Japanese Brands Dominate 2016 Rankings For Safety - Why Can't The Domestics Compete?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said Thursday that 48 vehicles earned its highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus.” That’s up from 33 a year ago.

Toyota, Honda and Subaru had the most winners, with 23 combined. Volkswagen and its luxury brand, Audi, had seven winners. Volvo, Hyundai and Mazda each had multiple winners. The Chrysler 200 was the only domestic car to earn the designation.

To be a “Top Safety Pick Plus,” vehicles must get the top score in all five of the group’s crash tests. Winners must also offer advanced front crash-prevention systems with automatic emergency braking. The institute says several vehicles added automatic braking in 2016 so they could compete for the top prize, including the Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon.

Yonder7 - 12/10/2015 4:53:04 PM

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Because Japanese knows that usually discipline applied is better than intelligence stored on the warehouse.

MrEE - 12/10/2015 6:11:20 PM

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Their engineering focus on excellence that includes safety, quality, reliability, and value. Yet many put brand loyalty and self image ahead of these attributes.

TomM - 12/10/2015 7:52:31 PM

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Chrysler showed - when it sold the very same Mitsubishi produced by the same people at the same factory - that there is a BIAS against certain manufacturers - and in favor of others in these tests -since all of them are in some way subjective.

So - some of the foreign manufacturers put more effort into making automatic braking available because they are riding the crest of a HIGH dollar which is creating record profits for them. And since only those that offered it - can be top picks - it has little to do with how the car body reacts in a crash. This is a CLEAR bias towards higher priced cars - and Japanese produced cars in general. As these features become more integrated and less expensive - they will be less of an issue.

MDarringer - 12/10/2015 8:02:51 PM

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Clickbait

jameswisrik - 12/11/2015 8:09:32 AM

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GM is the #1 death trape builder...they are good at something! Dr. Jack Korvikian would be jealous!

Dexter1 - 12/11/2015 3:44:29 PM

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Japanese brands get such high safety marks because they are so ugly, everyone steers out of their way in order to avoid looking at them.

TomM - 12/11/2015 6:57:13 PM

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Sorry - but the fact is - death rates in cars can be directly related to two things - age of the drivers involved - and SIZE of the Cars. While GM has indeed SOLD far more cars than any other manufacturers since they first existed - American cars tended over time to be far larger and less likely to be involved in Fatal crashes - while the cars most likely to be involved in death crashes remain the Sub-compact and compact and smaller Asian cars. The fact is - car deaths are the highest in China and India - countries where few American made cars are sold.

MrEE - 12/11/2015 7:32:46 PM

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Then there is the fact that Chevy Suburban drivers were about four times more likely to die in a crash than were Prius drivers based on death rate compiled by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Also 9 vehicles such as Lexus RX, had zero driver deaths during most recent 3 year period. No GM, Ford, or Chrysler were in this category. Maybe some are not just smarter shoppers but better drivers.

MrEE - 12/12/2015 8:52:01 AM

+1 Boost

In real world IIHS reports some stand out as death traps; Nissan Versa, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Chevrolet Aveo, even in single vehicle accidents. Would be helpful to see the age distribution and DUI of fatality deaths reported. Some higher rates are very likely either young or older drivers influenced (e.g. large cars and Cadillac's).