Modern Muscle Cars Aren’t Quite As Safe As You’d Think

The Mustang, Challenger and Camaro all missed out on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's top safety ratings, with two struggling with the challenging overlap tests

Matt Robinson

Updated: 24 May 2016

Since sports cars tend to be driven enthusiastically, it’s important they’re as safe as possible. However, a trio of modern muscle cars - a Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger - all missed out on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) top safety ratings.

To nab the IIHS’ ‘Top Safety Pick’, a car needs a ‘good’ rating in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restrain tests, and have some kind of front crash prevention system. The Mustang came closest, but was let down by an ‘acceptable’ rating in the small overlap test, where the roof buckled and the A-pillar plus instrument panel intruded into the cockpit.

The Camaro fared much better in the small overlap, but it scored only ‘acceptable’ in the roof strength test, and doesn’t have any front crash prevention tech.

The Challenger - the oldest of the trio - performed the worst, scoring ‘acceptable’ for roof strength and the head restraints, and only ‘marginal’ in the small overlap.

So in other words, room for improvement with all three cars…

Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.

Comments

Its not true

Ok, so they might not be the safest cars in the world.. But they still look very safe to me. How many CTzens here are driving a car without any airbags? I’m one. So any of these three is much safer than what I daily drive

I haven’t got airbags, crumple zones, roll protection, ABS, STM, TCS…. Nothing.

My most advanced safety feature is my right foot on the middle pedal, and two hands on the steering wheel.

Havent crashed yet. Must be some super advanced right foot I’ve got.

I’m STILL buying muscle cars, survival of the fittest here

what a surprise (NOT). We all know who GM looks out for our safety. Let’s start with ‘unsafe at any speed’ and the Pinto. If you think they have learned you’re wrong: Ignition key ring a bell? 19 people got killed by it, proven. How many more that this was the major cause is unknown. How much was GM fined? Lets just say it is a fraction of what VW is getting and not even a polar bear was killed by that. Now…I challenge you to find more examples of GM being bad. You don’t have to look hard.