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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently tested four 2007 model vehicles with side airbags: Toyota FJ Cruiser and Ford Freestyle (midsize SUVs); Ford Fusion (midsize moderately priced car) and Ford Crown Victoria (large family car). The FJ Cruiser and Freestyle earn good ratings for protection in side crashes. The Fusion is rated acceptable, and the Crown Victoria is marginal. Side airbags are optional in the FJ Cruiser and Crown Victoria. The Fusion has been upgraded to standard side airbags for the 2007 model year. The Freestyle will have standard side airbags in 2007s built after September.

“We commend Ford for making side airbags standard in the Fusion and Freestyle,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “A few years ago, it was rare to find these standard in moderately priced family vehicles, but they’re quickly becoming the norm.”

The tests were conducted outside of the Institute’s normal schedule at the request of the manufacturers. Tests of the Crown Victoria and Fusion update earlier tests of these vehicles without side airbags.

“Manufacturers may request a test because they’ve made changes to improve a vehicle’s performance or they have a new vehicle they think will earn a good rating,” Lund explains. “We encourage these requests because it means manufacturers are striving to make their vehicles safer, and we can get the results out to consumers earlier. When we do conduct tests early the manufacturers provide reimbursement for the cost of the vehicles.”

Summary of test results: The FJ Cruiser with optional side airbags earned a good rating. Intrusion into the occupant compartment was minimal. Performance in all categories (dummy injury measures, head protection, and structure) was good across the board.

“A perfect score,” Lund points out.

The Freestyle’s structure didn’t perform quite as well, but this vehicle is rated good overall. The dummies’ heads were protected from hitting any hard structures by side curtain-style airbags that deploy from above the windows.

Both the Fusion and Crown Victoria (also sold by Mercury as the Milan and Grand Marquis) with side airbags improved compared with the poor ratings earned by 2006 models tested without side airbags. In the new test of the Fusion, head protection was good but measures recorded on the driver dummy indicated that a fracture of the pelvis would be possible in a crash of this severity. The Fusion with side airbags earned an overall rating of acceptable for side impact protection. In the Crown Victoria, head protection also improved, but this car is rated marginal because of high forces recorded on the driver dummy’s pelvis and poor structural performance. (Note: These ratings do not apply to 2006 models equipped with optional side airbags. Ford changed the side airbags, door structure, and interior trim of 2007 Fusions and the side airbags and interior trim of 2007 Crown Victorias to improve occupant protection in side impacts.)

How vehicles are evaluated: Each vehicle’s overall side evaluation is based on performance in a crash test in which the side of the 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 two instrumented SID-IIs dummies, both representing a small woman or preteen; assessment of head protection countermeasures; and the vehicle’s structural performance during the impact. Injury measures obtained from the two dummies, one in the driver seat and the other in the rear seat behind the driver, are used to determine the likelihood that the driver and/or passenger in a real-world crash would have sustained serious injury to various body regions. The movements and contacts of the dummies’ heads during the crash also are evaluated. Structural performance is based on measurements indicating the amount of B-pillar intrusion into the occupant compartment.

Posted under Automotive, Safety, Uncategorized

Toyota Motor Sales announced today that it would include a free CARFAX Vehicle History Report with every new certified vehicle it sells.

CARFAX is the country’s leading supplier of such data and is used by virtually all manufacturers and major web sites. Toyota also announced that if the vehicle did not have a satisfactory CARFAX report that it could not be sold as a “Toyota Certified” vehicle.

Posted under Automotive

The Internal Revenue Service has certified the model year 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid as being eligible for the clean-burning fuel deduction. This certification means that taxpayers who purchase one of these hybrid vehicles new during calendar year 2005 may claim a tax deduction of up to $2000 on Form 1040.

Under Working Families Relief Act of 2004 which was signed into law in October of 2004, the clean-burning fuel deduction is limited to up to $2,000 for certified vehicles first put into service in 2005 and $500 for vehicles placed in service in 2006. No deduction will be allowed after 2006.

Federal Law allows individuals to claim a deduction for the incremental cost of buying a motor vehicle that is propelled by a clean-burning fuel. By combining an electric motor with a gasoline-powered engine, these hybrid vehicles obtain greater fuel efficiency and produce fewer emissions than similar vehicles powered solely by conventional gasoline-powered engines.

This one-time deduction must be taken in the year the vehicle is originally used. The taxpayer must be the original owner. Individuals do not have to itemize deductions on their tax return to claim this deduction. This benefit can be taken as an adjustment to income on the Form 1040.

The amount of the deduction for the Toyota Highlander Hybrid was set after the manufacturer, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. documented for the IRS the incremental cost related to the vehicle’s electric motor and related equipment.

Posted under Automotive

Nationwide registrations for new hybrid vehicles rose to 83,153 in 2004 – an 81 percent increase from 2003 according to R. L. Polk & Co. The Toyota Prius recorded 53,761 new hybrid vehicle registrations in 2004, a 33 percent increase over 2003. The Prius occupies 64 percent of the hybrid market, a sizeable lead over the Honda Civic, which had 25,586 registrations and 31 percent market share. Since the introduction of hybrid vehicles in 2000, the market has grown by more than 960 percent.

“Expectations of continuing high gas prices, combined with the introduction of new models to the consumer market, have heightened interest in hybrid vehicles,” said Lonnie Miller, director of Polk’s Analytical Solutions. “Hybrids offer improved fuel efficiency and lower emissions while maintaining the functionality and convenience of gasoline-powered vehicles. Hybrid technology is also easy to produce and works within the existing transportation infrastructure.”

Hybrid vehicles are automobiles powered by internal combustion engines, but are also equipped with batteries recharged during driving and an electric motor to assist with power demand. There are different levels of hybrids, ranging from minor systems to “full hybrid” systems. Hybrids do not need to be plugged in, yet they deliver superior mileage and are considered environmentally-friendly alternatives to traditional internal combustion vehicles.

HYBRID BUYER OPTIONS EXPANDING

The range of hybrid vehicle choices continues to expand. In addition to the Toyota Prius; Honda Civic, Accord and Insight, and Ford Escape, several new hybrid models were introduced in the past few months including the Dodge Ram, Lexus RX 400h and the Mercury Mariner. The 2006 model year will expect to see the introduction of a hybrid version of the Saturn VUE, Toyota Highlander and the Nissan Altima. Major manufacturers are planning a total of almost a dozen new hybrid vehicles in the next three years.

REGIONAL STRENGTHS

California strongly outpaces all other states in new hybrid vehicle registrations. In 2004 there were 25,021 new hybrid vehicle registrations in California, about 4.5 times that of second place Virginia with 5,613. Washington came in third with 3,441; Florida came in fourth with 3,272 and Maryland rounds out the top five with 3,238 new hybrid vehicle registrations in 2004.

Similarly, Los Angeles remains the top metropolitan area for hybrid vehicles with 10,399 new hybrid vehicle registrations in 2004, more than doubling the total from 2003. San Francisco came in second at 8,051 followed by Washington D.C. with 6,473 new hybrid vehicle registrations. New York came in fourth at 3,779 followed by Seattle with 2,857 new hybrid vehicle registrations in 2004. Each of these markets experienced significant growth in the number of new hybrid vehicle registrations compared with the previous year, a confirmation of the robust strength of this new vehicle segment.

Posted under Automotive