Iconic American Sports Cars Like Ford Mustang And Chevrolet Camaro Fail IIHS Crash Tests

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The cars have become much safer than what they used to be. Nowadays, a car is not only supposed to be safer for the passengers, but also for the pedestrians as well. Recently, to test how good few of these old sports cars are, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of America took America’s three most iconic sports coupes through full testing. And unsurprisingly, none of those three cars met the latest safety criteria – all three cars failed the test.

Also Read: Ford Motor Company Is Celebrating 50 Years Of Its Iconic Ford Mustang Car

IIHS crash-tested Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and Dodge Challenger and all three couldn’t meet both Top Safety Pick+ and Top Safety Pick status. IIHS President Adrian Lund told the press,

“These vehicles have high horsepower, and they’re driven at higher speeds, and they’ll crash at higher speeds. So you’d like them to have strong protection, but none of them earned Top Safety Pick.”

In all the three cars mentioned, the Chevrolet Camaro was the only vehicle that achieved a “good” ranking when it was slammed at 40 mph to emulate a crash of the front quarter of the car. Ford Mustang was ranked at acceptable whereas the Dodge Challenger stood at marginal. The crash-test dummies showed the signs of a severe leg injury.

Courtesy: Autoblog
Courtesy: Autoblog

The testing has raised the questions about the safety of motorists in such fast cars that people don’t usually drive slowly. According to new data from the Center for Auto Safety, 99% of 2016 model vehicles tested under the federal government’s program earned 4 or 5 stars. This shows how far the automotive technology has come along, and how safe the new cars are for everyone involved.

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  1. Moaz Malik says

    Well that’s not really surprising. American sports cars are much cheaper than their European counterparts. You’re mainly paying for the performance. That’s why the Ford Mustang GT350 starts at $47,795, but since you can’t have everything at that (relatively) low price, build quality, safety and overall refinement take a backseat. Having said that, in recent years American automakers have made major strides in quality. For example, the C6 Corvette had the dullest interior of any supercar ever and you could push in the fiberglass body with your hand. The new one is much better made from what I hear.

  2. Alex Sal says

    IIHS has very stringent guidelines and none of them European counterparts have been crash tested. The BMW 3 series has a similar rating. The headline and the article are misleading.

  3. Alex Sal says

    The headline and the article are misleading.Please refer to the IIHS website.

  4. Moaz Malik says

    The headline is a little click-baity, I agree. Anyway I checked the website, and the 2016 3 series has a similar rating overall to the Ford Mustang, but front crash prevention stands at ‘advanced with optional equipment’, compared to the basic rating of the mustang. The 5 series has a ‘superior’ for front crash prevention, while the 2016 E-class earns a top safety pick plus. Moreover, looking at the list of ‘top safety pick’ winners for the present year, only 8 American cars earned the prize of TSP, while the Japanese utterly dominate the TSP+ list and Germans and Korean marques make a respectable showing. My original point still stands: American cars are really cool, offer huge bang for the buck and are ‘safe enough’, but lose to their competitors in safety ratings. That still wouldn’t stop me from getting a Camaro, if I could afford it, that is.

  5. Usman Haider Sheikh says

    the last name of the IIHS president though, might be called Adrian Dick as well.

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