More good news from Ford, their current gen Mustang is as safe as a car can get. At least that’s according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who just awarded the Mustang a five out of five star safety rating. I don’t know why this struck me as being surprising, but when I thought more about it, there’s no reason for it not to be a safe car.
Sports cars, or sporty cars, or even pony cars always seem to have a rep as being unsafe. Probably part and parcel of that “speed kills” indoctrination I put up with as a kid in school. And apart from dealing with issues like size and such, something like a basic pony car, a Mustang or a Camaro or a Challenger, should actually come off better than most. They’re quite rigid for their size, and being American, they’re apt to make the sheet metal thicker than their Euro counterparts.
Ford, as you would expect, is quite pleased with the safety news.
Steve Kozak, Ford Chief Engineer for Safety Systems said “We’ve made many upgrades to the new Mustang that contributes not only to the car’s safety, but also to its driving enjoyment thanks to a stiffer structure.” And Sue Cischke, Ford Group Vice President of Ford Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering added, “The Mustang offers top safety ratings that, like its design and performance, other sports cars cannot match.”
Anyway, apart from the corp.-speak crowing, the relevant bits of news are as follows.
The 2010 Ford Mustang coupe earned the U.S. government’s top 5-star safety ratings, not only for the driver and passenger in front crash tests, but also got 5 stars in side crash tests and in rollover crash test performance as well. The Mustang getting top marks only adds to Ford’s enviable safety record since they have more U.S. government 5-star ratings than any other automotive brand, which is very impressive. And Mustang sales figures continue to impress, with nearly a 40 percent share of the sporty car segment in April and May sales are already ahead of projections.
Crisis? What crisis?
Photo from Flickr user ANATOLI AXELROD
