Filed under: Economy , Safety , Chevrolet , Chrysler, LLC. , Ford , Hyundai , MINI , Saturn , Suzuki , Toyota Click above for a gallery of high-res IIHS crash carnage Recent testing indicates that new cars are safe, regardless of their relative size. No surprise, then, that most of the latest 2009 model-year small cars tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety performed fairly well. Included in this round of testing were the Chevrolet HHR , Chrysler PT Cruiser , Ford Focus , Hyundai Elantra , Saturn Astra , Suzuki SX4 , and Toyota Matrix . All seven of these machines (remember too that the Pontiac Vibe uses the same underpinnings as the Matrix) scored "good," the highest rating available, for occupant protection in frontal crashes, and only the newest designs -- the SX4, Matrix and Vibe -- scored that high in side crash testing. The poorest performer of the group, Chrysler's PT Cruiser, also happens to be the oldest design. This being the case, it's lowly "poor"...(read more)

View the full article