2003 Honda Odyssey and Accord Coupe Achieve All-Around Five Star Safety in Federal NHTSA Front and Side Impact Tests

An Industry-Leading Six Honda and Acura Models Achieve All-Around Five Star Safety in New Car Assessment Program

TORRANCE, Calif., May 8 -- The 2003 Honda Odyssey and the all-new 2003 Accord Coupe have earned the federal government's top Five Star safety rating for the driver, front passenger and rear seat passengers in both front- and side-impact crash tests according to information released yesterday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The Odyssey and Accord Coupe join American Honda's family of all-around Five Star safety achievers that includes the Civic Coupe (with side airbags), CR-V, Pilot and Acura MDX. Honda and Acura vehicles comprise six out of the ten models industry-wide that achieve all-around Five Star safety ratings. Furthermore, Honda is the only automotive brand with more than one model that achieves all-around Five Star safety.

All 2003 Honda Odyssey and Accord Coupe models feature advanced dual- stage, dual threshold driver and front passenger airbags that can deploy at two different rates, depending on the severity of the crash.

The Odyssey is equipped with Honda's advanced side airbag system as standard equipment, which includes a monitoring system to prevent the side airbag from deploying if a child or small-statured adult is leaning into the side airbag deployment path.

The Accord Coupe is available with Honda's advanced side airbag system, which is standard on all EX models and all V-6 models, and side curtain airbags are available on EX V-6 models. The 2003 Accord Coupe tested by NHTSA achieved all-around Five Star safety on a model without the available front driver's and passenger's side airbags or side curtain airbag system.

From a structural standpoint, the Odyssey body and sub-frame is designed to deform progressively in front and side collisions to absorb the energy of a collision and reduce the likelihood of occupant injury. Similarly, the 2003 Accord's sub-frame and body is also designed to deform progressively and absorb energy in a controlled manner.

The front- and side-impact crash tests are part of NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) that provide consumers with safety information on the two most common injury-causing crashes. In frontal tests, vehicles are crashed at 35 mph into a rigid, fixed barrier. The side crash is conducted with a moving, deformable barrier impacting the vehicle at 38.5 mph. Vehicles are given a rating from one to five stars, with five stars indicating the best level of crash protection.

Additionally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a nonprofit research and communications organization funded by auto insurers, has also rated the Honda Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element and Acura MDX as Best Picks in frontal offset crash tests.

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