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Volkswagen Jetta and Volkswagen Passat Earn Top Safety Marks

14 January 2000

Volkswagen Jetta and Volkswagen Passat Earn Top Safety Marks From Federal Government Crash Testing - Jetta is First Compact Sedan to Earn Dual Five-Star Rating

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Jan. 13 -- Volkswagen of America, Inc.
today announced that its 2000 Volkswagen Jetta and Passat models received the
government's top safety ratings based on the results of high-speed frontal
crash testing.
    The Volkswagen Jetta became the first compact four-door sedan to receive
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's NCAP rating of five stars
for both the driver and the front-seat passenger.
    The Volkswagen Passat also received dual five-star ratings, placing it
among only a handful of mid-size cars to receive this distinction.
    The government's New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) crash test results are
reported in a range of one to five stars, with five stars showing the best
crash protection when comparing vehicles within the same weight class.
    Vehicles in the NCAP testing are crashed head-on at 35 miles-per-hour into
a fixed, rigid barrier.  This crash is equivalent to a head-on collision
between two identical vehicles, each moving at 35 mph, or with a 70 mph
closing speed.  Crash-test dummies are placed in the driver and front
passenger seats.  These instrumented dummies register forces and impacts
during the crash, which the NHTSA uses to predict frontal head and chest
injuries.