Jeep Patriot image from Flickr.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has come out with its annual list of Top Safety Picks. Eight SUVs and 19 cars have been given Top Safety Pick awards for 2010. People who want to make sure they’re getting the safest cars before filling out a personal loan application for a car loan should definitely check out this list.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named six vehicles made by Ford, which makes Volvos, Top Safety Picks. Subaru and Volkswagen each had five vehicles named on the list. The Institute picked four Chrysler vehicles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

For 50 years, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has operated for the purpose of reducing automobile accidents and injuries. The Institute is a non-profit organization that gets its funding from insurance companies. Each year, four tests are conducted to determine the Top Safety Picks:

1. Frontal offset impact test
2. Side impact test
3. Rear crash protection and head restraint ratings
4. Roof strength test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also rates child booster seats for cars and other consumer products. Of course, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has been accused in the past of serving the interests of the insurance companies rather than the public, which is why vehicle testing is highly regulated. It has also come under scrutiny for being unfairly hard on motorcycles, but who are we kidding? Motorcycles are not known for their safety features.

New safety requirements

The New York Times noted that there were some major changes in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s list. For instance, last year 94 vehicles were named on the Top Safety Picks list, and this year there were only 27. Furthermore, Toyota and it subsidiaries last year earned a total of 11 Top Safety Picks awards, and this year the company, which includes the Lexus and Scion brands, got none at all.

In order to make the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Picks list this year, vehicles had to get a rating of “good” on the roof strength test, which measures rollover protection, was required in order to make the list. “Good” is the highest rating. This change caused Toyota vehicles to be shut out, the length of the list to be reduced dramatically and the Honda Accord to be left off the list after it made the 2008 and 2009 lists.

Auto industry impact

Naturally, safety ratings play a big part for many consumers when they are considering vehicle purchases. After a couple of tumultuous years in the auto industry, the stellar safety ratings for Ford should help the company stay afloat while we ride out the rest of the recession.

Chrysler should be particularly encouraged by its four wins after it had to file for bankruptcy protection this year. Sales of the four vehicles that made the list should help stabilize the company. Those four vehicles are:

• Chrysler Sebring 4-door with electronic stability control
• Dodge Avenger with electronic stability control
• Dodge Journey
• Jeep Patriot with side torso air bags

Check out the full list of vehicles that made the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s list in the New York Times’ Wheels column.

Admit it! Just once, wouldn’t it be nice to own and drive a brand new car? I’ve been driving the same old jalopy for almost ten years and it was ten years old when i bought it. There isn’t really anything wrong with it, not to say it doesn’t have any quirky things that go wrong from time to time, but what car doesn’t, and don’t I deserve it? Maybe so, but I don’t want to have to get payday loans just to make payments, never mind insurance.

After 276,000 miles, you begin to wonder what it would be like driving down the road on a warm summer’s day, with a sun roof open, the wind blowing in your hair, or in my case the lack thereof, talking to your friends with newer integrated blue-tooth features while listening to your favorite music on a state of the art sound system.

Ahhhh! That’ll be the day!

Considering The Costs Of A New Vehicle

I would love to have a new car, but with a new car comes new expenses. Not only does it cost an arm and a leg these days to drive a status symbol down the road, but the newer the vehicle the more expensive the insurance. And when it comes to money I am more about saving than spending.

Then again, every dog has his day.

New Hopes Amidst Strange Dreams Of Very Interesting People

Today was mine. A coworker came into our office giving us an update of her ever changing and always enchanting “day in the life of” stories that we have come to depend on for both humor and good dinner table conversation. We are convinced that if she writes a book it will be a national best seller.

Any way, she is a woman who seems to always get what she wants and today came an intriguing story that may just convince me, and perhaps you as well, to take the plunge.

A True Act of Boldness

The next day she went to the Hummer dealership and told them exactly why she was there.

“Hi, I’m here because I had a dream last night that I bought a Hummer….”

Bold, yes! Did they turn her away? NO!

Putting The Pressure On To Get The Diamonds She’s Looking For

This is one sweetheart I’m sure they thought they could take advantage of. However, had they talked to the last dealer that sold her a Subaru before giving her the keys and telling her to never come back again, they would have been much wiser to turn her away before basically paying to get rid of her as you will find out shortly.

Besides pitting dealerships against each other, this savvy gal who can be as intimidating as she wants to be (did I say she practices kick boxing), managed to negotiate one hell of a deal on a “black on black” 2008 H3 HUMMER.

With a standard retail price of $52,000 dollars, sunroof, built-in blue tooth and the whole nine yards, she negotiated the price down to around 25% of retail cost.

All said and almost done, her monthly payment is going to be about $350 dollars a month which is a hundred dollars less than the Subaru that she has been paying on.

The Girl’s Got Game!

By this time, every one in the office was heavily salivating, so naturally we had to ask for the details. It turns out that the dealerships have been having a hard time getting rid of Hummers due to the reputation that they have had as gas guzzlers and the fact the General Motors, well, they’re not doing so hot right now. The Hummer line is getting canned – and no amount of payday loans is going to save it.

As far as gas mileage, the Hummers H3 line gets about 20 miles to the gallon and General Motors, despite discontinuing the Hummer models, will still warranty them for ten years after purchase.

Guess this is one girl who will be showing us up around here.

For the rest of you out there, if you can get approved for a loan, and you can put a little boldness on display, you may be able to swing a deal as well and save yourself a chunk of change – you may not need payday loans just to keep the thing on the road.