NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The newly redesigned Ford F-150 pick-up and Ford Freestar minivan each earned the highest possible ratings in a recent series of full-speed crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The previous F-150 had gotten an overall rating of "Poor" in similar tests. The 2004 model year F-150 earned a "Good" rating and was designated a "Best pick" by the group. The Freestar also earned "Good" and "Best Pick" designations. The Freestar replaces the Windstar, which had been rated "Acceptable" in IIHS testing.

2004 Ford F-150 after crash test

The IIHS tests vehicles using a 40 mile-per-hour crash into an deformable barrier. The IIHS test is an offset crash test, meaning that only one side of the vehicle's front end strikes the barrier. That way, crash forces are not evenly distributed across the front bumper but are concentrated on one side.

2001 Ford F-150 after crash test

A "Good" rating means that, in a real-world crash of similar severity, a seat-belted driver would likely walk away with only minor injuries. A "Best pick" designation means the vehicle performed well in all safety measures on the test, including head and neck protection, leg and foot protection and "dummy kinematics," or how the crash-test dummy moved during the impact.

"When we tested the old F-150, there was massive collapse of the occupant compartment, and as a result high injury forces were recorded on the driver dummy," said Brian O'Neill, Institute president.

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The new Ford Freestar and the Toyota Sienna are the only two minivans rated "Good" and "Best Picks" in the Institute's tests.

Ford requested the tests of the F-150 and the Freestar and reimbursed the IIHS for the cost of the vehicles.

The new F-150 did poorly on low-speed bumper-damage tests done earlier by the Institute. The Freestar received a "Marginal" rating in those tests. For more on those test results, click here.