I found this on the internet.
http://www.thecarconnection.com/Shop...241.A8466.html
"Toyota Corolla (base price $13,780): One of the most popular small cars ever built, the Corolla is also built to take a hit, with the latest "multi-stage" airbags that adjust the force of their deployment based on the severity of the crash. Corollas can also be equipped with electronic stability control, a very unusual feature in this price range. The Corolla earned the best-possible five-star rating in government crash testing."

"Crash testing indicates the Corolla is one of the safest cars in its class."
http://www.automotive.com/2006/12/to...ews/index.html


The corolla is one of the top selling cars in the world. It does not make sense for Toyota to skimp out on the safety. One, they'd be sued by tons of people, and two, they'd lose most of their sells.

 

Maybe if you hit another SMART car. Hit a real car with one though, and the driver is in some serious trouble. There is no room on the car to give at all in a crash, so the driver gets the pleasure of absorbing most of the shock of the impact.

 

Of course they're gonna have less safety features, they're cheap. Common sense.

 

Please, allow me to indulge myself again, and toot the "media-bias" horn just one tiny little toot...

In the original Forbes article, there is a sidebar in which they cite references to other "quality" or "safety" articles they have done in Forbes. The list follows below...
MORE FROM FORBES
• Slideshow: Least-safe cars 2006
• The worst American cars 2006
• Best-selling cars 2006
• Most satisfying cars
• Least reliable luxury cars
• The most fuel-efficient cars
• Hybrid buying guide

Now I don't deny that they listed the 6 "worst" safety units and Kia, Hyundai, Suzuki, Toyota and other foreigners were in there, but how can a company do an article entitled "The worst American cars 2006", and not do an equivalent "The worst Foreign cars 2006", or "The worst Import cars 2006", or "The worst German cars 2006", or "The worst Japanese cars 2006"?

You guys take 20 seconds and watch this slideshow... and read WHY these are the "worst". IT'S WORTH IT.
Hint - one vehicle was rated poor because "...is one of four new-model American vehicles to which Consumer Reports assigns its lowest possible rating for predicted depreciation." Yes, PREDICTED depreciation boys and girls, that's what makes a car one of America's worst... not crash safety, dependability, quality, value, service, or anything tangible. The rest are no better IMO.
Get ready... GM and Ford get hammered.
http://www.forbes.com/2006/07/14/cx_...featslide.html

******-lovin-leghumpers!

 

Interesting how the two vehicles tied for "Least fuel efficient American Car"... were both TRUCKS!

 

Which one?

 

 

Ah. I watched the wrong slideshow I guess.

 

I don't see that in the 2006 least-safe car slideshow?

 

 

Ahh... I get it now.

That's not sold in the US... I wasn't aware that it was a rebadge of the Suzuki, I assumed it was a Daewoo.

 

it is a daewoo. badged as a suzuki in the US and chevrolet in canada. they also sell it as a buick overseas.

 

My head. It spins!

Thanks for the clarification!

 

one day, when I'm driving down the road, I want to see a Smart car completely destroyed by an 18-wheeler. I mean torn apart like it was a Christmas present given to a hyperactive kid on a crack binge.

 

Least Reliable American Car
Chevrolet Uplander minivan (tie)

I don't know how they came to this conclusion. Unless my parents Uplander is an exception, its an early '05 model. I know they have had two very small things covered under warrenty, but other then that they have had no problems with ~15k miles.

I don't understand this one on the Ranger "Comparing identical models, an overwhelming majority of survey respondents gave higher marks to a V-8 than to a V-6, to a six-cylinder than to a four."

WHAT THE ****! What midsized truck, other then the Dakota and even that is stretching it, has a V8!? So the respondants wanted a V8. So does just about anyone who wants a truck. Just that alone doesn't constitute the title Least Satisfying. If this wasn't just America vehicals, you could give every midsized pickup for sale in the US that title except the Dakota.