Small cars get poor marks in collision tests

AP
By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 43 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Micro cars can give motorists top-notch fuel efficiency at a competitive price, but the insurance industry says they don't fare too well in collisions with larger vehicles.
In crash tests released Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart "fortwo," Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris could face significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes with larger, mid-size vehicles.
"There are good reasons people buy mini cars. They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests," said Adrian Lund, the institute's president.
Automakers who manufacture the small cars said the tests simulated a high-speed crash that rarely happens on the road. They also said the tests rehashed past insurance industry arguments against tougher fuel efficiency requirements. The institute has raised questions about whether stricter gas mileage rules, which are being developed by the government, might lead to smaller, lighter vehicles that could be less safe.
"If you were to take that argument to the nth degree, we should all be driving 18-wheelers. And the trend in society today is just the opposite," said Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA.
Sales of small cars soared when gas prices topped $4 per gallon last year but have fallen off as gasoline has retreated to about $2 a gallon and the economic downturn has slowed car sales. The small cars are affordable — prices of the three cars tested range from about $12,000 to $18,000 — and typically achieve 30 miles per gallon or more.
The tests involved head-on crashes between the fortwo and a 2009 Mercedes C Class, the Fit and a 2009 Honda Accord and the Yaris and the 2009 Toyota Camry. The tests were conducted at 40 miles per hour, representing a severe crash.
In the fortwo collision, the institute said the Smart, which weighs 1,808 lbs, went airborne and turned around 450 degrees after striking the C Class, which weighs nearly twice as much. There was extensive damage to the fortwo's interior and the Smart driver could have faced extensive injuries to the head and legs. There was little damage to the front seat area of the C Class.
Schembri said the test simulated a "rare and extreme scenario" and noted that the fortwo had received solid ratings from the government's crash test program. The fortwo has received top scores from the Insurance Institute in front-end and side crash tests against comparably sized vehicles but in the front-end tests against the C Class, the institute gave the mini car poor marks.
In the Fit's test, the dummy's head struck the steering wheel through the air bag and showed a high risk of leg injuries. In the vehicle-to-vehicle test, the Fit was rated poor while the Accord's structure held up well.
Honda spokesman Todd Mittleman said the tests involved "unusual and extreme conditions" and noted that all 2009 Honda vehicles had received top scores from the Insurance Institute.
In the Yaris test, the institute said the mini car sustained damage to the door and front passenger area. The driver dummy showed signs of head injuries, a deep gash on the right knee and extensive forces to the neck and right leg.
The Yaris has received good ratings in past front and side testing but received a poor rating in the crash with the Camry. Toyota spokesman John Hanson said the car-to-car test had little relevance to consumers because of its severity.
"It's fairly obvious that they have an agenda here with regard to how smaller cars are going to be entering the North American market in larger numbers," Hanson said.

Volkswagen Golf VI - 2009 World Car of the Year

The 2010 Volkswagen Golf on display at the New York International Auto Show has been named World Car of the Year. Introduced at last year’s Paris Auto Show and known as the Rabbit in earlier U.S. versions, this sixth- generation sporty hatchback from VW beat out top finalists Ford Fiesta and Toyota iQ for the highly coveted honor.

Now itself in a sixth iteration, the World Car of the Year award is the decision of an independent jury of 59 automotive journalists from 25 countries. This year’s initial list began with 51 entries from the world’s automakers, whittled down on the basis of merit, value, safety, environment, significance and emotional appeal. In addition to the top three, other finalists for World Car of the Year honors included the Audi A4/Avant, BMW 7 Series, Citroën C5 Sedan/Tourer, Fiat 500, Honda Fit/Jazz, Jaguar XF, Mazda Atenza/Mazda6 and Nissan GT-R. (It has been quite a year for significant new cars.)

The automotive specialists identified the new Golf’s more aggressive styling as part of its appeal. Its front end displays sporty mesh ductwork integrated into a new grille design. Trendy headlight clusters are part of its distinct character. Overall, the Golf VI appears more taut, more sculpted than the car it replaces. The car’s interior is upgraded from that of the previous generation, decidedly more posh, with hardly anything recalling traditional Teutonic asceticism. A cloaked instrument panel integrates neatly with controls and display screen in its center console. Altogether, the car offers an upscale ambience compared with that of its predecessor.

Volkswagen Golf VI

Worldwide, the Golf has a bewildering total of six different powerplant choices, including a 1.4-liter TSI 4-cylinder featuring compound forced induction, both super- and turbocharging. Two engine choices see initial U.S. availability. The standard Golf VI has a 2.5-liter inline-5 gasoline engine rated at 157 bhp and 177 lb.- ft. of torque. A 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injected 4-cylinder TDI diesel produces 137 bhp and an impressive 236 lb.-ft. of torque. VW expects this TDI to add to the success of its Jetta TDI in an evolving U.S. diesel market. Based on European assessments of fuel consumption, the Golf TDI is expected to post ratings approaching 50 mpg.
The Golf has a MacPherson strut front suspension and a four-link system at the rear. Sport-tuned variants lower the ride height by as much as 2.0 inches. The gasoline-fueled Golf gets 195/65R-15 all-season tires. The TDI’s are sportier, wider and of lower profile, 225/45R-17s, also all-season but of higher performance intent.

