Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

Ram pickup leads group of Most Dangerous Cars In America

Take a vehicle's Insurance Institute for Highway Safety score, throw it into a data pot that includes Consumer Reports ratings, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash safety results and J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study numbers, mix thoroughly, then pour out the most dangerous vehicle on the road today: The Ram pickup truck.

The website 24/7 Wall St. created this analysis to reveal the models with consistent quality problems and poor safety scores. All of the vehicles scored poorly in one area or another in crash testing, typically side or rear impact tests. They all scored badly in rollover testing, except the Jeep Wrangler.

In order, the best of the worst are:

1. Dodge Ram
2. Chevrolet Colorado Super Cab
3. Mazda CX-7
4. Mazda CX-9
5. Nissan Pathfinder
6. Jeep Wrangler
7. Suzuki SX4

And while the data may speak volumes, it doesn't translate into poor sales, 24/7 Wall St. noted. "In fact, sales of all models are up from last year," the site stated.

24/7 Wall St. did not reveal the safest vehicles on the road today using the same data, but all it has to do is turn its list upside down.

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/30/r...rs-in-america/

S2000toIS350

Sweet!

I would love to see how much worse the Chrysler is than the second on the list (is it 20% or hopefully 5 times worse).

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

unbelievably stupid ranking designed just to get website hits.

Lil4X

Remember these are the same Wall Street pundits that were hawking Facebook's IPO a couple weeks ago. It's amazing how so-called "analysts" can combine meaningless and unrelated numbers to arrive at some kind of ranking on a topic on which they have no knowledge whatsoever. I think bit's right, it seems to have driven a lot of traffic to their website, and that was probably the reason for publishing this foolishness in the first place.

http://247wallst.com/2012/05/29/the-...rs-in-america/

Justin2JZ

Uhh ohh wheres ArmyofOne lol. Im so making fun of my buddy who drives a Pathfinder.

ArmyofOne

I am right here, and that article is bogus. The Ram pickup has either a 4 or 5 star safety rating, from the NHTSA or the IIHS (I can't remember which). Either way, I dont buy this article.

ANY large vehicle is prone to rollover if you drive it like a retard. The Ram is a 6,000lb truck. If you drive it like it is one, you will never have any problems. As far as reliability goes, I have 70k on mine, and havent had a problem yet that either I, or some other technician didnt cause. 99.9% of the time, reliability is about maintenance. Maintain your vehicle, the right way (not just oil changes and tires), and 9x out of 10 it will last you years.

I stand by my statement that IF the Ram is the most dangerous vehicle on the road, then its only because some people who drive them fail to realize they are piloting a 6,000lb battering ram around town, with 400hp under the hood.

Justin2JZ

They were probably focusing on the smaller single cab but yes, I do find this hard to believe. Even if this is true I like the Gasser Ram over the Ford and Chevy.

ArmyofOne

The data was taken from Dodge/Ram trucks over the past 15-20 years, yet they show a picture of the Vastly improved new one, that Car and Driver called "The Lexus of Full-Sized Pickups".

mmarshall

The latest Ram's are definitely improved....and more refined. I reviewed a new 2012 last year, and was very impressed at its ride and noise-level....more so than with any pickup I've driven to date. I'm waiting to look at the new 2013 (at your request) but it hasn't been released in this area yet.

I disagree with at least part of the article's statement. I don't see how a poor IQS (Initial Quality Study) can necessarily impact on a vehicle's safety-record. Mercedes, for instance, turned out poorly-assembled, unreliable cars for years that consistantly scored at or near the top of the pecking-order in safety.

mmarshall

That was even more the case with the 7000-lb. Ford Excursion. You had to actually experience that vehicle's battleship-like driving manners and instability to believe it. Even empty and unloaded, it was, IMO, borderline dangerous unless you drove almost everywhere at low speeds.

ArmyofOne

They closed the ram factories for re-tooling last week. They just started building the '13's so they should hit the dealers in a few weeks.

I dont even see how the 4th gen ram got a poor IQS?

FrankReynoldsCPA

It seemed to me like the Titan used to lead in the crash #'s among pickups anyhow, due to their immense popularity with young inexperienced adrenaline junky kids.