NEW
CRASH TEST RESULTS:
5
OF 6 MIDSIZE CARS EARN LOW RATINGS
IN 5 MPH CRASHES TO TEST THE BUMPERS
 |
| 2004
Mitsubishi Galant |
Five
of six new midsize cars earned poor or marginal ratings in low-speed crash tests
conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Only one model, the Mitsubishi
Galant, earned the second highest rating of acceptable. The Suzuki Verona, Nissan
Maxima, and Acura TL are rated marginal. The Chevrolet Malibu and Acura TSX earned
the lowest rating of poor. All six cars are 2004 models.
"These
midsize models range from inexpensive to luxury, but all but one of them share
bumpers that don't bump," says Adrian Lund, Institute chief operating officer.
"Poor bumper design hits consumers in their pocketbooks, and it's an inconvenience
because a vehicle will have to be in the shop for several days or more to repair
the damage."
The
Institute's series of four bumper tests includes front- and rear-into-flat-barrier
plus front-into-angle-barrier and rear-into-pole. These tests assess how well
bumpers can prevent damage in 5 mph collisions simulating the fender-bender impacts
that are common in commuter traffic and parking lots. A good bumper system should
absorb the energy of these minor impacts and protect expensive body panels, headlamp
systems, and other components from damage.
Acura
TSX and Chevrolet Malibu are worst: The TSX sustained the heaviest damage in the
rear-into-pole test because the bumper was too weak to protect the car body.
"The
bumper couldn't keep the damage away from the trunk and rear body panel,"
Lund says. "The lid alone cost more than $500 to straighten and refinish.
The bumper is supposed to take the hit so the car's fenders and body don't have
to."
Another
problem is that the TSX's bumpers are nearly flush against the body -- a design
favored by some automotive stylists.
"That
design may please the styling department, but it's terrible for consumers because
it puts expensive sheet metal and safety components such as the headlamps closer
to the point of impact in a routine fender-bender."
The
Malibu sustained more than $1,300 damage in the front-into-angle-barrier test
because the bumper cover tore, the body was driven out of line, and the right
fender buckled.
"One
of the least demanding tests is the rear-into-flat-barrier because the energy
of the impact is spread across the rear of the vehicle," Lund explains. "But
the damage to the Malibu was almost $900 in this test, in part because the bumper
mountings were driven into the body panels. In contrast, the Mitsubishi Galant
sustained only about $150 damage in the same test because all that needed to be
replaced was the steel reinforcement bar under the bumper cover."
As
a result of the Institute's tests, General Motors says it's re-engineering Malibu
bumpers. "Hopefully the Malibu will do significantly better the next time
we test it," Lund says.
Mitsubishi
makes effort to design better bumpers for Galant: Damage to the Galant's bumpers
averaged about $500 per test, compared with an average of almost $1,000 per test
for the poor performers. Early in production, Mitsubishi changed the design of
some of the front bumper components to improve the Galant's performance, "but
there's still a lot of room to make them better," Lund notes.
There
was more than $2,000 damage in all four tests, so the Galant didn't earn the Institute's
top rating of good. But the damage totals were $1,800 less than the TSX sustained
and $1,700 less than the Malibu.
"It's
not expensive for manufacturers to build decent bumpers. The Galant is one of
the lowest priced vehicles in this group of cars we tested, but it has the best
bumpers," Lund says.
Bumpers
themselves sustain big damage: For some of the cars, the high repair costs reflect
the expense of replacing bumper components that should be able to resist major
damage in a low-speed impact.
"In
the rear-into-pole test, the TL's bumper kept damage away from the car's body,
but just to repair the bumper cover and replace parts cost more than $750,"
Lund points out. "The Verona sustained nearly $900 damage in the front-angle
test, and all but about $70 was to repair and replace bumper components. Manufacturers
need to pay more attention to what it costs owners to repair damage in minor collisions.
A lot of the damage to these cars could have been avoided if the bumpers had been
designed to absorb the energy of a minor impact."
A
federal bumper standard used to require no damage in the flat-barrier impacts.
A 1981 Ford Escort withstood all four of the Institute's bumper tests with no
damage at all. The 1998 Volkswagen New Beetle sustained only minimal damage in
the same impacts.
(Source: Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety)
