Recently, an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study looked at the number of driver deaths per million for various 2011 model year cars on US roads, and found that three Chevrolet models were among the ten most deadly.
As ABC News reports, those vehicles are: the Chevy Camaro coupe, Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew cab pickup, and Chevy Aveo compact. Interestingly, of these, only the Chevrolet Camaro was affected by last year’s ignition switch recall.
No other General Motors products were on the list. It’s important to note that the IIHS looked only at driver deaths, as passenger numbers were not available. But while one might be tempted to right-off the 80 deaths-per-million which occurred in the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro as being at least partly influenced by driver recklessness, the Silverado and Aveo hardly imply the same driver stigma.
The study also looked at the ten safest 2011 model year vehicles by driver deaths-per-million, and found that eight of the ten were 4WD models. Besides the Silverado, none of the other “deadliest” vehicles were equipped with 4WD. While centered on 2011 vehicles, the study included models from as far back as 2008, provided that they had not been significantly redesigned by the 2011 model year.
Comments
Frankly this is bizarre. Camaro was the first car to score 5-stars under NHTSA’s new standard. IIHS never formally tested it for 2011 MY AFAIK. They seem to be judging by safety features, alone.
In fact, IIHS has never formally tested the front or side impact for any Camaro, ever.
You might make a case for the 2010 MY Camaro, as Holden helped GMNA reinforce the safety cage after the first year of production, a key reason I avoid the Aqua Blue Metallic model and am holding out for Hot Wheels’s Kinetic Blue to drop in value a bit.
IIHS needs to clarify its testing criteria more, if it was to be a public-facing test agency. I posted some very telling questions about its test criteria for Pontiac G6 Coupe versus Convertible, all of which fell on deaf ears.
Bottom line: IIHS, in my view, needs to make a retraction until it’s willing to actually test the Camaro.
Here the original article straight from the IIHS:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/sr/statusreport/article/50/1/1
And the list they published was a top 20 and the Yukon and Equinox was on that original list.
Seems like just another witch hunt aimed at GM.
Not a witch hunt at GM but a sting set up to pinch anyone at risk for anything in the auto industry.
This is not much different than the signs you see on the highway from the insurance companies that says this this is a targeted safety area paid for with funding by State Farm or what ever insurance company.
The company gives money to the state to have them patrol areas of high traffic or speed by the state police. They do this in the name of safety but yet if you get a ticket your insurance company increases your rates or holds it against you. Move to another company they too will dock you even if it was just a little over.
Note the one I drive is an odd one. It goes from, 2 lanes 65 MPH to 3-4 lanes 60 MPH. We had another that they went from 65 MPH to a new widened highway with few accidents at 55 MPH. People there rebelled to the small city in the area and they finally moved the speed to 65 MPH again that the new highway was approved at by the state.
While some of what these companies do is good like the safety truck that is in the area to help stranded people there are things that are also self serving for profits. In this case they can take a good strong car like a Camaro and tarnish it because of how some use it. If the drivers make poor decisions but business will not blame the customer even if they are at fault so that removes the legitimate defense from the automakers.
It is like saying most wife beaters on COPS that are pulled over drive pick up trucks so pick up trucks are a prime factor in wife beatings.
I’m starting to wonder if car manufacturers are approaching the law of diminishing returns with how safe a vehicle can be made in a crash. This would explain why we are seeing more and more focus on crash avoidance features. In the long term I think the car that is not ‘crash proof’ will go the way of the horse and cart, just not allowed on the roads.
SInce R.Nader auto safety has improved
But the car is a machine under a humans control – all our driving distractions may never be offset by accident avoidance devices.
Or maybe they will.
Currently I recommend taking a safety council Defensive driving course.
Increase your safety factor.
Ralph Nadar did do some good in the beginning but once he did the Corvair deal he learned how to profit from this just as many others.
Ralph is like the safety version of Al Sharpton for better and worse.
Too many people start out to do noble things and then they go for the profits when offered the opportunity.
Mr. Nadar chose GM in the past on the Corvair but at the time the car had already had the swing axle design changed. He then takes the credit for killing the car when the truth is the Mustang and Camaro killed the car along with the higher cost of the air cooled engine to build. Also Mr Nadar never went after cars with similar axles designs and much higher death rates like the Beetle.
GM was a much bigger target and higher profile in this country. Also the Beetle was a much more loved car globally. But the Beetle was a 30’s design that just never really got much in safety. They would and could flip as well crush easily in a crash more so than a Corvair.
