Top car safety picks for 2009

The IIHS says the number of vehicles that win its top award has doubled in the past year.

1 of 13
BACKNEXT
Top Safety Picks
Top Safety Picks
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named its "Top Safety Picks" for 2009 Tuesday. 72 cars vehicles earned the top honor which is more than double last year's winners and three times 2007's recipients.

The Top Safety Pick award covers autos that earned the IIHS' best possible ratings for front, side and rear impact protection, and they are available with electronic stability control (ESC), which helps a driver maintain control during emergency maneuvers.

Ford and its Volvo Subsidiary had 16 winners, including the Ford F-150. Honda and its Acura unit had 13 winners. The IIHS, which is funded by insurance companies, pointed out that Honda, Acura and Subaru each have at least one Top Safety Pick in every vehicle class where they compete.

For the first time ever, every class of vehicle tested had a winner, except for microcars. "Consumers are the biggest winners," Institute president Adrian Lund said in a statement. "No matter what kind of vehicle buyers may be considering, now they can walk into just about any dealership and find one that affords the best overall protection in serious crashes."

Chrysler is the only major automaker without a single Top Safety Pick.

Following is a selection of top picks. The full list appears at the end of the gallery.

NEXT: Large car - Cadillac CTS

Last updated November 25 2008: 9:42 AM ET
More Galleries
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits
10 of the most luxurious airline amenity kits
When it comes to in-flight pampering, the amenity kits offered by these 10 airlines are the ultimate in luxury More
7 startups that want to improve your mental health
7 startups that want to improve your mental health
From a text therapy platform to apps that push you reminders to breathe, these self-care startups offer help on a daily basis or in times of need. More
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work
5 radical technologies that will change how you get to work
From Uber's flying cars to the Hyperloop, these are some of the neatest transportation concepts in the works today. More

Special Offer
Contact Us Closed Captioning Manage Cookies+ Site Map

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.