9-3 best luxury car low speed bumper rating

[fishhyren11]

August 1, 2007 Wednesday 6:49 AM EST

SECTION: AUTOS

LENGTH: 616 words


HEADLINE: Luxury car, crummy bumper

BYLINE: By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer



In tests designed to replicate low-speed impacts, the bumpers of several luxury cars failed to prevent costly damage. In one case, a Mercedes-Benz C-class sedan sustained almost $5,500 in damage when hit in its front bumper at a speed of just 6 miles per hour.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted four separate low-speed impact tests on 11 popular luxury cars.

The cars struck a barrier, designed to mimic the bumper of another car, straight-on from the front and from the rear at six miles per hour and diagonally into front and rear corners at three miles per hour. The Institute, a private organization funded by insurance companies, estimated repair costs after each test.

"[W]hat the test results don't reflect is the Mercedes-Benz holistic approach to occupant safety," Mercedes-Benz said in a statement. "This philosophy influences design and development even down to the front bumper, which is specifically mounted lower to help reduce injury for impacts with pedestrians (to avoid contact above the knee)."

The C-class performed poorly in large part because its front bumper slid down below the impact barrier during the test.

The vehicle sustaining the most total damage was the Infiniti G35, made by Nissan, which had total estimated repair costs of $14,000. In the straight-on front impact test alone, the G35 sustained $5,223 in damage.

"The cost of vehicle ownership and repair are important considerations at Infiniti," Nissan said in a statement. "We design each new model to resist low-speed collision damage and will continue to work closely with major insurance companies to keep premiums low for our customers."

The Insurance Institute's tests do not reflect likely real-world results, Nissan said.

The best-performing vehicle in the test was the Saab 9-3. Its total estimated repair costs for all four tests was $5,243, less than what the Mercedes-Benz would have cost to fix after just one front impact.

Found:
http://insurancenewsnet.com/article....c&q=0&id=83061

[DavidMorgan]

Originally Posted by fishhyren11

August 1, 2007 Wednesday 6:49 AM EST

SECTION: AUTOS

LENGTH: 616 words


HEADLINE: Luxury car, crummy bumper

BYLINE: By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer



In tests designed to replicate low-speed impacts, the bumpers of several luxury cars failed to prevent costly damage. In one case, a Mercedes-Benz C-class sedan sustained almost $5,500 in damage when hit in its front bumper at a speed of just 6 miles per hour.


The best-performing vehicle in the test was the Saab 9-3. Its total estimated repair costs for all four tests was $5,243,(after 4 impacts) less than what the Mercedes-Benz would have cost to fix after just one front impact.

What it boils down to is the damage to the SAAB was $750 after 4 smashes.

And had it been a pre SS, 9-3 SE the cost would have been Zero...

[Saba]

Originally Posted by DavidMorgan

What it boils down to is the damage to the SAAB was $750 after 4 smashes.

And had it been a pre SS, 9-3 SE the cost would have been Zero...

Yeah it would have been written off as it wouldn't be worth repairing gotta go, someone's calling me.

[DavidMorgan]

No, what I am saying is that the pre 2003 9-3 had good tough bumpers and not hollow painted plastic as now..

[Jubilee Vert]

They did state in the story that the new 9-3SS was worse then the outgoing generation.

God help the Infiniti G35 driver who has to pay out a stagerring $14,000 in parking lot damages. Yikes .

The sad part of the whole story is that they normalized the results using a 1982 Ford Escort(US Version) under the exact same conditions. Total repair cost after 4 hits was $82.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Jubilee Vert

The sad part of the whole story is that they normalized the results using a 1982 Ford Escort(US Version) under the exact same conditions. Total repair cost after 4 hits was $82.

But what pedestrian impact requirements did the '82 Escort have to contend with?

[Mag-X]

Originally Posted by Jubilee Vert

They did state in the story that the new 9-3SS was worse then the outgoing generation.

God help the Infiniti G35 driver who has to pay out a stagerring $14,000 in parking lot damages. Yikes .

The sad part of the whole story is that they normalized the results using a 1982 Ford Escort(US Version) under the exact same conditions. Total repair cost after 4 hits was $82.

lol. That reminds me of auto shop in high school. I walked out one day to find a few idiots ramming the shops Ford Escort into one of out other cars, a VW Rabbit. They just sort of bounced off of each other.

The Escort has spring loaded bumbers.

[LinearSLT]

Wouldn't have cost a dime in my 1980 900T Black rubber bumpers on a black car. These body coloured bumper skins on new cars are a nightmare. They cost 250-500 bucks just to paint, and God forbid you crush one of the impact cells inside of them.