In the most recent tests made by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 2009 Ford Flex achieved impressive ratings, 5-stars, at the frontal and side-impact crash tests. The Flex, which went on sale this summer, is equipped with dual front air bags, headliner mounted side curtain air bags, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, Ford-exclusive AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control) and tire pressure monitoring system. Besides these features, the car gets extra safety from the use of lightweight aluminum-coated boron steel in the body structure and high-strength steel in the B-pillars.

“The 5-star ratings for the Flex are evidence of Ford’s overall safety commitment. In fact, we have produced more 5-star-rated vehicles than any other automaker,” said Susan Cischke, Ford’s senior vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. “The Flex offers it all: a head-turning design, top safety ratings, unsurpassed highway fuel efficiency in its segment, power, spaciousness, comfort and great features.”

After its US market debut in January, the Smart ForTwo was a big success for Mercedes with customers lining up to get the German little guy. The car’s fuel efficiency, its great image and the small size which makes it a perfect urban car, made Smart sell very well (almost 4,000 units sold so far and 30,000 reservations). However, its small size is also a big disadvantage and many were expecting the safety tests’ results before deciding to buy the car. And the news aren’t good at all.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the first results of the crash tests and these aren’t doing Smart any favors, because, during side tests, the driver door unlatched and opened and officials said that this could lead to a driver or passenger being ejected from the car. So the Smart ForTwo got a 4 stars rating for driver safety and only 3 stars for passenger safety. And that’s not all, because the crash test were made using a car similar in size with the Smart. Imagine what would be the results in case of a crash between a Smart and, I don’t know, a Chevy Suburban.

Even though it’s equipped with a steel safety cage, four standard air bags (two in front and two on the sides, for the head and abdomen) and it has standard Electronic Stability Control, the Smart still isn’t a safe car and shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. I mean, c’mon, the car’s 8-foot, 8-inch and it weights 1,800 pounds.

Read More: "Surprise! US tests show Smart ForTwo not so safe"

GM announced today that in January they will recall about 57,100 vehicles due to some safety issues occurred. The cars affected by this recall are the 2007 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent which are not equipped with optional roof rail airbags or optional sunroof.

The safety problems showed up during NHTSA impact tests, which indicated a possibility of an increased risk of head injury in a crash. To fix the problem, dealers will install an energy absorbing foam piece to each of the a-pillar trim assemblies.

Read More: "GM recalls 57,100 Chevrolet and Pontiac SUVs"

I got to admit, this is one of the most impressive machines I’ve ever seen. This life-size driving simulator was built by Toyota, in order to be albe to develop better safety technologies, by being able to analyze the driver’s behavior under different conditions. The simulator consists of a real car surrounded by a 360 degree screen which can simulate very realistic driving conditions. Thumbs up for Toyota! Enjoy the video and maybe let us know what do you think, by dropping a comment, here.

Read More: "Video: Giant Toyota driving simulator"

Here’s another cool commercial we’ve found and we think you’ll like it too. It’s some sort of Renault car ballet that outlines the 5 stars safety Renault cars provide. Interesting. Enjoy!

A couple of days ago we announced that the Peugeot 308 and the Kia Cee’d achieved a 5-stars rating at Euro NCAP tests. Now another car got 5-stars rating, somehow surprising, it is the new Fiat 500. Now I find this really weird, I mean, either the little guy is really good or there’s something wrong with the NCAP tests. I mean, where’s so much safety coming from? I mean if an Escalade ‘bumps’ into your Fiat 500, my guess is that you can kiss your 5-star ass goodbye.
Read More: "Fiat 500 scores 5-stars rating at Euro NCAP tests"

Latest Euro NCAP tests had some pretty interesting results. First of all, it’s the first time Kia achieves a 5-star rating, the Cee’d having an overall score of 34 points. Second of all, Peugeot’ proves once again that it makes some of the safest cars on the streets, with the new 308 joining Peugeot’s 1007, 207 and 407 5-stars rating. In the child protection tests both models were awarded with 4 out 5 stars while in pedestrian protection, the Cee’d got a mediocre 2-star rating (out of 4) and the Peugeot a 3 star rating.
Read More: "Peugeot 308 and Kia Cee’d, 5 stars safety at Euro NCAP tests"

I bet most of us won’t imagine life without one our best little friends, the car remote control that opens the car for us. I can’t remebmer last time I used the key to unlock my car’s door the old fashioned style. But a recent study made by some researchers from Israel and Belgium showed that the technology used for keyless door locking, called KeeLoq is not safe at all. One of the reasons is that the KeeLoq technology used for the system, though it was improved in time, was developed 1980.

Each device has a unique key that takes 18 billion billion values. With 100 computers, it would take several decades to find such a key. Therefore KeeLoq was widely believed to be secure. In our research we have found a method to identify the key in less than a day. The attack requires access for about 1 hour to the remote control (for example, while it is stored in your pocket). Once we have found the key, we can deactivate the alarm and drive away with your car.

Read More: "Keyless systems not so safe"

Volvo will develop safety systems for the upcoming Aston Martin Rapide sedan, and with Ford still retaining a $40 million stake in the luxury brand, we’re likely to see more Ford engineers playing a bigger role in designing Aston’s future models. Aston Martin> will also benefit in getting raw materials at discount, especially for aluminum.

Aston Martin confirmed that Volvo’s knowledge and resources on safety features would be utilized by his company, just as it was used for the DB9 and V8 Vantage. Experts from Volvo are helping to develop the stiff aluminum structure of the Rapide, including designing the B-pillar and side-members to optimise occupant safety during side impact collisions. Read More: "Volvo to make Aston Martin Rapide safer"