GMC pickups, SUVs top list of safest vehicles

Paul A. Eisenstein, NBC News contribution - 2 days

Once there was an old saying in the automotive industry, not "selling security." Do not attempt to convince today's drivers of it. Security has become in fact of one of the highest-ranked attributes for most car buyers if you are looking for a minivan or sports car.

So, a new study by Insure.com is expected to be more than a few surprises to deliver, if it comes, the list of the safest and least sure under 750 different vehicles now on the market. Some of the results like intuitive, especially to equate the size with safety. Pint-sized Fiat 500 is the least safe vehicle on the list, according to the study in cooperation with insurance Insure.com produced Institute for highway safety. On the other hand, the GMC Sierra 1500 was pickup the top model.

"If security is important, the smallest cars, you should avoid", said IIHS spokesman Russ Rader. "Weight counts. "Smaller, lighter cars are safer than before, but all things are equal, people riding larger, heavier vehicles more protection in crashes."

But there are also some surprises. While big GMC models four of the five "most secure" slots that became 4-door Porsche Cayenne ranked the second. On the other hand, that was car Mercedes-Benz car flagship, the premium CL 500 Coupe fifth on the list on the least-safe vehicles.

From the perspective of the brand General has good motor especially - as mentioned, which landing four of the top five slots get GMC brand. Together with Mercedes, Toyota, also in the bottom five landed, the Insure.com with saying little positive about the corolla model of R600 study. In other words, a bestseller does not guarantee always segment that purchasers will receive the best in terms of safety.

The study could produce a variety of methods for the determination of security some controversy as there. Take the Fiat 500, which has produced very good results in the IIHS crash tests using integrated security cage and airbags.

"But are the laws of physics getting in the game crashes," said Rader. "Weight counts. "Smaller, lighter cars are safer than before, but all things are equal, people riding larger, heavier vehicles more protection in crashes."

The Insure.com study drew injuries and medical payment records that suggest the researchers on an analysis of personal protection, provides an overview of how passengers, but as crash Dummies to make out in the real world.

Here are the best and worst of the group. Still more to learn as the rest of the current automotive line up fared, click here.

Five safest cars:

GMC Sierra 1500, full-sized pickup has physics on his behalf
Porsche Cayenne, four-door sports car scores well on security, also
GMC Yukon Denali, well contented SUV includes a variety of security features
GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE, a heavy version of the Sierra pickup
GMC terrain SLE1, 5-seater CUV results to the best.

Five at least safe vehicles:

Fiat 500, boldly styled Italian Coupe/Cabrio has numerous security issues
KIA Rio 5, sporty design overcome non-security
Toyota Corolla L, best selling compact to worst for security
Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, sportiest version of the Lancer Sedan
Disadvantages overcome not safety Mercedes-Benz CL600, sleek design.

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Ford looks to aluminum to slash weight of pickups

Duane A. Laverty / AP file

Ford CEO Alan Mulally shows off the 2013 Ford F-150 pickup truck. Ford is likely to use more aluminum and less steel in future models in a bid to trim hundreds of pounds and increase fuel efficiency.

By Paul A. Eisenstein, The Detroit Bureau
Pickup truck buyers are a stubborn lot, or so goes the conventional wisdom. What matters is payload and towing capacity; all else be damned.

But recent trends suggest that’s not necessarily the case. The latest generation of full-size trucks now offer the sort of high-tech, high-touch features you might expect in a luxury car. And, perhaps most shockingly, Ford Motor Co. is now selling more than half of its F-Series pickups equipped with V-6s, rather than the classic, heavy-hauling V-8.

But the Detroit automaker could take things are big step further when it launches the next generation of what has been, for more than a quarter-century, America’s best-selling automotive line. The upcoming remake of the F-Series will reportedly make a major shift away from steel to aluminum in a bid to shave as much as 700 pounds off the big truck’s hefty girth.

Fuel economy has become an increasingly significant factor in the buying process for truck buyers, and Ford’s decision to offer two different six-cylinder packages for the F-Series has helped it shore up its lead in the full-size pickup segment even as it faces tough competition from both domestic and Japanese alternatives.

But the F-Series will arguably be even more hard-pressed to meet tough new mileage standards set to go into effect in 2016, with an even more stringent set of rules being finalized for 2025. Getting there will require a mix of solutions, industry analysts contend, not just a downsized engine lineup.

Weight has been a traditional challenge for the auto industry, all the more so as manufacturers have been forced to add mass and content to their vehicles — both to meet tightened safety standards and to deliver consumers the added features they expect, year after year.

