Small cars get poor marks in collision tests
AP – An electric smart car is presented at the Auto Mobil International motor show in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, …
By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer – Tue Apr 14, 6:46 am ET
WASHINGTON – Micro cars can give motorists top-notch fuel efficiency at a competitive price, but the insurance industry says they don't fare too well in collisions with larger vehicles.
In crash tests released Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart "fortwo," Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris could face significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes with larger, mid-size vehicles.
"There are good reasons people buy mini cars. They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests," said Adrian Lund, the institute's president.
Automakers who manufacture the small cars said the tests simulated a high-speed crash that rarely happens on the road. They also said the tests rehashed past insurance industry arguments against tougher fuel efficiency requirements. The institute has raised questions about whether stricter gas mileage rules, which are being developed by the government, might lead to smaller, lighter vehicles that could be less safe.
"If you were to take that argument to the nth degree, we should all be driving 18-wheelers. And the trend in society today is just the opposite," said Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA.
Sales of small cars soared when gas prices topped $4 per gallon last year but have fallen off as gasoline has retreated to about $2 a gallon and the economic downturn has slowed car sales. The small cars are affordable — prices of the three cars tested range from about $12,000 to $18,000 — and typically achieve 30 miles per gallon or more.
The tests involved head-on crashes between the fortwo and a 2009 Mercedes C Class, the Fit and a 2009 Honda Accord and the Yaris and the 2009 Toyota Camry. The tests were conducted at 40 miles per hour, representing a severe crash.
In the fortwo collision, the institute said the Smart, which weighs 1,808 lbs, went airborne and turned around 450 degrees after striking the C Class, which weighs nearly twice as much. There was extensive damage to the fortwo's interior and the Smart driver could have faced extensive injuries to the head and legs. There was little damage to the front seat area of the C Class.
Schembri said the test simulated a "rare and extreme scenario" and noted that the fortwo had received solid ratings from the government's crash test program. The fortwo has received top scores from the Insurance Institute in front-end and side crash tests against comparably sized vehicles but in the front-end tests against the C Class, the institute gave the mini car poor marks.
In the Fit's test, the dummy's head struck the steering wheel through the air bag and showed a high risk of leg injuries. In the vehicle-to-vehicle test, the Fit was rated poor while the Accord's structure held up well.
Honda spokesman Todd Mittleman said the tests involved "unusual and extreme conditions" and noted that all 2009 Honda vehicles had received top scores from the Insurance Institute.
In the Yaris test, the institute said the mini car sustained damage to the door and front passenger area. The driver dummy showed signs of head injuries, a deep gash on the right knee and extensive forces to the neck and right leg.
The Yaris has received good ratings in past front and side testing but received a poor rating in the crash with the Camry. Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the car-to-car test had little relevance to consumers because of its severity.
"It's fairly obvious that they have an agenda here with regard to how smaller cars are going to be entering the North American market in larger numbers," Hanson said.
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On the Net:
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: //www.iihs.org/

和酷熊有关么。。
我怎么看到雅力士什么的
有高手翻译下么

我随便翻译一下，大概意思就是微型车在车车碰撞中的分数很低，但是经销商又说，俺的微型车也是安全的，这些情况属于极端的，很少在日常生活中出现。买不买就看你自己了。
    微型汽车可以在一个很有竞争力的价钱上给驾驶员出色的燃油效能，但是保险业认为他们不能够顺利的通过与大车的碰撞测试。
    在星期二的碰撞测试中，公路安全保险机构发现，当与大型或是中型汽车的前端碰撞过程中，smart、飞度、yaris的驾驶员可能面临严重的腿部和头部的伤害。“人们有很多理由来购买迷你车。他们更便宜、更经济。但是通过我们新的测试发现，安全是这些好处代价。”该机构的主席Adrian说。这些迷你车的制造商们说，这些测试模拟了在路上十分罕见的高速碰撞。他们也说这些测试重新证实了之前保险业反对严格燃料效能（中国有没有这个？）的意见。这个机构已经开始质疑是否是政府正在制定的stricter gas mileage rules 导致更小更轻但是更不安全的车出现。“如果你极端的采取这一意见，那么我们都要开十八个轮子的汽车。但是，社会的趋势却是相反的。”smart的主席说。
    当去年每加仑汽油到达4美元的时候，微型汽车的销售量达剧增。但是当汽油价格恢复到每加仑2美元的时候这一数量就减少了，并且经济的低迷也减少了汽车的销售。微型汽车价格便宜——三两被考察的汽车从12000美元到18000美元——大概每加仑汽油能跑30英里或者更多。
    这些测试包括了smart和奔驰c系列、飞度和雅阁、yaris和凯美瑞的正面碰撞。测试的速度是40英里每小时，持续了几次。在smart的碰撞中，重1808 ibs的smart在跟两倍重量的c class碰撞后翻滚了450度。Smart受到了重创，并且司机的头部和腿部可能面临更严重的伤害。C class 前座区域收到的伤害极小。Schembri说，这些测试模拟了一个“极少的极端情况”并且要注意到smart已经接受过固体碰撞试验。在与同等级别的车碰撞试验中，它得到了最高分。但是在与c class的碰撞试验中得到的分数很低。在飞度的实验中，人体模型的头部通过气囊碰到了方向盘上并且腿部很容易受到伤害。在车车碰撞当中，飞度受到了伤害而雅阁的结构确保持完好。本田的代言人说，这个实验是在非正常的极端情况下发生的，并且所有的2009款本田车辆都从保险机构那里得到了最高分。司机模型的头部收到了严重的伤害，并且右膝部由很深的伤口、强大的力作用在颈部和右腿。在过去的正面和侧面的碰撞测试中yaris得到了高分但是在与凯美瑞的碰撞测试中分数奇低。丰田的发言人说，这些车车碰撞结果与消费者关系不大，因为它是在极端情况下进行的。
最后发表一下自己的看法，微型车大部分都是在城市中代步，高速与大车碰撞的几率确实很少，但是既然从安全考虑就应当把最极端的情况考虑进来，想办法在现有的前提下尽可能增强安全系数。当然，拿鹌鹑蛋和鸡蛋碰撞的故事听得也不少，但是至少我们可以造一个相对安全的鹌鹑蛋。
[ 本帖最后由 zhuan_123 于 09-04-15 11:44 编辑 ]

3楼的哥们好强,这都能香的懂呀,佩服!