IIHS Says Several Pickups Don't Meet Expectations

While you might envision large pickup trucks as pretty safe vehicles to be inside during a bad accident, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has news for you: The new Dodge Ram, Nissan Titan and Chevy Silverado all performed below expectations when IIHS tested four-door versions for side impacts.

Both with and without optional side airbags, the Chevy Silverado 1500 got a Poor rating, even though the Silverado got a five-star safety rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Director of media relations Russ Rader told Autoblog that this was due to different testing methods; IIHS simulates the impact of a large truck or SUV with a taller barrier that impacts the more vulnerable parts of the door.

The Titan also received a Poor mark for side impacts, but increased that rating to Marginal with optional side airbags. The Ram, which has standard side airbags, managed a Marginal rating as well.

In case you’re wondering, IIHS really doesn't have it in for large pickups: The new 2009 Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra both were chosen as Top Safety Picks.

Comments

I think we should see a link to all the ratings and perhaps a complete description of the test methodology.

We should also see results for ALL pickups... 2DR 4DR 2WD 4WD etc. there are literally hundreds of different pickup trucks available, especially from Chevy, Dodge, Ford and GMC...

Just Athought
Check out the IIHS site, they detail their testing methods in great detail. They are much more stringent than the federal govt as well. But you're right, they don't usually test every variation like regular and crew cab. But I think they do pick a configuration and stick with it for all the different brands.