Nissan Leaf Becomes the first EV to Receive a 5-Star Euro NCAP Rating

After awarding the Mitsubishi i-MiEV with a four-star rating, Euro NCAP, which is the European equivalent of the American IIHS, crash tested its second all-electric model, the Nissan Leaf. The Japanese hatchback achieved a five-star rating, becoming the first electric vehicle to do so. Read more »

Saab Boss Victor Muller Hints at US and EU Distribution of China's Hawtai Cars, Says Buyers Won’t Care about Safety

The ink on the deal / partnership between Saab and China’s Hawtai Motor Group has barely dried, but the Swedish automaker's chairman and Spyker CEO, Victor Muller is already making headlines again by hinting at the distribution of cheap Chinese cars in the United States, Europe and elsewhere through Saab’s established global network.

"We laughed when the Japanese came. We laughed when the Koreans came. But we will not be laughing when the Chinese come. The Chinese are like a steamroller,” said Victor Muller, during a press event in Washington, D.C.

Muller said that if an agreement is reached with Hawtai, the Chinese maker could make use of Saab’s distribution network to sell its cars globally.

"It took 67 years to build up our dealer network. It is the biggest asset not on our asset sheet, and these guys buy into it for free. If they make the proper cars, can you image how much simpler it will be to push product through the distribution network that is already there? It is like a railway network that is already there," said Muller.

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Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf Receive Top IIHS Safety Ratings in Crash Tests

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released the results of the first-ever U.S. crash test evaluations of plug-in electric cars, with the two EVs earning the highest safety ratings. The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf were awarded the top rating of “good” for front, side, rear and rollover crash protection.

Since both cars are fitted as standard with electronic stability control systems, they also qualified as winners of Top Safety Pick, the Institute's award for state-of-the-art crash protection.

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Euro NCAP's Best and Worst Performers of 2010

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), which is similar to the American IIHS testing regimen, has released a list with the safest car in each vehicle category and the two worst performers overall of 2010. The cars that attained the coveted five star rating and achieved the highest overall score in their respective segment are:

------ Executive category: BMW 5 Series
------ Small Family category: Alfa Romeo Giulietta
------ Supermini category: Honda CR-Z
------ Small off-road 4×4 category: Kia Sportage
------ Small MPV category: Toyota Verso

On the other side of the fence are two models that achieved the poorest results of 2010. These are the Citroen Nemo with three stars and China's Landwind CV9 that received only two stars.

The European body noted that the cars in the top list "accomplished a high combined score based on the scores in each of the individual four areas of Euro NCAP’s assessment, while notably exceeding the thresholds for a 5 star overall rating". Along with the five top achievers, Euro NCAP said that the Suzuki Swift, Kia Venga, BMW X1, VW Sharan/Seat Alhambra, Citroen C4 all exceeded the 80% mark in overall score putting them on the runner-up list for the safest cars of 2010.

Commenting on the results, Dr Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP Secretary General said: “Every year, car manufacturers constantly work to innovate and make their cars better and safer for the driver, whatever the size of the vehicle. The presence in these categories of high performing 5 star cars demonstrates car manufacturers’ commitment to safety for all sizes of vehicles.”

In early 2009, Euro NCAP implemented tougher crash testing procedures that make it more difficult for vehicles to receive a five-star rating. Last year, the European body crash tested a total of twenty-nine vehicles from numerous categories, of which 65 per cent reached the five star rating, compared to 90% in 2009...