crash test

Life can be good in a 2013 Nissan Leaf, even when you're crashing one. The all-electric five-seater from Nissan, which is enjoying surging sales this year, has now received the top safety rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The Leaf joined the Nissan Altima and Infiniti ...

The Ford Focus Electric received the highest possible crash-test rating from the federal government, giving Ford another reason to pitch its first all-electric production vehicle to US customers. The Focus EV received a five-star overall score from the National Highway Traffic Safety ...

In the wake of a post-accident fire at a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration facility and with a safety probe underway, GM is considering a redesign of the battery used in the plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt. GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson has said he is open the possibility of redesigning ...

Volvo vehicles keep occupants safe. That's the message the Swedish automaker has pitched for decades now and that sentiment hasn't changed a bit with the introduction of Volvo's electrified vehicles. First, Volvo showed us that its electric-only C30 DRIVe fared exceptionally well in crash tests ...

The 2011 Chevrolet Aveo hatchback, to be sold in North America as the Chevy Sonic starting this fall, has received a five-star safety rating from the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP). According to NCAP, the Aveo hatchback scored 85 out of 100 points, which places it among the top ...

The five-door mid-size electric hatchback Nissan Leaf has achieved a five-star overall crash test rating from the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP), becoming the first plug-in vehicle to receive five stars from NCAP. Euro NCAP tests vehicles in frontal impact, side impact, side ...

Before Volvo releases a vehicle, whether it be a passenger sedan or a heavy-duty hybrid truck, the automaker always subjects it to a rigorous set of crash tests. Well, the Volvo FE Hybrid is no exception. With its 1,274-pound battery pack fitted in a position that seems vulnerable, the Volvo FE ...

Volvo may be working to make sure its C30 Electric offers a completely safe ride when it arrives later this year, but both Chevrolet and Nissan can already say they have earned the highest safety ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. In IIHS' first mainstream plug-in vehicle ...

Since its launch in Japan in July of 2009, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV has emerged as one of the best-selling electric vehicles (EVs) on the market. That's probably why it's now available in 15 European ...

Gordon Murray's groundbreaking T.27, the electric version of his T.25 city car, is one step closer to production now that it has officially passed its first phase of crash testing. It's always slightly depressing to ...

We've witnessed the type of carnage that can occur during a crash test and how the overall safety of some small cars – for example, the Indian-built G-Wiz – is questionable. For some people, these fears ...

One of the long-time knocks against small cars has been that they sacrifice safety for efficiency. However, modern crash simulation and testing technology, as well as material science, is making that ...

If you live in the U.S. sunbelt or in an upscale gated community, you've probably seen quite a few of those hopped-up electric golf carts trolling around your neighborhood. These low-speed vehicles are great for zipping to the mailbox or heading over to the clubhouse, and the vehicles are ...

The Tata Nano, the diminutive Indian four-door econobox rumored to eventually arrive in U.S. showrooms, has reportedly passed current European impact testing. According to Autocar, the offset front and side impact tests took place at the ...

Europe's crash testing authority, Euro NCAP, has published a series of new tests that includes the latest small and fuel efficient models offered there. The top scorers in the small car segment, with five star results, were the Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20 and Kia Soul. The Audi Q5 and the Peugeot 3008 ...

With an overall score of 79 percent, the Toyota iQ got the 5 stars that mark it as one of the safest vehicles European roads. The car could've had a better score, but pedestrian protection was rated a poor 54 percent. However, the iQ scored top marks in driver's seat protection, partly thanks to ...

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/design/Smashing_Roadsters_at_a_thousand_frames_per_second'; Recently, we wrote that Tesla's director of communications enjoyed crashing the company car in Project Gotham Racing 4. How about a taste of the real thing? Below the fold is a video from Gadgetoff 2007 of ...

Several months ago we reported on an Indian-built Reva electric car that was crushed in Australia because the vehicle had never been crash tested. The same vehicles are sold in England as the G-Wiz and like the Zap Xebra sold in the United States it is exempt from crash testing. The three wheeled ...