Safety
The first generation Neon earned a "Poor" rating in an offset frontal Crash test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety . The second generation Neon earned a higher "Marginal" rating. The second generation were rated as "Poor" in the side impact crash test (IIHS Safety ratings go from "Poor", to "Marginal", "Acceptable" and "Good"). Only the Chevrolet Cavalier performed worse in the small car category in 2005, the Neon's final year. Other cars made from 2000 to 2005 which were rated "Poor" when tested without optional side airbags included the Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Chevrolet Cobalt. No small car made in this period, tested without side airbags, achieved better than a "Poor."
In 2005, the Institute carried out side impact tests on 14 small car models, simulating an impact with an SUV. Among these, the Neon performed the worst. IIHS stated that the Neon had “...major problems beginning with its structure. This car is a disaster...The structure is poor...If this had been a real driver in a real crash, it’s likely it wouldn’t have been survivable...if safety is a priority, the Neon is a small car to be avoided.”
Second generation headrests were rated as "Poor".
Driver deaths fatality risks statistics — published by the IIHS — rated the Neon and 15 other vehicles among the "Highest rates of driver deaths.", The Neon had 161 driver deaths per million registered vehicle deaths, while the average for the Neon class (4-door small) was 103. Other small cars on the list included the Acura RSX (202), Kia Spectra hatchback (191), and the Mitsubishi Eclipse (169).
Read more about this topic: Chrysler Neon
Famous quotes containing the word safety:
“There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind.... Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn’t, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn’t have to; but if he didn’t want to he was sane and had to.”
—Joseph Heller (b. 1923)
“For hours, in fall days, I watched the ducks cunningly tack and veer and hold the middle of the pond, far from the sportsman;... but what beside safety they got by sailing in the middle of Walden I do not know, unless they love its water for the same reason that I do.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“An evident principle ... is the principle of justice to all peoples and nationalities, and their right to live on equal terms of liberty and safety with one another, whether they be strong or weak.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)