But Ford is determined to not only meet those demands and still put its products on a serious diet. In a conversation with TheDetroitBureau.com before his recent retirement, Ford’s global product czar Derrick Kuzak said, “In the midterm, from now to 2017 or 2018, we’ll remove anywhere from 250 to 700 pounds depending on the vehicle.”

The latter figure is the apparent target for the F-Series, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. However, Ford spokesman Mike Levine insisted it is “premature” to discuss specific targets for the next F-Series, which isn’t scheduled to come to market until the summer of 2014 as a 2015 model.

But insiders say that there is little doubt Ford is looking to slash the mass of the truck.

Aluminum is becoming one of the materials of choice for industry designers and engineers. It is significantly lighter than steel and generally stronger, pound-per-pound than even the most advanced steel alloys.

It is already gaining ground on assembly lines around the world, in use on any number of vehicles, whether as trunk lids on some of Ford’s Lincoln models to the entire platform and body of the latest Jaguar luxury cars, including the flagship XJ sedan.

According to a report by consulting firm Ducker Worldwide, the average 2012 vehicle was expected to contain 343 pounds of aluminum, up from 327 pounds as recently as 2009. And the lightweight metal was expected to double its share of the average light vehicle model mix, to 16 percent, between 2008 and 2025.

Over the same period, Ducker forecast, the average light vehicle is expected to trim its weight by 408 pounds despite new regulatory requirements and consumer demands.

But despite its weight advantages aluminum is no panacea, experts warn. The material is substantially more expensive than traditional steels and even fares negatively when compared with the most exotic ultra-high-strength steels, such as those used to help shave weight in the new Cadillac ATS compact luxury sedan.

Aluminum is also significantly more energy-intensive, both in the smelting of the raw metal and in the automotive assembly process — though energy demands drop sharply when manufacturers work with recycled metal.

And aluminum is getting plenty of competition. BMW, for one, is investing heavily in the development of an even lighter and stronger exotic, carbon fiber. Until now, that has been a material limited for use in Formula One race cars and exotic street vehicles like the Lamborghini Aventador, but the German automaker plans to make extensive use of carbon fiber on its new i3 and i8 battery cars and believes it can eventually bring costs down enough to find uses on more mainstream offerings like the popular 3-Series.

Then there’s steel. The familiar metal has proved unexpectedly resilient, new alloys yielding markedly greater strength even as they get lighter.

“With new fuel economy and emissions regulations, it is necessary and appropriate that automakers evaluate different automotive designs,” said Thomas J. Gibson, president of the trade group the American Iron and Steel Institute. “And our history has shown the trial of alternative materials typically result in parts being re-evaluated and returned to steel due to cost, performance or both.”

But most experts believe that while steel won’t go away, it simply won’t be able to make the massive reductions in mass needed to meet tomorrow’s tough mileage rules — or consumer demand — at least not entirely.

So, if Ford does, indeed, come in with a light, aluminum-intensive version of the next F-Series pickup, it could blaze the path for the rest of the industry in moving the lightweight metal into the mainstream.

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Chrysler recalls 242,000 RAM pickups

DETROIT - Chrysler is reminiscent of almost 250,000 RAM pickups because a bad in the steering equipment as a driver, to lose control of the truck can lead.

The RAM is Chrysler's best-selling vehicle. The recall covers 242,780 RAM 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks from model years 2008-2011.

The national highway traffic safety said administration Wednesday on its website that a part near the left front wheel can cause breakage and potential crashes.

The problem happens mainly at low speeds when drivers are tight curves. Chrysler says that drivers have reported a few small crashes and a minor injuries.

Affected models include 2008-2011 RAM 2500 and 3500 four-wheel-drive of pickup trucks and 2008-2011 Ram 3500 two-wheel-drive chassis cabs of 14 February 2008 to 28 March 2011 made.

Also affected are 2008 RAM 1500 Mega Cab four-wheel-drive models 15 produced from 14th February 2008 by Aug., 2008.

In addition, RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks, from 2003 to 2008 could also remember when part of the same mechanics during regular service was replaced by.

Chrysler Group LLC sold more than the 1500 is 734,000 RAM pickups Autodata Corp. from 2008 until June 2011 the standard RAM, while the 2500 and 3500 models for heavier tasks are.

Chrysler dealer check the trucks and replacing the left outer tie rod and set up the wheels free of charge, if necessary.

The company has still not set when they owner will be notified. Chrysler at 1-800-853-1403 or NHTSA reach affected owners at 1-888-327-4236.

