IIHS ups the ante

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a non-profit organization funded by auto insurers, has been crash testing vehicle since 1995, when it began conducting frontal tests. Side crash testing began in 2003 and in 2005 the Institute awarded the first Top Safety Pick winners to 2006 models. The following year rear tests results were added and electronic stability control was required either as standard or optional equipment in order to qualify.

For 2010, the Institute upped the ante, requiring that all “Top Picks” meet new roof strength criteria – a change that resulted in the winnowing down of a record 94 Top Picks in 2009 to just 27 (and counting, as manufacturers can submit additional models for testing) for the 2010 model year.

“With the addition of our new roof strength evaluation, our crash test results now cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes,” says Institute president Adrian Lund. “Consumers can use this list to zero in on the vehicles that are on the top rung for safety.”

Toyota, we hardly knew ye

The IIHS report is quick to point out that Japanese manufacturer Toyota is conspicuously absent from this year’s list: Not a single model from the world’s biggest automaker by sales is represented among this year’s winners. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion subsidiaries had a strong showing in 2009 with 11 winners but were shut out for 2010.

Four other manufacturers scored goose eggs as well – With BMW, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Saab all failing to place a single model on the list.

Both the Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion also fell from grace with the Institute, although Lund left them with an out: “Honda and Ford would have to make only minor changes to achieve good ratings for roof strength, as the Accord and Fusion just missed the mark.”

And the winners are…

Large cars

Buick LaCrosse
Ford Taurus
Lincoln MKS
Volvo S80

Midsize cars

Audi A3
Chevrolet Malibu built after October 2009
Chrysler Sebring 4-door with optional electronic stability control
Dodge Avenger with optional electronic stability control
Mercedes C class
Subaru Legacy
Subaru Outback
Volkswagen Jetta sedan
Volkswagen Passat sedan
Volvo C30

Small cars

Honda Civic 4-door models (except Si) with optional electronic stability control
Kia Soul
Nissan Cube
Subaru Impreza except WRX
Volkswagen Golf 4-door

Midsize SUVs

Dodge Journey
Subaru Tribeca
Volvo XC60
Volvo XC90

Small SUVs

Honda Element
Jeep Patriot with optional side torso airbags
Subaru Forester
Volkswagen Tiguan

Falling gas prices have little effect

It’s interesting to note that even with falling gas prices; the sales declines for all manufacturers were led by consumers continuing to turn away from full-size pickup trucks and big sport utility vehicles. Everyone, it seems, accepts the fact that high (or at least higher) gas prices are here to stay. Although there was a slight uptick in the sales of these larger vehicles, some of that recovery can be attributed to the large incentives that most manufacturers are putting “on the hood” of trucks and SUVs.

Here, then, is a thumbnail of the top 5 in year over year sales for August:

Toyota: overall sales down 9.4 percent

The good news for Toyota: Sales of the Yaris and Camry were both up and the new Yaris 5-door hatchback should help sales of that model even more.

The bad news: Lexus sales were down, Scion sales were down and Toyota can’t build enough of the Prius Hybrid to meet demand. Making matters worse, Toyota drank from the big pickup Kool-Aid and now has a 1.2 billion dollar assembly plant in San Antonio that was built to assemble 200,000 plus Tundra pickups, while sales of the truck were down 8% in August and 14.5% for the year.

General Motors: overall sales down 20 percent

The good news for GM: Sales in August were up 31% over July, due in no small measure to the “Employee Pricing” incentive that is currently running. Retail car sales were up at Chevrolet, Pontiac and Cadillac – with the Cadillac CTS showing an 87% increase and the Pontiac Vibe a 95% increase in year over year August sales. The GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook/Buick Enclave trio is also doing well.

The bad news: The Chevrolet Aveo and Cobalt, both small cars, posted sales declines of 21.3% and 26.6% respectively, year over year. Year over year sales of Cadillac trucks were down 49%, Saab sales were down 50%, while HUMMER sales, even with GM employee pricing, suffered a 62% drop.

Ford Motor Company: overall sales down almost 27 percent

The good news for Ford: August sales of the Focus were up 23% year over year, while sales of the Escape were up 17%.

The bad news: August year over year SUV sales at Ford were down 53%, F-Series pickup sales were down 42% while Volvo sales – the entire brand – plunged almost 49%.

American Honda: overall sales down 7.3 percent

The good news for Honda: August Civic sales were up 5.3%, Civic Hybrid sales were up 47.7%, while sales of the new Pilot were up 18.6% year over year.

The bad news: Following industry trends, total Honda light truck sales were down 10.3% year over year. Car sales were also down 4.9%, but this was primarily due to the fact that most Honda dealers ran out of the Fit small car before the end of the month due to model changeover.

