Smart ForTwo Comes Out on Top in Roof-Strength Test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the results of its first crash test to determine roof strength for small cars. Only one of the six cars tested — the Smart ForTwo — earned the top rating of Good. The Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Mini Cooper and Toyota Yaris earned Acceptable ratings, while the Chevy Aveo managed only a Marginal rating.

These new tests are important because they will be included in the 2010 Top Safety Pick awards that IIHS hands out. The roof tests require a car to withstand a force four times the vehicle’s weight per 5 inches of crushed area. That produces a strength-to-weight ratio. A ratio of 4 is the minimum to earn a Good rating, 3.25 is minimum for an Acceptable rating and 2.5 for Marginal. Anything below that is a Poor. The Smart Fortwo earned a 5.4 rating.

IIHS points to rollover crashes accounting for 10,000 deaths a year as the main reason to add the roof test to its side, rear and frontal crash tests. However, IIHS points out that while a strong roof helps prevent injuries after a rollover, the cars themselves should be more stable to prevent such accidents. The Smart ForTwo has a three-star rollover rating from the government, while the Fit, Cooper and Yaris have four-star rollover ratings.

Last year, 84 vehicles earned Top Safety Pick status, including the Honda Fit, which looks to lose that status with its score of Acceptable in the roof test. 

Weekend Athlete: 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5

Someone once told me it was painful to watch me cram my bike into a subcompact car. If you’re like that person, look away now, unless you have a masochistic side. And before you scream “Get a rack!” I hate to tell you that, on this car, I think that’s a bad idea.

Why is a rack a bad idea? Simple aerodynamics, my friends: This car is a sail. I don’t know if it’s because of the car’s upright stance or because it’s so light, but the wind really moved it around on the highway. Put a bike or two on a roof rack and you won’t need to learn how to drive, you’ll need to learn how to tack.

Before you scream “rear rack,” that’s not ideal, as I always say, because it blocks the hatchback. Do that and you might as well buy a sedan.

Cars.com Videos: 2009 Audi A5, 2009 Mazda 6, 2009 Chevy Aveo5

2009 Audi A5: The A5 is a sleek-looking luxury coupe, but its 265-hp, 3.2-liter V-6 fails to deliver performance thrills, David Thomas says.

2009 Mazda6: With its distinctive styling, roomy cabin and solid driving experience, the redesigned Mazda6 might be a great fit for your family; Mike Hanley investigates.

2009 Chevrolet Aveo5: Bill Jackson checks out a $14,000 Aveo5 hatchback. It gets you from here to there, but doesn’t do a lot more than that.

View and share all of Cars.com’s videos via YouTube.

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5

"Economy" is the buzzword of the day, and if you're a car shopper you're likely looking for both fuel economy and the general easy/low-monthly-payments/I-can-actually-afford-it kind of car. With mileage of 27/34 mpg city/highway and a starting price under $12,000, the Chevy Aveo5 certainly fits the bill. At the same time, though, drivers have come to expect certain minimal amounts of performance and comfort from their vehicles. Does the Aveo5 deliver the bare essentials, even for an entry-level vehicle? Cars.com reviewer Bill Jackson lets you know.

2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 Review

GM Rolls Out Red Tag Sale, Chevy Deals

GM’s Red Tag Sale has become a bit of a holiday tradition, usually starting in December. However, the abysmal economy has forced the company to roll out the sale a month early this year. Dealers are instructed to clearly place the price consumers will pay after incentives and other fees have been calculated and deducted on a big, red tag on each vehicle. (The tag’s price excludes factory-to-dealer incentives, as well as other stackable incentives like recent grad cash back, auto show bonus cash, and tax, title and registration fees.)

