NHTSA Introduces New 5-Star Safety Ratings System

The National Automobile Dealers Association is looking to help dealers avoid consumer confusion after officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rolled out an enhanced 5-Star Safety Ratings System for new vehicles.

What concerns NADA are the varied results from the first round of model-year 2011 vehicles tested under the program. The association issued a statement Tuesday

“We support the federal government’s efforts to enhance safety information to allow for more informed purchasing decisions by vehicle shoppers,” NADA leadership stated. “To help avoid confusion at the point of sale, NADA will provide dealers with information on the following key points.”

Those five points include:

—New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) scores for model year 2011 may be lower than for previous models of the same vehicles, but that does not mean they are less safe.

—NCAP scores for model 2011 and later vehicles should not be compared to those for previous model years.

—Overall ratings scores reflect a weighted average of the three crash test results. All new vehicles are subject to rigorous federal motor vehicle safety standards.   

—The NCAP label will not be updated until model year 2012. The best source of NCAP information is www.safercar.gov.

—Only 50 or so models are NCAP tested in a given model year. Test results are made public as they become available.

Federal Explanation and First-Round Results

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and NHTSA Administrator David Strickland unveiled the enhanced 5-Star Safety Ratings System for new vehicles on Tuesday. They believe the upgraded ratings system can better evaluate side pole crash testing and crash prevention-technologies.

And, for the first time, federal regulators plan to use female crash test dummies to simulate crash scenarios involving women, not just men.

Of the 33 vehicles included in the first report, just two units received five stars. These included the BMW 5 Series and the later-release version of the Hyundai Sonata.

Most vehicles listed received four stars. Only one unit had two stars — the Nissan Versa.

As dealers readily understand, vehicle safety ratings can range from one to five stars with one star being the lowest and five stars the highest. Because so many vehicles had reached the highest rating under the old rating criteria and because the new standards seek to be much more rigorous, government officials insist not all previously rated five-star vehicles will remain at such.

“More stars equal safer cars,” LaHood declared. “With our upgraded Five-Star Safety Ratings System, we’re raising the bar on safety. Through new tests, better crash data and higher standards, we are making the safety ratings tougher and more meaningful for consumers.”

Federal officials reiterated the new 5-Star Safety Ratings System evaluates the safety of passenger cars, SUVs, vans and pickup trucks in three broad areas — frontal crash, side crash and rollover resistance.

For model-year 2011, NHTSA plans to analyze and rate 24 passenger cars, 20 sport utility vehicles, two vans and nine pickups under the new ratings system.

“We want consumers to embrace these new safety technologies as a way to make vehicles safer,” Strickland stated.

 “We believe electronic stability control, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning offer significant safety benefits and consumers should consider them when buying a new car,” Strickland continued.

Regulators went on to mention one of the most significant changes to the ratings program for consumers is the addition of an Overall Vehicle Score for each vehicle tested. They explained the Overall Vehicle Score combines the results of a frontal crash test, side crash tests and rollover resistance tests and compares those results to the average risk of injury and potential for vehicle rollover of other vehicles.

NHTSA recommends consumers consider vehicles with crash avoidance technologies that meet the 5-Star Safety Ratings minimum performance tests, such as forward collision warning (FCW), lane departure warning (LDW), and electronic stability control (ESC).

Officials mentioned all of the 2011 model-year vehicles currently rated have ESC as a standard feature, except for the Nissan Versa, which has it as optional.

More Industry Reaction from KBB

James Bell, executive market analyst at Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com, also chimed in about which vehicles fared better in the revamped safety testing federal regulators announced Tuesday.

“The first round of results from NHTSA’s upgraded crash test procedures has helped solidify two trends also identified with the help of Kbb.com’s audience over the last few years,” Bell began. "BMW is continuing its ascent up the luxury vehicle ladder, and Hyundai is a force that Toyota, Chevrolet and others are going to be contending with for many years to come.

“Since assuming luxury sales leadership over Mercedes-Benz on a global scale and mounting a huge challenge to Lexus here in the United States, BMW has used innovative design and cutting-edge technology to generate new interest and market share,” Bell added.

He went on to cite Kbb.com’s most recent Market Watch data that indicated BMW’s shopper activity was up 7 percent year-over-year. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz was down 7 percent and Lexus was down 33 percent.

“And for Hyundai, which already has seen amazing growth on Kbb.com, as noted by a first-time Top 5 consideration ranking in our Brand Watch study, plus a similar first-time Top 5 overall rank in U.S. sales for the Sonata, Tuesday’s NHTSA news should continue this incredible run,” Bell surmised.

“Since the introduction of its 100,000 mile powertrain warranty several years ago, Hyundai has drawn new shopper attention with exciting exterior and interior design plus segment-competitive fuel economy,” he also pointed out.

“With Tuesday’s 5-star rating news, Hyundai and BMW shoppers can rest assured that their attractive and appealing new ride also will take good care of them in terms of safety for years to come,” Bell concluded.