Copyright 2011 associated press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Ford recalling 1.2 million F-150 pickups

DETROIT - Ford leaned on Thursday pressure from regulators and widened a recall of America's best-selling vehicle, the F-150 pickup, because its air bags at the wrong time can provide.

The recall includes almost 1.2 million F-150 s for model years 2004 and 2005, and some for 2006 built built. A short circuit may which could cause airbags to inflate without a crash and hurt drivers.

Ford Motor Co. in February said the problem would be 150,000 truck rules but had resisted the Government would like to expand the recall.

The wider recall shows how regulatory authorities have become more aggressive since the criticism last year for a slow response to unintended acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles. It is also a sign that it is harder for Ford and other automakers the size of future callbacks to limit.

The national highway traffic safety white 269 cases in which the air bags inadvertently, committed administration security governing car, 98, takes some serious injuries.

When Ford resisted NHTSA's request to extend the callback of the winter, said the Agency for the guarantee that it will hold a rare public hearing to may. NHTSA said "The potential for astronaut loss of control is an unreasonable risk of security", the company.

Before the flood of unintended acceleration reminds Toyota's last year, not NHTSA would have made likely Ford the callback, you expand said Joan Claybrook, a former administrator of the Agency, who previously led the consumer group public citizen.

But the Agency become aggressive is since of Toyota's problems is critical, said.

She said NHTSA fining Ford for not having regard to all vehicles could land in February. Toyota a record paid the Government $48.8 million in fines for using three callbacks.

Ford, like most car manufacturers, callbacks, that delay to reduce size and cost, said Claybrook.

Ford said that owner next month say it to their trucks to a dealer, a wire of airbag in the steering wheel to replace. The wire can rubbed be caused a short circuit, inflate to the airbag unexpectedly can lead. The repair less than half a day, said the company.

The problem was fixed in January 2006 in factories of Ford's truck, not it are vulnerable after this date.

Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood, the company said the truck remember not before five years, because there was not a security risk. Also, Ford officials believe not, a big recall was required, because the short would first set light warning of an airbag problem from a dashboard.

"We thought the airbag warning lamp, sufficient note for customers, that the vehicle requires service well before the air bag deployment, and most owners it would then maintained," he said.

Ford also determines most of the truck with the problem were in a now-closed factory in Norfolk Virginia, and those contained in the February call back, he said.

The F-150 has traditionally been the best-selling car in America, and makes about 18 percent of Ford Sales. It was a profit center for the company. Good for sale equipped truck for more than $ 40,000.

Thursday's recall expanded also 16,000 Lincoln LT pickups from the model year includes 2006.

Claybrook contends that all trucks at once remember Ford not to save money, a claim denied the Ford.

A Barclay's analyst Thursday estimated that the callback over 180 million $ or $150 per truck Ford would cost. Claybrook is the cost per vehicle to expensive when compared to other callbacks.

Air bags have saved thousands of lives and reduce injuries. But they can people injured, because they quickly bloat. The most injuries are scratches from contact with the bag and burns from the gases, the they inflate.

Story: Years of IKARUS can compete with best compact.

Ford said NHTSA, that F-150 driver Burns, bruises, neck and back pain and smaller cut tracks reported. Two customers chipped or broken teeth and two reported a broken elbow or arm. Ford said that it knows no crashes through the airbag problem caused.

Drivers are less likely that air bags be infringed by, which inflate at random as of Beutel, expert with the University of Michigan go in a crash, Matthew Reed, a car safety transport said Research Institute, the air bag injuries for 22 years has studied.

Air bags are used to protect someone, sitting in a driving position, and injuries are more likely if they are not that position, Reed said. People often out of position as a result of heavy braking, shot or other movements are in crashes.

"If at all, a random airbag deployment is more likely to catch the occupants in the location, the airbags for developed were", he said.

© 2011 The associated press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed.

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Continental recalls tires on Ford pickups

Continental AG is DETROIT (Reuters) - North American unity reminds about 391,000 tires that were made most of on a new Ford Motor Co F-250 and F-350 heavy duty pickup trucks, U.S. regulators said on Friday.

About 330,000 were placed on the new trucks, and some were sold as replacement, continental, said made the tires in Mexico from May 2007 to September 2008.

Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood said the tire recall 65,000 pickup trucks in the United States and Canada concerned.

Vehicles affected trucks, model years 2008 and 2009. Each truck has usually four tires and a spare. Ford continental provide with his owner information.

The company said continental that will replace tires, of some irregular wear and vibration can occur, in a letter to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The main concern is that if the trucks are overloaded or the tires under inflated are, "Separation of the belt edges may leads to a Department of tread" can occur.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Lisa von Ahn)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

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