomb barrier at 40 miles per hour. The updated test puts a crash dummy representing small woman or 12-year-old child in the seat behind the driver, the dummy's sensors and grease paint measuring the effectiveness of the restraints and the forces a human body would need to endure. To achieve a good rating, the "measurements must not exceed limits indicating excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen or thigh." An institute engineer said, "In real-world crashes, chest injuries are the most common serious rear-seat injuries for adults." The sensors and video evidence showed back seat dummies in the Escape and XC40 endured minimal risk of injuries from excessive crash forces, from submarining under the seat belt, or from unwanted interaction with the side curtain airbag.   The Toyota RAV4 scored acceptable. The second-row dummy also endured minimal risk of injury to the chest and lower extremities. However, the lap belt slipped upward in a way that could increase abdominal injuries, and after the dummy's head dipped during crash impact, the head came back up between the rear curtain airbag and rear window.

Scion was Toyota's lost generation

Toyota's top North American leader was succinct in explaining the reasons for killing Scion. "It's the right decision at the right time," Jim Lentz said. It's hard to disagree. In a strong market that saw 17.5 million sales last year, Scion volume dipped three percent. Its product lineup has withered for years, which is always a telltale sign a brand doesn't have the full support of its owner. Though enthusiasts love the FR-S sports car, it's the fruit of a joint project with Subaru that also produced the BRZ. Scion's coolest car has a twin sold by one of its rivals. After the FR-S launched in 2012, Scion got nothing – squat – in the way of new products until the iA and iM arrived late last year, IHS senior analyst Stephanie Brinley noted. "[Scion] was not successful in building a visual brand identity or product personality," she said. Lentz, Scion's first vice president and now CEO of Toyota's North American division, admitted the market has changed. "Younger customers have a different mindset," he said. In the early oughts, a brand that catered to a youthful demographic made some sense, and this is one front where Toyota can declare victory. Seventy percent of Scion's buyers were new to Toyota, and the average age was 36 years old. The problem is, not enough of them buy Scions anymore. Scion hit a highwater sales mark of 173,034 vehicles in 2006 and hasn't come close to reaching that since. The recession hurt Scion, too. It bottomed out in 2010 with just 45,678 sales, a time when the rest of the industry was beginning to recover. There was a brief uptick (73,507) in 2012, but Scion failed to capitalize on that momentum and sales fell for three more years. Toyota is calling Scion's pending death a "transition" back to the main company. Sure, most of the cars will be rebadged Toyotas, like the FR-S, iA, and iM. The C-HR, an attractive future crossover that would have given Scion a boost, will go into production as a Toyota. But make no mistake: This is a failure. Toyota is closing a brand in the same way General Motors scrapped Oldsmobile, Ford shuttered Mercury, and Chrysler dropped Plymouth. Those brands languished for years. Toyota moved quicker to put the fork in Scion, which prevented it from becoming a long-term drain on the parent company. Lentz was dead on. It's the right time. News & Analysis News: Sergio Marchionne is against a Ferrari SUV Analysis: His exact words were, "you have to shoot me first," Bloomberg reported.

2018 Honda Odyssey bests Pacifica, Sienna in minivan crash, LATCH tests

Honda has a lot to be proud of following the latest round of passenger small-overlap crash testing by the IIHS. The safety organization tested the 2018 Honda Odyssey, 2018 Chrysler Pacifica and 2018 Toyota Sienna, and the Odyssey managed the best rating of "Good." The Pacifica followed behind with an "Acceptable" rating, and the Sienna brought up the rear with just a "Marginal." Both the Pacifica and Sienna lost points because the structure around the passengers collapsed to differing extents, leading to parts of the structure intruding into the passenger compartment. The Pacifica didn't intrude enough to harm passengers, with each injury area still having a Good rating, but the Sienna's structure intruded far enough to potentially harm the leg and foot areas, leading to an Acceptable rating in those specific areas. In addition to the small overlap crash test, the IIHS evaluated all three minivans for LATCH child seat anchor ease of use. Once again, the Odyssey aced the test with a Good+ rating, which is awarded for both ease of use and offering multiple anchor point options. The Pacifica and Sienna swap the crash test ratings, with a Marginal for the Chrysler and an Acceptable for the Sienna. The Odyssey and Pacifica can both brag that they're Top Safety Picks, and they'd get Top Safety Pick+ awards if they weren't hampered by headlights that only get Acceptable ratings. The Toyota Sienna fails to earn the regular Top Safety Pick award because both small overlap tests yielded results that were too low. Only one other minivan tested by IIHS has the Top Safety Pick rating, and that's the Kia Sedona. It earns an Acceptable rating in LATCH usability, and its headlights actually earned a Good rating. It hasn't undergone passenger-side small overlap crash testing yet. If it fares well, it could get bumped up to a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Related Video: Image Credit: IIHS Chrysler Honda Toyota Safety Minivan/Van consumer toyota sienna chrysler pacifica IIHS Top Safety Pick