Stronger materials, advances in cabin structure rigidity, and the growing number of airbags have made passenger vehicles more protective than ever before.
Now, GM has announced that the all-new 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco is the very first, but certainly won't be the last, midsize sedan to receive double safety honors - an NHTSA 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score and an IIHS 2012 Top Safety Pick designation. Both these merits represent the highest safety ratings possible.
The new Malibu Eco was put under National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) newly revised New Car Assessment Program. Based on frontal and side crash tests combined with an evaluation over rollover resistance, the results of the three segments are added together to form an "Overall Vehicle Score."
As for the Insurance Institute for High Safety (IIHS), safety is determined via similar front and side crash tests. A roof strength test as well as a simulated rear impact test is also used to evaluate seat and head restraints that protect against a fatal neck injury. Receiving a "good" in all segments across the board, IIHS has rewarded the Malibu with the coveted Top Safety Pick.
"With the Malibu Eco, Chevrolet has earned seven 2012 Top Safety Pick awards," said IIHS President Adrian Lund. "The IIHS and NHTSA results demonstrate GM's commitment to state-of-the-art crash protection."
As the 2013 Malibu will be distributed to nearly 100 markets over six continents, engineers were faced with the challenge to globally achieve top safety ratings and to meet pedestrian protection standards where applied. Just last November, GM announced that the Malibu had successful earned a five-star rating in Europe's Euro NCAP tests.
GM Executive Director of Vehicle Safety Gay Kent said, "We are now seeing the results from our commitment to design the highest-rated vehicles in the world in safety performance. Earning these top safety ratings demonstrates the strength of the Malibu's advanced structure, overall crashworthiness and effectiveness of the vehicle's state-of-the-art safety technologies."
Check out how the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco fared in IIHS testing, complete with dramatic musical score and Hollywood action cuts:
