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GM Authority

There Are No GM Vehicles Among The IIHS’ 2023 Top Safety Picks

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently released its Top Safety Picks for 2023, identifying the best-performing vehicles in the organization’s battery of safety tests with respect to individual vehicle size categories. Notably, The IIHS’ 2023 Top Safety Picks don’t include a single GM vehicle.

The GM logo at the Renaissance Center in Detroit.

The IIHS’ criteria for its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards were strengthened for 2023, with added demands placed on side crash protection and improved pedestrian crash prevention systems, as well as the elimination of subpar headlights from the field of qualifying vehicles.

The original IIHS side crash test was replaced with an updated evaluation initially launched in 2021, which now includes an 82-percent increase in crash energy compared to the original test. Vehicles that earn an acceptable or good rating in this test qualify for a Top Safety Pick award, while vehicles that earn a good rating are eligible for a Top Safety Pick+ award.

The Top Safety Pick+ criteria also includes a new nighttime vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention evaluation, with an advanced or superior performance in both nighttime and daytime pedestrian tests required for the Top Safety Pick+ designation. A daytime rating of advanced or superior is required for a Top Safety Pick award.

With regard to headlight evaluations, vehicles must be equipped as standard with headlights that earn an acceptable or good rating in the IIHS evaluations, whereas previously, a vehicle only had to offer at least one trim level with headlights that meet this criteria.

A total of just 48 models qualified for the latest 2023 awards, of which 20 earned a Top Safety Pick award, while 28 earned a Top Safety Pick+ award. Compared to last year’s less-stringent criteria, 101 vehicles earned an award, 65 of which earned a Top Safety Pick+ award.

“The number of winners is smaller this year because we’re challenging automakers to build on the safety gains they’ve already achieved,” said IIHS President David Harkey.

To note, three GM vehicles earned a Top Safety Pick award in 2022, including the Buick Encore GX, the Chevy Trailblazer, and the Cadillac XT6.

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Jonathan is an automotive journalist based out of Southern California. He loves anything and everything on four wheels.

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Comments

  1. Unfortunately, only 4 US automaker’s vehicles made the list . . . Tesla Model Y, Ford Explorer, Rivian R1T and Lincoln Nautilus.

    Reply
  2. GM is undertaking a monumental task in transitioning to EVs at breakneck speeds. I’m sure a lot of blood, sweat and tears are being poured into that goal with many talented figures at the helm, but I can’t help but wonder if that means the current vehicles are not being given the care and attention that is needed. It’s article like these that reinforce that concern.

    Reply
  3. Once again, no leadership from GM. I swore off GM years ago.

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    1. So Robert, why are you on a GM site. If you swore off GM years ago why would you waste your time. I have a subscription to MotorTrend and choose to read it cover to cover, however I don’t go on Fordauthority or Foreigncars.com.

      Reply
      1. You should….As often as possible, otherwise how do you know where GM really stands with other manufactures. Every company makes many changes to their designs and product line every day. By visiting as many sites as possible as often as possible you can see how GM and Ford etc. modify and change their product line. GM may make many great advancements but others may make many more and at a faster rate. The more sites you visit….The more you know.

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        1. Phil, I understand what your saying but as a car guy sooner or later you start to get to know what information is credible and which isn’t. You can spend 24 hours a day reading about automobiles but I choose not to read magazines/sites that I know aren’t credible. Anybody who knows the industry in depth can call bull sh!t on a lot of writers/editors. Some of the comments on GMA are so ridiculous I find myself shaking my head. For example “why doesn’t GM make small cars anymore”? The hypothetical reason is, if GM has two plants in the US and one builds $20,000 cars and the other plant makes $80,000 trucks the profit margin is higher on the trucks any good business man would change over the car plant and make more $80,000 vehicles. This is the model of all good business to make the most money with the least amount of effort.

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          1. 100 Percent agree…..I thought Ford was crazy to stop making cars and only make SUV’s and Trucks. Give the people what they want. Profit margin on SUV’s is much higher than on cars and there is very little difference in the parts required. Anytime I look in a parking lot I see that most of the vehicles are SUV’s and Trucks. Most of them are also white, grey or black. Seems like most of us want the same thing. Take Care.

            Reply
            1. Kudos to Al & Phil for having a intelligent conversation without getting into politics, name calling or attacking one another. Refreshing to see. In today’s world, it seems that very few people can have a sensible debate on a topic that they may or may not agree upon. Have a great day!

              Reply
              1. Thanks Dave, but I do get a little snarky with some of my comments only because I find some of the topics or comments so ridiculous. Or lazy reporting when GMA has a headline one day that says GM discontinued a paint color on the Silverado, and the next day the headline says they discontinued the same paint color on the Sierra, as if we don’t know they go through the same paint shop.

                Reply
      2. Because we have the right to criticize and complain about GM’s poor management even on a “pro-GM” website.
        Blind loyalty makes you an enabler to the decline and eventual closure of GM.
        Kind of like those blind loyal to Putin Russians that are following him into ruin.

