IIHS Advisories | No. 4, March 1988

Small bumps = big damage; latest low-speed crash test results

Despite the success of the federal 5 mph no-damage bumper standard, in effect for 1980-82 models, the U.S. Department of Transportation rolled the requirement back to 2.5 mph in 1982. The result has been substantial costs to both insurers and consumers because many car bumpers aren't designed to withstand low-speed impacts anymore.

To demonstrate the wide variations in bumper performance, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducts an annual series of four 5 mph crash tests: front- and rear-into-barrier, front-into-angle-barrier, and rear-into-pole. In this year's tests involving 31 small two-door cars, Ford's 1988 Escort EXP performed best, sustaining only $382 damage in the four tests. The car that performed the worst, by far, was Honda's 1988 Civic CRX with $3,140 damage. In last year's tests involving 22 midsize cars, another Honda (the Accord DX) was the worst performer.

Even among models from the same manufacturer, damage varied widely. General Motors' Chevrolet Spectrum, built in Japan, was the only one tested by the Institute to sustain no damage in the rear-into-pole test. In contrast, the U.S.-built Pontiac Fiero and Korean-built Pontiac LeMans were among those with the most damage in the pole test and overall. The fourth GM car tested, Chevrolet's Japanese-built Sprint, ranked eleventh overall.

Insurance Claims Mirror Bumper Strength
Bumper designs strongly influence the frequency of insurance claims under collision coverage. This was best illustrated a few years ago by the claims experience of four General Motors models with varying bumper histories — and varying claim patterns to match.

The bumpers on 1983-85 Oldsmobile Cutlass two-door models were essentially the same as those required under the prior federal 5 mph bumper standard. And the Cutlass' collision claims history? Stable, with 8.6 claims per 100 insured vehicle years in 1983, 8.8 in 1984, 9.1 in 1985. Buick's two-door Regal for 1983-85 was very similar to the Cutlass — except for the bumpers. The Regal had 5 mph bumpers on 1983 models and weaker bumpers on 1984 and 1985 models. Collision claim frequencies jumped from 8.6 in 1983 to 10.5 in 1984 and 10.4 in 1985.

Another pair of GM cars illustrates the same point. The Buick LeSabre had 5 mph bumpers in 1983, weaker ones early in the 1984 model year, and a return to 5 mph bumpers on late 1984 and all 1985 models. The result? A jump in collision claims from 7.0 in 1983 to 8.4 in early 1984, followed by a return to lower claim levels (7.6, 7.4) for late 1984 and 1985 models when the bumpers were improved. In contrast, the very similar Oldsmobile Delta 88 had strong bumpers all three years (1983-85) and a stable history of claims (7.4 in 1983, 7.6 in 1984, and 7.7 in 1985).

More Crash Test Results
Front-into-barrier test: Eighteen cars, including Ford's Escort EXP, sustained no damage. But three cars, including the Ford Festiva L Plus, sustained more than $300 damage. The other two with high damage totals were the Dodge Daytona and Yugo GV.

Rear-into-barrier test: Twelve cars sustained no damage. In contrast, four cars sustained damage in the $500-600 range (Dodge Daytona, VW Fox, Honda Civic, and Yugo GV). Honda's Civic CRX sustained more than $900 damage in this test.

Front-into-angle barrier test: The best performer was Ford's Escort EXP with only $53 damage. The next best car in this test, Mazda's MX-6 DX, sustained nearly four times as much damage as the EXP. The worst performer sustained nearly $900 damage.

Rear-into-pole test: Mazda's MX-6 DX sustained $1,168 damage, about three times the damage to Mazda's 323. Chevrolet's Spectrum sustained no damage but another GM car, the Pontiac Fiero, had more than $1,100 damage.

Ford's 1981 Escort sustained no damage whatsoever in any of these four crash tests at 5 mph.

* These 4 cars were tested in 1986. The designs of the corresponding 1988 models are virtually identical, so the 1986 results are relevant to new cars. Repair costs have been adjusted to reflect 1988 parts and labor prices.

Repair costs listed for all 31 cars are rounded to the nearest dollar. Estimates were completed in January 1988 by two independent damage appraisers using ADP Collision Estimating Services with a labor rate of $26 per hour.

1988 Ford Escort EXP = Best

1988 Honda CRX = Worst