Top Vehicle Safety Picks for 2011

The Top Safety Pick awards for 2011 have been named by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  Miraculously, Toyota made it on that list! I know -- poor Toyota, but even in the wake of racking up large fines, Toyota-Lexus-Scion still managed

eight awards.  General Motors and Ford-Lincoln also brought home eight awards.

The  biggest winners with the safest vehicles on the road were Hyundai-Kia and Volkswagen-Audi, each earning nine awards.  Not bad, right? Another prestigious accomplishment went to Subaru being the only automaker  to earn an award for all five vehicles in its lineup.

"Consumer Reports" has the full low-down.  The list includes 40 cars, 25 SUVs and one minivan.  Check out the list and other various safety information: Consumer Reports.

The designation by the Institute for Highway Safety " indicates vehicles have performed well after being put through such things as a front, side and rear crash tests. They also must have electronic stability control available, which will be standard for the 2012 model year. The crash test evaluations are intended to assist consumers in choosing safe vehicles (Doug Wood, Metrosource)."