Saab Tops 4-Door Mid-Size Car Category in HLDI Study
16 November 1999
Saab Tops 4-Door Mid-Size Car Category in HLDI Study Saab 900 Has Best Score in its Class For
Relative Frequency of Injury Insurance Claims
NORCROSS, Ga., Nov. 16 -- Saab's real-life safety philosophy
puts priority on systems and structures designed to protect Saab occupants
during a real-world collision. Although Saab conducts over 40 laboratory
crash tests -- including simulated animal collisions and truck-to-car side
impacts -- it is real-life collisions and their infinite variables that drive
Saab safety engineers and their work. That is why Saab is gratified by the
latest reports from the U.S. Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
According to the recently published HLDI report, the Saab 900 had the best
score of any car in its class as it scored lowest among all 4-door mid-size
cars for the relative frequency of injury insurance claims. HLDI publishes
the results of its study once a year in a publication entitled Injury,
Collision and Theft Losses, and this is the fourth year in a row that the Saab
900 was found to have the lowest injury claim frequency rate in its class.
HLDI characterizes an injury score below 70 as "substantially better than
average." Only two vehicles out of 30 evaluated in the 4-door midsize car
category were in this range. The Saab 900 was one of them, scoring 39 percent
better than the average 4-door mid-size car included in the report. The Saab
900 Convertible also topped the "midsize sports cars" category with the lowest
relative injury claim frequency score of 58.
The Saab 9-3 model, which replaced the Saab 900 in the U.S. market in May,
1998, builds on the occupant protection systems and structures of its
predecessor by adding such features as the Saab Active Head Restraint (SAHR)
system, second-generation driver and passenger front airbags, dual-stage head
and torso protecting side-impact airbags and a side impact force-deflecting
pendulum "B" pillar system.
A vehicle's safety performance is the product of many factors, including
driver and occupant behavior, personal judgment and other variables. The
design of the car also influences its real-life safety integrity. The 1999
HLDI data again supports that when it comes to injury insurance claim rates,
Saab and Saab drivers perform well together in the real world.
The table below shows the loss value for all car models in the "Midsize
four-door cars" class.
Car Loss value
Saab 900 61
Buick Century 62
Volkswagen Passat 74
Infiniti I30 75
Cadillac Catera 76
Oldsmobile Cutlass 76
Volvo S70 77
Subaru Legacy 4wd 79
Lexus ES 300 80
Toyota Avalon 80
Chevrolet Malibu 87
Buick Skylark 94
Toyota Camry 95
Chrysler Cirrus 95
Average value in the class 105
Pontiac Grand Am 106
Dodge Stratus 107
Mazda Millenia 107
Nissan Maxima 109
Honda Accord 109
Ford Contour 112
Mercury Mystique 113
Plymouth Breeze 116
Oldsmobile Achieva 117
Chevrolet Cavalier 120
Mitsubishi Diamante 124
Pontiac Sunfire 125
Nissan Altima 138
Mazda 626 139
Mitsubishi Galant 140
Hyundai Sonata 199
The HLDI uses the following scale for classifying the injury loss
levels:
Below 70 Substantially better than average
70 - 79 Better than average
80 - 120 Average
121 - 130 Worse than average
Above 130 Substantially worse than average
