Toyota Dumbfounded As Tundra Now Recieves 5 Star Crash Rating
Agent009 submitted on 8/4/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 1:16:43 PM
16 user comments | Category: New Cars | Source: | SOURCE: news.pickuptrucks.com
Can new five-star head-on crash-test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration help the Toyota Tundra full-size pickup truck regain sales traction with consumers and remove a marketing weakness that the Detroit Three have taken advantage of?
Toyota was surprised in 2007 when the all-new Tundra rated only four out of five stars for driver and front passenger safety (in all cab configurations) while its Detroit competitors — the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Ford F-150, GMC Sierra 1500 and Dodge Ram 1500 — earned perfect five-star scores.
Toyota's internal testing had indicated the Tundra should have also earned five stars.
A five-star score indicates that the chances of suffering serious injuries are less than 10 percent, while a four-star score means the chances are 11 percent to 20 percent.
The lower safety rating gave Chrysler, GM and Ford an opportunity to exploit the Tundra's federally measured safety gap in their marketing and promotional efforts, as they each launched all-new light-duty pickups during the past three years, even as the Tundra quietly earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's 2008 Top Safety Pick award — the first time a pickup had been recognized with this honor. The 2009 Ford F-150 later earned the same IIHS award.
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