Chrysler: overall sales down 34 percent

The good news for Chrysler: August sales of the Dodge Grand Caravan and the Chrysler Town and Country minivans were up 7% over last year. The new Dodge Journey and Challenger are doing well, while Dodge Charger sales were up slightly year over year.

The bad news: Everything else from Chrysler is pretty much in the dumper. Total August truck sales were down 33%, while even Chrysler’s small cars aren’t selling well: Chrysler Sebring sales were down 46%, Dodge Avenger sales were down 41%, sales of the aging PT Cruiser were down a whopping 65%, while sales of the Jeep Patriot, up a total of 89% for the entire year, were down 21% in August year over year sales.

The Bottom Line

While most automakers will want to put August out of their minds as soon as possible, sales prospects for September don’t look much better.

Why a show about auto interiors? Part Deux.

In a previous article, I mentioned the advantages to living and working in the Detroit Metro area if you happen to be writing for LotPro.com about automobiles: location, location, location. Because in addition to the usual auto shows that you find in any major city, Detroit is home to the greatest concentration of automotive R&D facilities and engineering talent found in the United States. Period. End of discussion.

This also means that metro Detroit also hosts a number of other automotive-related events that can only be found in this particular part of the country – most notably the Automotive News World Congress and the SAE World Congress. Although not nearly as large as either one of those, the Ward’s Auto Interiors Show provides a showcase for this important facet of automotive design and engineering

4 Specialty Categories

Although these categories don’t deal with overall engineering and design execution, they do address 4 very important facets of the driver/automobile interface:

Best Electronic Innovation – Infiniti Around View Monitor - With many new vehicles sporting rear-mounted cameras, Infiniti took that concept one step further. Found on the Infiniti EX35, the Around View Monitor (AVM) utilizes no less than 4 ultrawide-angle, high-resolution cameras to alert the driver of potential problems on every side of the vehicle – virtually eliminating blind spots while, for instance, parking. In addition, sensors provide beeping alerts to indicate proximity as well as superimposing lines on the video image to indicate the best path.

Best (Interior) Redesign – 2009 Hyundai Sonata –  While it certainly wasn’t class-leading at its debut in 2005, by the time 2008 rolled around, the aging dash design of the Sonata was closer in DNA to a Dodge Neon than a Honda Accord – one of its chief competitors. All that has changed with the 2009 Sonata. Although a mild refresh to the exterior front and rear fascias are a welcome change, it’s the interior and, specifically, the dashboard where greatest improvements have been made. Although still adorned with the faux wood usually found in Corollas (faint praise, at best), the rest of the dash is light years of its predecessor.

Best Brand Expression – Volvo C30 – The interior of the C30 exudes Swedish design elegance and simplicity. Minimalist seatbacks, brushed metal accents and contrasting black and gray upholstery give the Volvo an understated, sophisticated look found on very few offerings from the United States or the Far East.

Clever Utility – Dodge Journey -  What domestic vehicles may lack in design elegance, they more than make for in overall utility and the new Dodge Journey is no exception. The Journey features more hidden storage compartments than Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. For example: the front passenger seat features “Flip ‘n Stow”, a storage compartment that can be accessed by flipping (hence the word ‘flip”) the bottom seat cushion forward to reveal the hidden bin. There are also concealed compartments under the floor in the rear cargo area as well as ahead of the second-row seats (with liners that enable them to be used as ice chests).

Second-row seats feature integrated child booster seats and, when the seatbacks are flipped forward (there’s that word, again), present a small bin as well as 2 cupholders. The front glove box features a “Chill Zone” to keep your beverages cold, while the cargo bay wall features a built-in emergency flashlight. All this, and more, is available in this Swiss Army Knife disguised as a crossover vehicle.

2009 Dodge Journey

Dodge has been conspicuously absent from the crossover segment (the Pacifica was a Chrysler-only vehicle). The Journey, based on the Avenger/Sebring platform with a stretched wheelbase, is only 2 inches longer than the Avenger, but seats up to 7 passengers. With a starting price of just under $20,000, standard safety features include, front, side and curtain airbags, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, ESP stability control and Electronic Roll Mitigation.

In addition to the usual cupholder/door storage bins, the Journey also features floor storage and front under-seat bins. A double glove box features an upper box for “chillin” (it’s refrigerated) and a lower box that contains an iPod connection.

2009 Hyundai Sonata

Introduced at the Chicago Auto Show back in February, the updated Sonata features new front and rear fascias incorporating new headlights, taillights and fog lights have changed the look in a very subtle way. On the inside, small changes have been made to the instrument panel and console, while USB and iPod ports are now standard and a navigation system has been added as an option.

The biggest changes have been to the engine and suspension with horsepower, torque and fuel economy improvements in both the 2.4 liter 4 cylinder and 3.3 liter 6 cylinder engines. Suspension dynamics have been re-tuned for enhanced handling in the GLS and Limited models, while the SE gets even firmer sport tuning.