Ford, GM trucks do worst in U.S. rollover ratings
June 26, 2002 BLOOMBERG NEWS is reporting that Ford Motor Co.'s two-door Explorer sport-utility, F-150 four-wheel-drive pickup and Land Rover Discovery sport-utility and General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Avalanche sport-utility scored worst in the latest round of U.S. rollover ratings.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rated each of those 2002-model trucks two stars out of five. Ford's Thunderbird car, General Motors' four-door Cadillac Deville sedan, Hyundai Motor Co.'s four-door Sonata car and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s two-door Eclipse car received the highest five-star ranking. The U.S. agency assessed 32 cars and light trucks.
Ford, the world's second-biggest automaker, and larger rival General Motors weren't immediately available to comment.
NHTSA uses a formula based a vehicle's center of gravity rather than conducting road tests. The ratings have been the focus of scrutiny in the past two years as the U.S. investigated fatal rollover accidents related to Firestone tires, most of them on Ford Explorers. Automakers contend that the ratings don't reflect the likelihood that a vehicle will roll over in a real accident.
Light trucks generally have a higher center of gravity than cars and tend to do worse in the rollover assessments.
