Insure.com Selects Safest/Deadliest Cars

Hartford-based on-line insurance information provider Insure.com has selected a list of the five safest and the four deadliest cars of all time, based on data supplied by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

According to Insure.com the safest are:

– Buick LeSabre (2000)
– Honda Civic (2001)
– Lincoln LS (2001)
– Volkswagen Passat (2000 and 2001)
– Volvo S80 (2001)

While the four deadliest are:

– Chevrolet Camaro
– Chevrolet Corvette
– Ford Mustang
– Pontiac Firebird

It’s interesting to note that three of the safest are designed and built by “foreign” companies. The report also takes issue with the theory that “large, heavy older vehicles are the safest;” it concluded that the IIHS and NHTSA studies proved that the use of “side air bags saves lives,” and therefore only models with this comparatively new feature were considered in selecting the safest cars.

“The deadliest cars of all time were identified by their alarmingly high death rates over the years, “said the report. Each come equipped with large engines, appeal to a young male demographic, and are relatively inexpensive compared with some imported sports cars.

Further results of the study are available on the company’s Web Site at: http://www.insure.com/auto/safestcars.html, and http://insure.com/auto/deadliestcars.html.