Citation

No Author(s) Listed. IIHS Status Rep. 2007; 42(1): 6.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article explains how auto manufacturers are dealing with the challenge of boosting the fuel economy of their vehicles while simultaneously maintaining crashworthiness, as these two factors are oftentimes inversely correlated. One recent study cited by the article has found that by reducing the weight of all given vehicles in a group to a standard low weight would reduce fatality rates by 28 percent and improve fuel economy by 16 percent. Federal regulations are beginning to conform to findings such as these, the article notes, as fuel efficiency standards for sport utility vehicles (SUVs), vans, and pick-up trucks will be raised in 2011. One issue not discussed in the study, the article notes, is what part of the vehicles used in the studies is lighter, as the frame, engine, and other parts each bear different safety contingencies.