Ford F-150, Toyota Tundra Get Top Marks In Rollover Protection

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has released its first ratings for large pickups in its rollover-related roof-strength test, and both the 2011 Ford F-150 and 2011 Toyota Tundra have earned top 'good' ratings.

The roof-strength test measures the force that can be sustained by the roof—over a specific area of the roof around the driver's head—before it deforms give inches, then compares that force to the overall weight of the vehicle, as a ratio. Vehicles that can sustain more than four times their weight earn the top 'good' rating.

In the tests, the Tundra withstood 4.5 times its weight, while the F-150 could withstand 4.7 times its weight.

Three other full-size trucks, the 2011 Nissan Titan, 2011 Chevrolet Silverado, and 2011 Dodge Ram, didn't fare nearly as well; while the Titan earned an 'acceptable' rating, the Silverado (and its sibling, the 2011 GMC Sierra) and the 2011 Ram were given a 'marginal' rating—indicating a higher chance of severe injury or fatality if

For the 2011 Ford F-150, it's noted that the results apply to models made after February 2011, as Ford had made some structural improvements.

Both the 2011 F-150 and Tundra also earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick accolade with thes test results, as they already have top ratings in the safety Institute's frontal, side, and rear test categories.

[IIHS] 

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Hyundai drops job-loss protection from Assurance program

Tuesday, Mar 29th, 2011 @ 6:16 p.m.

After the U.S. economy and the automotive industry took a beating throughout 2008, Hyundai grabbed attention by announcing a job-loss guarantee program that aimed to give consumers confidence to buy a new Hyundai, despite the risk that they might lose their jobs after the fact.

The program was heralded as a success, and was a key part of the overall Hyundai Assurance program that was created in January 2009. But as the U.S. economy begins to stabilize, the Korean automaker has decided to remove the job-loss guarantee aspect of the Hyundai Assurance program after the close of this month, according to Automotive News.

Hyundai says that the program was never intended to be a permanent fixture of the Hyundai Assurance equation, only a temporary tool aimed at addressing the growing doubts in the economy during a downturn. Still continued will be the 10-year, 100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, as well as the five-year roadside assistance program.

To date, Hyundai says only about 350 vehicles were ever returned to the automaker through the program, which was more than offset by bolstered sales due to improved consumer confidence – with over one million vehicles sold since the program’s inception.

The company that administered the job-loss guarantee program for Hyundai, EFG, says that it already has similar deals in place with individual dealers, and hopes to offer similar programs with other automakers now that the one-year exclusivity aspect of the original contract has expired.

References
1.’Hyundai to cut…’ view

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