Car Safety

Update: Federal officials have revealed changes to the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), which will now consolidate front and side impact and rollover results into one rating, simulate striking a pole with a vehicle and include female crash dummies. The new rating system will also include testing...

Researchers from America’s Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have found that the impact from accidents between cars and pickups or SUVs could be greatly reduced if heavier vehicles were forced to meet the same bumper design requirements as cars. The IIHS plans to formally petition...

Two of Audi's R8 sports cars have been handed over to the German Motorsport Association at the Norisring Speed Weekend event. One will be used as the official safety car for the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) race series, while the other, specially prepped by Audi's in-house tuners at quattro...

Earlier this week Opel revealed its Insignia sedan would get a high-tech new forward-looking camera system that recognizes speed signs and warns the driver if they are traveling too fast. Now Mercedes-Benz has demonstrated a system that not only recognizes stop lights and stop signs, pedestrians...

Air quality in the capital city of Beijing is so poor that many Olympic athletes are concerned for their health. Over 3.29 million cars are registered in the city, and starting July 20, officials hope to engage a program that will take 45% of those cars off the road on alternate days, banning cars...

A package of proposed mandatory safety features under consideration for European Union member nations has generally been well-received. One provision, however, has raised concern among tire makers that road safety could actually be compromised rather than improved. Reducing tire noise without...

More research and investigation into the necessary levels of strength for automobile roofs will be necessary before the Nation Highway Traffic Safey Administration (NHTSA) can submit a proposal to the U.S. Congress outlining the changes necessary to improve rollover safety. Other aspects of the new...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has intensified an investigation of 21 GM truck and SUV models manufactured between 2006 and 2008 because of the possibility of an engine compartment fire. More than 2.7 million vehicles are now subject to the investigation, which...

Opel’s new Insignia sedan will debut with a dual-function front camera system designed to read passing speed limit and no-overtaking signs and relay this information to the driver via the instrument panel, as well as a lane departure warning feature. Known as the ‘Front Camera...

It's not easy to drive through most cities without encountering at least one or two people at once dangerously oblivious of the traffic around them and yet hostile toward anyone that points it out, but a recent study by a scientist at Colorado State University in the U.S. may have found a way to...

Scientists working at Continental, funded by the EU's Advanced Protection Systems project (or APROSYS) have developed a computerized system that can detect when a crash is unavoidable and brace the car for the impact. The system involves a side beam that moves into place at the last second before...

BMW will be showing off some new technology in the next-generation 7-series flagship saloon set to be revealed next month. Already confirmed for the future sedan is a new hybrid powertrain as well as an eight-speed automatic gearbox but according to latest reports it will also feature a new...

Current roof-crush regulations require all cars sold in the U.S. to support 1.5 times their weight on their roofs on one side of the car. New rules proposed by the NHTSA would have the entire roof required to support 2.5 times the car's weight. Strong opposition is arising in the U.S. Senate, with...

The Japanese-market-only Toyota Crown Hybrid first debuted as a concept at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, and was revealed as a production model in April of this year. Now the luxury hybrid sedan is getting a cutting-edge pedestrian detection system for its Night View night vision computer. The...

Ford is continuing with its aggressive turnaround plan in its bid to recover from multi-billion dollar losses in 2007, with the latest measure, announced on Wednesday, set to shed more than 2,000 of its full-time salary jobs in North America. We’ve already seen Ford cut the number of its...

Michigan’s graduated driver licensing system has seen the number of 16-year-old drivers injured or killed in vehicle accidents drop dramatically over the past decade, and is proving so successful that other states are not only considering implementing similar systems but also introducing...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will unveil its new regulations in regard to vehicle roof strength requirements this June, a standard that hasn’t changed in more than 35 years. The move is part of the U.S. government’s sweeping reforms in safety standards to...

The 2009 Subaru Forester has proved its safety prowess once again following another five-star safety rating, this time from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 5-star rating reflected its flawless protection for all seats in both frontal and side-impact crash tests. The...

It may seem like common sense that small convertibles are less than ideal vehicles in which to perform rollovers and expect safe passage, but testing by Germany's ADAC bears that out with real-world data. When the dust settled, it turned out that none of the cars tested are really safe, though some...

Federal safety officials in the U.S. are investigating a potential fire risk in Ford’s Windstar minivan model produced between 1995 and 2003 after authorities received more than 130 consumer complaints about vehicle fires. The investigation is still in its early stages but it could lead to...