They should have included the Chevy Aveo. I was in a 7 car pile up on black ice last year and walked away with a bump on my chin because I'd been in a hurry and my seat belt didn't "click". I was #5 in line and rear ended the car in front of me going 60mph in a white out. The car was totaled, but I was at work the next day.

Also, the salesperson isn't exactly going to say "You're too tall for this car and it may be unsafe, please don't buy it from me." At the time, I was ignorant to this flaw, from which one could ask: Should the dealership/manufacturer be required put disclosures on their cars notifying consumers of such situations?

Midsize convertibles include all minivans? WTF?

@Hyman Decent: The small/midsize classification has to do with interior volume, I think. The RDX and CR-V are probably right at that threshold point and I'm sure there are some minor differences in the way the interior is sorted.

The 500/Montego/Taurus/Sable are on the Ford D3 platform, which is pretty much the same as Volvo's P2 that first was used for the 1st generation S80. The Taurus X/Freestyle, XC90 and new C70 is also built on this platform. Strangely enough, it seems the new 2006+ S80 is built on a chassis that was based on the Volvo S40/Mazda3 (!) platform, just with a bunch of modifications.

I'm not suprised to see Audi at the top of the list of safest cars.

My '98 A4 was at the dealer so much of the time, there wasn't much time left to actually get into an accident.

I want to know who has the 25 safest individaul cars. Im assuming Snoop Doggs' bullet proof van would make the list. Less so my galaxie with the wish-seatbelts (as in 'i wish it had seatbelts')

They need to do a rollover testing.

I don't understand why the Honda CR-V is classified as a small SUV and the Acura RDX is classified as a midsize SUV when they're essentially the same vehicle. (Yes, yes, the RDX has a turbo and SH-AWD.)

@Eric Lai: While the results of the offset frontal crash tests of cars that differ significantly in weight can't be compared, the results of their side crash test results can be.

@fastm3driver: Aren't they (the Ford Taurus / Mercury Sable twins) based on the previous-generation S80?

/me hugs his A4

So no small cars made the list? =( I guess it's tough when on average you're getting hit by something weighing over 5000 lb.

@Eric Lai:

That Volvo guarantee seems like a pretty smart marketing move. About 1 in every 6000 Americans are killed each year in auto accidents (50k killed out of 300 million people). Based on this, $250k in insurance should cost about $40/year (250/6). Take out the number killed in cars where the driver was under the influence, or who weren't wearing seatbelts, and I'm sure you have a much lower number. Figure that they're very unlikely to have to pay out after 5 years (unless it's the same owner, and a low-mileage driver), that's a max of $200, and probably a lot less, particularly since Volvos aren't generally purchased by people who engage in high-risk driving, and the estates of a lot of people who might qualify wouldn't submit the claim.

Bottom line, I bet you that insurance policy cost them less than $100/vehicle, if that.

Seems like pretty cheap marketing to me.

LARGE CARS
Audi A6
2008 Ford Taurus with optional electronic stability control
2008 Mercury Sable with optional electronic stability control
Volvo S80

What's sad is that these are considered "Large" cars...

I think it's odd that the #1 automobile manufacturer in the world doesn't have a car on the list. Hello Toyota? Where are you? and the #2 only has SAABs.

It might also be useful to look at newer test procedures. It's pretty well known that automakers design their cars to pass the criteria of crash tests and not neccessarily engineer them safely for safety's sake. So when new procedures cropped up, like high-speed rear impact tests or side impacts for convertibles/roadsters, car companies that historically had well-rated cars, like BMW - didn't come out looking too great.

I know I drive a safe car, because Volvo included a life insurance policy for every new 850 sold stating that if one was in an accident and the pasengers were belted in, not under the influence, etc., and they were killed - Volvo would pay out $250K per person to the beneficiaries - up to $1.25m if the car had 5 people in it. It only applied to the first owner and had a mileage limit, but apparently they had a lot of faith in the engineering team. Obviously when Ford bought Volvo, this went away very quickly.

+1 respek for Subaru's stability control and AWD. Good for keeping you safe and better for helping you avoid it in the first place.

Argh! This is not Jalopnik.

Volvo XC90 = small SUV? LOL wut?

can i just ride in the wheeled cart they use as the battering ram?

And Princess Diana's mercedes.

@scoobydoo: We own a 96 Subaru legacy wagon. What a great car. My husband had a large deer run out and smack the side of it as he was hitting 50 or so mph. The damage was completely contained to one side panel & neither my husband or my son were injured.

On a side note, this car has nearly 200k on it & the only part we have had to replace is an alternator. (outside of regular upkeep)

@INconsumer:

List of cars you're most likely to die in:

1. Any car driven by Lindsay Lohan, Billy Joel, or Teddy Kennedy.
2. Any other car.

i want to see a list of 25 cars i'm most likely to die in. that to me is a more important list.

Personally, I have seen the Kia Sedona convertible and I would say that it is rather ugly.