Toyota Motor Co., whose cars and trucks have helped set industry standards for affordable safety, had two of the worst performers in crash tests of the new subcompact sedans that are growing in popularity as motorists seek better gas mileage.
The 2007 models of Toyota's basic Yaris sedan and its boxy Scion xB wagon received the lowest scores as the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated "minicars" for the first time from five automakers.
"Tests like these are going to set small cars back a half-decade," said industry analyst Eric Noble of CarLab. The Orange, Calif., firm specializes in product testing and development consulting for automakers.
"Toyota doesn't usually make mistakes," Noble said, "but it was foolish of them to bring over small cars designed for the Japanese market," where cars and trucks are much smaller than those in the U.S.
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