Squeezing safety into small cars

Honda designs its cars with what the company calls an Advanced Compatability Engineering - or ACE - body structure. The idea is to keep people safe whether crashing into an SUV, a car or a pedestrian on the street. (In Europe, cars have to meet requirements for pedestrian safety as well as occupant safety.)

Instead of putting crash-resistant beams low in the vehicle, Honda places rigid structures high in the front end, backed up by beams that are designed to deform on impact, cushioning the blow for occupants.

Other car companies incorporate similar concepts to get the gentlest possible deceleration in a crash.

About half of the overall body structure in most Honda cars is high strength steel, something that allows cars to be lighter while offering better crash protection. The challenge is to allow the car to crush where it needs it, while remaining rigid around the passenger compartment to protect occupants.

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