And then there’s the GTI, the enthusiast’s variant of the new Golf, a separate model really. The GTI is powered by VW’s 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 producing 210 bhp and 206 lb.-ft. of torque. It’s available with either a 6-speed manual transmission or VW’s DSG (as in Direkt Schalt Getriebe, i.e., Direct Shift Gearbox).

The Golf has been an extremely successful model for the Wolfsburg, Germany, based automaker. Since 1974 VW has sold more than 26 million Golfs in 120 countries around the world. In fact, at one time or another, the model has been manufactured in more than a few countries. First-generation Rabbits were produced in the late 1970s in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. VW was the first European automaker to establish production facilities in the U.S. in the modern era.

The man with a golden gun - Dubai killing removes top rival to Chechen leader

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press Writer – Mon Apr 6, 1:56 pm ET

MOSCOW – The assassin of a renegade Chechen warlord tossed a gold-plated pistol to the ground next to the body — a flamboyant coda to the death in Dubai that marked the removal of the last major rival of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader.

Dubai's police chief has accused a Russian parliamentarian — and confidant of Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov — of masterminding the March 28 killing thousands of miles from Chechnya, outside a beachfront residential complex in a glitzy neighborhood of Dubai. Kadyrov on Monday defended Adam Delimkhanov, a man he called his "friend, brother and, moreover, my right hand," and said the police allegations against him were a "provocation" and "slander."

A suspect in custody told authorities that one of the lawmaker's guards had provided the killer with the gold-plated pistol that killed Sulim Yamadayev, the Dubai police chief said.

The lawmaker was in Syria, according to Kadyrov, but he was expected to return to Russia. As a member of parliament Delimkhanov enjoys immunity from prosecution, and Russia's constitution bans the extradition of Russian citizens.

Delimkhanov, 39, a cousin of the Chechen president who represents the region in parliament, has denied involvement.

Any Russian investigation into the Dubai allegations would be unlikely to lead to charges or to threaten Kadyrov, who is key to keeping the southern region stable after two separatist wars in 14 years.

The Dubai assassination was the most visible killing of a renegade Chechen figure since 2004, when former Chechen separatist President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev died in Qatar. Two Russian intelligence agents were convicted and sent back to Russia to serve their sentences.

Many of Kadyrov's rivals have met violent ends after lives spent fighting in the Chechen wars, including a former warlord who was shot dead by Chechen police on a Moscow avenue and a former Kadyrov bodyguard killed outside his home in Vienna.

During Kadyrov's presidency, the Chechen capital, Grozny, was transformed from a moonscape of hulking ruins into a modern city. He oversaw the construction of Europe's biggest mosque as part of his efforts to impose Islamic values and blunt the appeal of Islamic rebels.

Yulia Latynina, a political commentator and author who has traveled extensively in Chechnya, said Kadyrov's push to rebuild Chechnya has made him the undisputed master of the predominantly Muslim region.

Sporadic hit-and-run raids by bands of rebels don't threaten his authority, and hundreds of former militants have joined Kadyrov's feared security units. Rights groups have accused his militia of rampant abductions, torture and murder.

Tensions between Yamadayev, the man killed in Dubai, and Kadyrov emerged soon after he was elected in 2007 — three years after Kadyrov's father, the former leader, was himself killed in a rebel bombing.

Kadyrov on Monday said his government had some evidence suggesting Yamadayev could have been involved in the deadly 2004 attack against his father, the Interfax news agency reported. Kadyrov also claimed that Yamadayev had plotted to kill him too, Interfax said.

While Kadyrov consolidated his grip on power, Yamadayev's close links to the Russian military and security services made him a potential threat to the Chechen leader.

Latynina said Kadyrov's foes in the federal structures sought to instigate his conflict with Yamadayev in an effort to weaken the Chechen leader.Tensions between the two men burst into the open in April 2008 when Yamadayev's fighters and Kadyrov's bodyguards traded insults and gunshots in a dispute over who had the right of way on a road.

As recently as last August, Yamadayev led a Russian army battalion made up of Chechen fighters to action in Russia's war with Georgia. He was discharged from the military soon after, his unit disbanded, and his men turned over to Kadyrov's side.

In September, Yamadayev's older brother was shot dead on a busy intersection near the Russian government headquarters in Moscow. The perpetrators have not been found.

In one of his last interviews, published in November before he fled to Dubai, Yamadayev said a dozen gunmen had been sent to Moscow to kill him. He said the pretext would be that he had resisted arrest — the same explanation given when another Kadyrov rival, Movladi Baisarov, was shot dead in Moscow in 2006.

Credit: AP

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