First up in our list of such incentives is Chevrolet. A variety of incentives (or, to be technical, the Red Tag Sale price) are available on 2008 and 2009 models. A full list is available on GM’s Red Tag Sale page. Even new models like the Chevy Traverse crossover are severely discounted. A selection of available Red Tag pricing deals are listed below, though they may vary depending on what region of the country you’re in: 

2009 Pontiac G3: Just Another Aveo

Pontiac is going to add a version of the four-door Chevy Aveo hatchback to its lineup next spring, to be called the G3. Pontiac already markets a G3 Wave in Canada and now will offer it as simply the G3 in the U.S.

"The G3 gives us a credible new high-mileage entry-level car at a time when small cars are the fastest-growing segment in the industry," Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopson said.

Sure, but isn’t Pontiac supposed to be the high-performance excitement division at General Motors?

2009 Chevy Aveo Incentive Makes Entry-Level Even Cheaper

The 2009 Chevy Aveo is the definition of entry-level — small, inexpensive and relatively minimal in its features and accommodations. Still, for a starting MSRP of just over $11,000, the Aveo gives young drivers — or anyone looking for a bargain — a passable new car.

This month, the Aveo is even cheaper: Chevrolet is listing a $2,000 national incentive on the car, a 17.5% discount from the original MSRP. That brings the price for the sedan or the Aveo5, its hatchback cousin, down to less than $10,000. With that discount, adding optional satellite radio doesn’t seem so daunting.

Cars.com’s Top 10 Incentives

First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5

The redesigned Chevrolet Aveo5 shows how far entry-level cars have come in the past 10 years. Compared to cars then, or even the previous-generation Aveo5, the new model is an improvement. Unfortunately, compared with the best of its competition — the Nissan Versa and Honda Fit — it doesn't shine so brightly.

I recently tested a variety of Aveo5s, some of which were loaded with luxury goodies, some of which were not. It made for a fun day of trying them all out and seeing how they differed.

Chevrolet's Employee Discounts Revealed

Yesterday, we hoped to figure out just how much GM’s Employee Pricing Sale could save customers, and short of invading dealerships or interrogating GM employees (“Hey, how much is your discount? Answer us!”), we’ve found the answers — on GM’s site.

Chevrolet unsurprisingly has concentrated most of its employee savings on its trucks and SUVs. At the employee-discounted price plus incentives, the Silverado is available for $19,948, which is $8,000 below MSRP. The Avalanche (almost $9,000 less than MSRP) and Suburban (more than $9,000 less than MSRP) are also available with hefty bargains.

If you’re a sports car enthusiast, you’re not left out. The Corvette is included in the sale, and we found more than $6,000 in Cash back on the standard ‘Vette. We’re devoting an entirely separate post to the ridiculous price of a 2008 Corvette Z06.

A substantial list of Chevy’s employee-priced vehicles is below, with expected cost after discounts and incentives. Check Chevrolet’s site for a full list of deals or GM’s site for differing trim levels, other models and to double-check which deals apply in your area.

2009 Chevy Aveo, Aveo5 Get Prices, Slightly More MPG

For 2009, Chevy’s compact Aveo sedan and Aveo5 hatchback get slightly revised engines, and the Aveo5 gets the same design upgrades the sedan did in 2008. Prices for both now start at $11,460, before the $660 destination charge, for the base LS trim level. That’s actually a reduction of $710 for the sedan and an increase of $1,225 for the Aveo5, but, again, that model gets more modifications. Both come standard with side-impact airbags but no air conditioning. The 2009 Aveos will hit dealers in early July.

Minor tweaks to the small four-cylinder engine improve mileage to 27/34 mpg city/highway with the manual transmission and 25/34 mpg with the four-speed automatic. That’s compared to 24/34 mpg and 23/32 mpg for the outgoing manual and automatic, respectively. The new numbers still fall short of competitors like the Toyota Yaris, which comes in at 29/36 mpg and 29/35 mpg for its manual and automatic models. However, the Aveo does top the Hyundai Accent’s numbers of 27/32 mpg and 24/33 mpg.

More trim level prices are below.