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Chevy Volt 'acceptable,' Nissan Leaf 'poor' in new IIHS safety tests

Ford C-Max Hybrid also scored "acceptable" rating. With US Nissan Leaf sales up almost 30 percent during the first half of the year, the only thing that might be able to stop the battery-electric vehicle is a good, stiff barrier. Unfortunately, thing's aren't always pretty when that happens in the real world, according to new tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Things with the Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in are a little bit rosier, though. The two plug-in vehicles were part of a batch of a dozen vehicles that just went through the IIHS's "small overlap" test, in which the driver's side front corner of the vehicle is crashed into a rigid barrier at 40 miles per hour. Out of the dozen, only the Mini Cooper Countryman was given a "good" rating. Five vehicles, including the Volt and the Ford C-Max Hybrid, were rated "acceptable," two were "marginal" and two, including the Leaf, were "poor." Plug-in vehicles are unique in the crash-test context because of their relatively large battery sizes. In the Volt's case, the driver had a "low risk" of injury, said the IIHS. But the Leaf's crash substantially pushed back the instrument panel and steering column, creating a scenario where the driver was "likely" to sustain leg injuries. The batteries in both the Leaf and the Volt passed safety tests specifically targeted at things like thermo and electrical properties and overall integrity. "Nissan is proud of the Leaf's 'Good' rating in all other IIHS tests, a 4-star NCAP rating from NHTSA and its IIHS Top Safety Pick rating in all previous years since the car's release," the company said in an e-mail sent to AutoblogGreen. "As for the performance of the 2014 Leaf in the 'small overlap frontal test,' Nissan will continue to review these and other results from the IIHS 'small overlap frontal test' as we seek opportunities for improvement." Check out the IIHS's press release and small car crash-test video footage below. Range of ratings: Small car ratings run the gamut in challenging small overlap front test The Mini Cooper Countryman is the only small car to earn a good rating among the latest group of 12 cars subjected to the Institute's small overlap front crash test. Two electric models and a hybrid also are in the mix, with varied results. The electric-powered Chevrolet Volt (with a gasoline engine "range extender") earns an acceptable rating, while its battery-electric rival, the Nissan Leaf, earns a poor rating.

Ford Police Interceptors dominate Michigan State Police testing

Once again, Ford Motor Company builds the fastest police vehicles. The Blue Oval touted the news in an official release following Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department testing. Ford did very well. Except for one acceleration metric – zero to 10 miles per hour – the Blue Oval's Taurus and Explorer-based cop cars were the quickest, with particular praise coming for the EcoBoost-powered models, which bested Chevrolet and Dodge's V8-powered variants. Dearborn's products also posted the fastest average times around MSP's vehicle dynamics course. But it wasn't all positive for Ford. The only four-cylinder in the contest, the 2.0-liter, EcoBoost Ford SSP Sedan, had both the lowest top speed, 120 mph, and the slowest acceleration figures. It was also the slowest in track testing. Ford's products also failed to match the braking and top speeds of its rivals from Detroit and Auburn Hills – the rear-drive Charger Pursuit posted the best braking stats of the entire test, while the V8-powered Chevrolet Caprice hit the highest top speed, at 155 mph. Ford did score a top speed award, among SUVs, but at 132 mph, the naturally aspirated Police Interceptor Utility had to share its award with the equally fast, rear-drive Chevrolet Tahoe. The LA County Sheriff's timing isn't publicly available, but according to Ford, the EcoBoost-powered police cars put on a similarly impressive show for cops on the West Coast. We've assembled a spreadsheet on Google Docs that offers an easy to browse comparison of the different stats assembled by the Michigan State Police, and divided the vehicles between standard V6-powered sedans, high-performance sedans (EcoBoost and V8 models), and SUVs. You can check it out here. Related Video:

Fernando Alonso fails to qualify as Pagenaud takes Indy pole

Former Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso narrowly failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday as France's Simon Pagenaud took pole position for the May 26 race. Kyle Kaiser beat out Alonso for the final spot in the 33-car field when he finished third, one spot ahead of the Spaniard, in a six-car shootout that determined the Indy 500's last row. The 23-year-old Kaiser, the last driver to take the track, averaged 227.372 mph for his four laps, a mere 0.019 mph ahead of Alonso's 227.353 mph average in the McLaren-prepared Chevrolet. "We never surrendered. We kept trying," Alonso, 37, told reporters after a tough week at the famed speedway. The Spaniard crashed his Chevrolet in practice on Wednesday and missed nearly two full days of practice while a back-up car was prepared. Then he tried five times on Saturday to qualify, puncturing a tire on the first attempt. Alonso had a completely new set up for Sunday's shootout but could not get the speed he needed to qualify. "I think the car felt better today than what we had yesterday. (So I am) happy with things we tried," he told reporters before learning he had not qualified. Pagenaud had a four-lap average speed of 229.992 mph to become the first Frenchman to take the pole since Rene Thomas in 1919. "It's just amazing," Pagenaud, who last week won the IndyCar Grand Prix on the track's road course, told NBC Sports. "Obviously last week was amazing, but this is even more special." He will be joined by Ed Carpenter (229.889) and Spencer Pigot (229.826) on the front row. But the Cinderella story belonged to Kaiser, the 33rd qualifier. "I don't think I can wrap my mind around what we just did," he said after bumping Alonso from the field. "This is all the credit to the team. They've been working non-stop trying to get this car ready for us and they did everything that we needed to get into this field." (Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris)Related Video: Motorsports Chevrolet McLaren Racing Vehicles F1 IndyCar