Statistics. Somebody has to be worst. Two readers here really cannot think of a reason or two why the Camaro is on this list?
ABS, airbags, and electronic gizmos can do only so much when you hit a tree sideways at 130mph. The best safety feature in any car is supposed to be the driver. Some Camaro driver (not all) are known to turn their brains off. I am sure the Mustang wasn’t far behind the Camaro in this category.
The Aveo makes sense because it is a very small car car, often driven by new drivers. Small is okay in a single vehicle crash but an Aveo would be used as the crumble zone of the bigger cars in a multi vehicle crash. Physics. They have weight classes in boxing for good reasons.
The 2011 Silverado made the list because it is a top heavy truck with the roof strength of an Aveo, which isn’t good in rollovers. It also still employs headrests with 1970s effectiveness. F series roof strength has been engineered right for several years now and they have real headrests. Those things can make a statistical difference.
Ford had to have strong roofs as so many Explorers ended on them.
Don’t throw stones if you are headquartered in a building called the glass house.
Actually, this is very rare, but I actually agree with Magirus on most of his comments. Camaro accidents do tend to be at higher speeds which of course affect the condition of the occupants. Aveo’s are very small and are driven more by first time buyers/drivers with less experience. And yes, the 2007 – 2013 trucks are likely more of an issue than the F150 because of the softer suspension. The GM’s have a little more body roll because of the softer suspension whereas the F150’s are more “truck like” in ride (firmer with less body roll). Plus, the rear headrests are completely useless and actually only raise 2 inches, which puts them at the perfect location to cause more neck damage to an adult. That is one huge disappointment in the new generation is the same stupid rear headrests were they are only good for small children.
I love my 2013 Silverado Crew Z71, but I do know it is not a perfect truck (what truck is). Personally many accidents could be avoided or reduced in severity if people drove more defensively instead of racing from light to light. Knock on wood, but not a single accident, fender bender, (or even a speeding ticket) in the last 27 yrs of driving for this kid; but I did take a defensive driving course that was offered at the university I attended back in 1989. I spend almost as much time checking my mirrors, the lanes beside me and what’s going on around my vehicle as I do looking forward. That was pounded into me by my father as I was towing 30 foot stock trailers with a 1ton dually at age 13 on the farm.
When I was 16 my parents gifted me with a brand new 1996 VW GTI VR6 as a birthday gift. I had wanted a GTI since I was like 5 years old. The GTi was a blast to drive real fast. I remember going on the freeway late at night doing 130. I could easily outrun five liter Mustangs and Camaros in the day, and really leave them in the dust on twisty roads.
I remember driving my best friends ’89 IROC Camaro and thinking what a piece of cheaply made junk that Camaro was. It was the worst riding and most uncomfortable car I ever drove.
I certainly did a few silly things on the road in my youth, and I got a lot of tickets in my GTI and I was even arrested once for doing 110 on a 45 MPH expressway. I pleaded with the cop not to bust me and just write me a ticket but the cop was just being totally pissy.
I can still remember this cop being a very butch female with a bleached buzz cut, lol! She probably had it in for me because of my good looks and masculinity. She was yelling at me and telling me “how stupid I was for driving so fast,” and ” that I could’ve killed somebody.” Well I didn’t kill anybody obviously. There was no one on the road and it was late. I thought this cop was so out of line. But what could I do?
My parents ended up “impounding” my GTI for a whole year, and eventually my parents sold my GTI because my insurance rates skyrocketed. I was left to riding my bike and I was so pissed my parents sold my beloved GTI.
When I went off to college I got a used Honda del sol. The Honda was a nice car but it was a slug compared to my GTI and the Honda didnt handle nearly as well either on twisty mountain roads and off ramps.
Now that I’m successful in the business world I “gifted” myself the ultimate toy, a 2014 BMW M3. There is no finer car for the price than an M3.
And by the way, I drive a little slower nowadays. But sometimes it’s way too tempting to mash the accelerator on my BMW and go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds!
Sounds like you’ve had to work hard for all the sweet material things in your life. VWs and Hondas are nice cars, especially for girls, but if you beat a Z28 with a GTI in 1996, the Z28 never shifted out of second gear. I will give you a V6 Camaro, but an LT1, …not likely.
The point to take away here is that IIHS is not saying the top ten are inherently unsafe, there are many other factors, driver demographics, average miles driven, geography, etc all make a difference.