Safety
In the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's crash tests, the 2000 to 2005 Impala was given a "Good" rating overall for good structural performance and no chance of any significant injury in a crash of its severity, except for maybe a minor lower left leg injury, such as a bruise or sprain. The 2006 to present Impala is given a lesser overall "Acceptable" score for front impact collisions. and a "Good" score for side impacts. Side curtain airbags are standard for front and rear rows; side torso airbags previously unavailable became standard on all trim levels beginning with the 2009 model year. GM made some minor structural enhancements to the Impala, beginning in December 2009; models produced after that received a "Good" in the IIHS frontal offset crash test.
In September 2009, a local news station's investigative team in Rhode Island discovered that GM's fleet customers who purchased the 2006–2009 Impala were able to order them with the side-curtain airbags deleted for a savings of $175 per vehicle. Because these fleets typically sell off their cars after two to three years of use, many of the Impalas that were built without side-curtains have gone on to become privately owned cars. Current owners may be able to tell if their car has side airbags by checking the VIN and/or by checking to see if "Air bag" is printed on the roof support between the front and back rows.
Another potential safety hazard, affecting Impalas of model years 2007 and 2008, is premature rear tire wear caused by defective rear suspension components. Police vehicles were upgraded to correct this defect and law enforcement agencies were compensated for expenses incurred for tire replacement, but civilian vehicles were not recalled. As a result, Impala owners launched a class action lawsuit in July 2011 against General Motors. In response, the current General Motors leadership claimed about a month later that they are not responsible to repair the defective vehicles manufactured pre-General Motors Bailout. Subsequently, in late September, a new lawsuit, disputing the GM response, was initiated by three of the estimated 400,000 Impala owners. (GM is also facing a similar legal dispute regarding a pre-bankruptcy upgrade to its OnStar system which left thousands of users without service in violation of their paid-up contracts.)
Read more about this topic: Chevrolet Impala
Famous quotes containing the word safety:
“Firm, united, let us be,
Rallying round our Liberty;
As a band of brothers joined,
Peace and safety we shall find.”
—Joseph Hopkinson (1770–1842)
“There is no calamity which a great nation can invite which equals that which follows a supine submission to wrong and injustice and the consequent loss of national self-respect and honor, beneath which are shielded and defended a people’s safety and greatness.”
—Grover Cleveland (1837–1908)
“Can we not teach children, even as we protect them from victimization, that for them to become victimizers constitutes the greatest peril of all, specifically the sacrifice—physical or psychological—of the well-being of other people? And that destroying the life or safety of other people, through teasing, bullying, hitting or otherwise, “putting them down,” is as destructive to themselves as to their victims.”
—Lewis P. Lipsitt (20th century)