        Reply
        1. No because that is trolling and trolls tend to spiel false information just to try and solidify their view point. GM hasn’t been managed poorly by any means. The electric game is inline with the industry, they are a healthy company financially which can’t be said the same for others. They have some issues like any other company with recalls or parts (lifters, transmission fluid, etc) but they are trying to rectify it like anyone. Finally, they were impacted by parts and chip shortages and the supply chain like anyone else and has done a good job pivoting to handle that. Selling vehicles with out a few luxury chip items that can retrofit later was a great move others weren’t doing that I saw. The consumer got a vehicle and GM moved one and got paid for it, meaning it didn’t just sit in a field.

          Then we can talk about advancements, the supercruise is at the top of the industry where self driving is where everyone is heading. The smaller turbo motors are well received and helping extend ICE engines (the 2.7 even out performs the 5.3 in many cases) and there are many other smart moves that help the company thrive even though it doesn’t align with enthusiasts (Bronco and Raptor to name a few).

          So no, they aren’t poorly managed, quite the opposite in fact. Care to share who you follow and think is running a great ship from a management perspective?

          Reply
          1. Commonsense, this is exactly what I’m talking about, the microchip shortage affected everyone, whether your building cars or dishwashers every company was affected. GM allocated the chips to their products that made the highest profit. Good business. Yes some people complained about not finding the automobile they wanted, but it was good business from a shareholder point of view. I remember back In the early 90’s back when GM was still the biggest auto maker they were able to leverage there position buying steel when iron was trading lower on the commodity exchange. They were able to save money on every car they made. Good business. Did they pass those savings on to the consumer, probably not.

            Reply
    2. Robert McNamara, are you afraid to list the names of your fleet of vehicles that are so fantastic we would like to know since you’re on a GM site that you hate maybe we can all learn from you which ones are superior.

      Reply
  4. Could not agree more, i am a GM enthusiast, I come on these sites to learn about GM vehicles. I am not worried about the safety of their vehicles. I have been driving new GM cars , trucks since 1973 and have had 40 new GMs in my life. Today we own 3, and looking forward to ordering a new Chevy Colorado Z71
    For those that profess a dislike of GM vehicles , stay off the site and visit sites that support the vehicles you like and drive.
    Its that simple , as a GM enthusiast, I am not interested in hearing comments how GM is falling behind BS.
    I drive vehicles I like , and I make mine GM. During my working life i have experienced , Ford , Chrysler , Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc. I used to travel in excess of 50,000 miles a year for work so have a good understanding of vehicle reliability and that is one of the reasons why I continue to drive GM vehicles.

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    1. “As a blind to reality GM enthusiast I am fine with settling for inferior products and living in my little echo chamber to sooth my fragile stubborn closed mind”
      Fixed for you.

      Reply
  5. I’d love to take any negative information or news about GM products and it down with Mary Barra, face to face and run each of these facts past her and get her own personal opinion about such facts as are being shown here. If she’d like, she could enlist the help of any of her fellow GM high ranking execs and they could enlist any of their engineers ect. to help them answer many negative questions posed to all of the GM people responsible for the end product.
    It would be interesting (to my way of thinking) what their collective answers might be…of course there could be multiple answers to each question, but I’m betting each and every question would include as a final answer, “Cost” considerations.
    Last question would be would that final answer (Cost) bother any of those top GM people if they knew that loss of sales could be attributed to the fact that in most instances GM is producing an end product that is just average in every way and has not been considered exceptional in any category? To me, it’s like the kid in school or college that is totally happy passing each and every course required with a “C or B” Grade never excelling to a top of their class “A” Grade.
    In the end, the student of course would receive their diploma and be considered a “College Graduate”, and I suppose that they could find the job working in the field they elected….but as consumers, if we knew for a fact that we could go to a business and purchase a product made by the “A” Grade student graduate at the same price and that their product being built had a higher rating in most everything their product was tested in, wouldn’t we naturally tend to lean towards the product being produced and sold by the “A” Graduate student? Then again, I suppose that there will always be those who don’t strive to attain products made by the “A” student graduate but will be satisfied owning a product made by the “B or C” Student Graduate because it simply fits their idea of what is acceptable in life. Many choices to choose from, but in the end, it seems as though the “A” student Graduate’s businesses seem to be accepting many more of the awards given out for exceptionalism of a higher quality built product. If I’m wrong in my thoughts, please show me where I’m wrong and why accepting things in life that are just “Average” is the better choice in life.

    Reply
  6. I don’t care, I have never considered a safety rating when deciding what vehicle to purchase.

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  7. Never considered safety until my grandchildren survived unharmed in a violent wreck in a highly safety rated Volvo. My son always looks at safety ratings for new vehicles.
    Seems reliability, dependability, quality and safety would be good things to consider.

    Reply
  8. I don’t know about safety but I do know their GMC vans (in the past anyway) were VERY reliable. Impressed!

    Reply

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