Hyundai’s all-new Genesis large sedan earned the top crash-test performance ratings the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration bestows on a car: Five stars for frontal and side-impact protection.
“Genesis was engineered with a lightweight but strong body shell, featuring ultra high-tensile steel, laser welding and advanced adhesive bonding,” said John Krafcik, Hyundai’s vice president of strategic planning and product development for the North American market.
“Add eight airbags and electronic active head restraints, and you can see the focus we placed on designing Genesis for occupant safety,” Krafcik said in a release from the automaker.
08/28, 11:24 AM
posted by:
MugenSentraKen
======>>that’s kool
08/28, 11:36 AM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
I find it mildly amusing that an ad for Buick popped up beside this article. I never thought I’d say this but I’d rather have the Genesis. If nothing else, at least the proper set of wheels motivate the Hyundai.
08/28, 12:13 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
Doesn’t every car sold these days get the 5-star rating? I mean if you are driving a rolling airbag it’s pretty difficult to get hurt. I would like to see cars rated on how much damage they take in a 20MPH fender-bender.
I got rear-ended in my ‘01 Ranger… insurance paid me $300 to repaint the bumper and get new tailpipes truck was in the shop for a day. I got rear-ended in my ‘06 Cobalt… insurance paid me $3000 for a whole new rear bumper, rear lip, and exhaust. Car was in the shop for 3 days. If I’m gonna get hit again… I think I’d rather have the Ranger.
08/28, 12:27 PM
posted by:
hbcbob3
Agreed…you may be safer in a crappy little plastic bubble full of balloons, but it sure is gonna cost you to get that **** looking like new again.
08/29, 1:15 AM
posted by:
beatusmongous
I got rear-ended in my PT Cruiser by an old Mercedes. All I got was a spot of dirt on my bumper.
And then I got broadsided in a Ford Aerostar by a Toyota Corolla, and since the woman pushed me over the median, I had more tire and axle damage than body damage.
Not all cars get the five stars. A lot of the small ones only get three or four. I believe the Kia Rio is one of the lower rated cars.
The reason they don’t rate on the damage factor is because most cars nowadays use the crumple zones to absorb impact. The old rigid vehicles would pass the inertial forces onto the passengers and either snap their necks or kill them. Now, they “gradually” slow down, and the passengers are kept safe while the car is destroyed.
You may think that $3,000 to fix your bumper is bad, but you can’t put a price tag on the ability to walk. Yeah, it sucks when you get into a fender-bender and you have to fix everything. But the day that you get into a bad crash that totals your car, you’ll be so glad you could walk away from it. My sister wasn’t able to, and still can’t. She’d trade the ability to walk for just about anything. You can always fix or replace a car, but you can’t always fix a person, and you definitely can’t replace a person.
So if you’re going to crash, make sure you make it a good one…