Honda Wins NHTSA Safety Nod

TORRANCE, Calif.--The 2001 Honda Civic Coupe is one of first two passenger cars ever to earn the Federal Government’s top Five Star safety rating for the driver and front and rear seat passengers in both frontal and side impact crash tests, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The Civic Coupe and the 2001 Volvo S80 each earned all-around Five-Star ratings in NHTSA’s first round of crash test results for the 2001 model year.

The frontal and side crash tests are part of NHTSA’s New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) that provides 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 an angle at 38.5 mph. Vehicles are given a rating from one to five stars, with five stars indicating the best level of crash protection.

The 2001 Honda Civic Sedan also performed well in the tests, earning a Five Star rating for the driver and front seat passenger in the frontal impact test and a Four Star rating for the driver and rear seat passenger in side impacts.

All 2001 Civic models feature dual seatbelt pre-tensioners for front seat occupants and dual-stage front airbag inflators. Both Civic models tested also were equipped with Honda’s side airbag system, available on all 2001 Civic models. The side airbags include a cutoff system that will prevent the side airbag from deploying if a child or small statured adult is leaning into the side airbag deployment path.

The Civic line was completely re-designed for the 2001 model year. About 50 percent of the body structure, including the important mid-floor cross members and floor gussets, are made of high-tensile steel.

Multi-directional cross members were used to create a “smart-linked” body and chassis to enhance impact energy absorption. In a frontal collision, the energy is divided between the parallel side frame and a sub-frame, both new components on the 2001 Civic.

The car is built at Honda’s East Liberty, Ohio plant.