German Car Zone

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Stuttgart, Germany, Dec 08, 2008

The respected Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States has named the Mercedes-Benz C-Class one of its Top Safety Picks for 2008 – the best reason to buy in terms of safety. The C-Class achieved good ratings in all the safety criteria which were examined.

Each year, the experts at the IIHS rate new vehicle models based on stringent safety criteria, thereby providing an important tool to help buyers make a decision. In the latest assessments, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was subjected to front and side crash tests. The safety specialists in the USalso evaluated protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. For all three criteria, the C-Class was awarded top marks.

This result is confirmation that the C-Class safety concept, optimised based on the analysis of real-life accidents, also performs extremely well in standardised rating crash tests. With seven airbags, belt tensioners, belt force limiters and NECK PRO crash-responsive head restraints fitted as standard, the Saloon offers its occupants an extremely high level of protection should an accident occur. The body structure has been designed to ensure that, in the event of a frontal collision, the impact forces are distributed over a wide area and on four independently acting impact levels, meaning that the passenger compartment remains largely undamaged. Around 70 percent of all the bodyshell panels are made from state-of-the-art, high-strength steel alloys that minimise weight and maximise safety.

Furthermore, the C-Class is the world's only car in this market segment to feature an anticipatory occupant protection system in the shape of PRE-SAFE® as an option. This Mercedes-Benz innovation uses the time between detection of a potential accident situation and a possible collision to initiate preventive protective measures, thus reducing the loads exerted on the occupants in the event of a crash by up to 40 percent.

By rating the C-Class a Top Safety Pick 2008, the IIHS has confirmed the vehicle's extremely good performance in crash tests conforming to Euro NCAP (the European New Car Assessment Programme) in which the C-Class was awarded five stars, making it one of the safest cars on the market.



Top Safety Pick 2008: The Mercedes-Benz C-Class gains top marks in US safety test


M

Well done

Outstanding!!:spinst ar:


Another good reason to be a Mercedes fan, the C-Class is a Jem.


C-Class

Furthermore, the C-Class is the world's only car in this market segment to feature an anticipatory occupant protection system in the shape of PRE-SAFE® as an option.

In your face, Lexus.

This makes me really happy to read this. The C-Class might not be the sportiest car in its class but it certainly is probably the best-balanced car in its class. It does everything well and has no real major weakness. The awarding of five stars for safety is good news and probably going to add another selling point to the C-Class (for those who didn't know that the C-Class was a safe car to begin with!).

This isn't a huge deal - cars that share the IIHS "Midsize Cars" honor are:

Acura TL

Acura TSX

Audi A3

Audi A4

BMW 3 series
4-door models

Ford Fusion
with optional electronic stability control

Honda Accord
4-door models

Mercedes C class

Mercury Milan
with optional electronic stability control

Saab 9-3

Subaru Legacy

Volkswagen Jetta

Volkswagen Passat



I guess if anything is of note here - it's the absence of Lexus and Infiniti from this list. All the Germans and Acura made the cut.

True this is no big deal, really a Mercedes should be expected to get the best safety scores possible. That said, truthfully Mercedes image and reputation is still in repair mode so any good news helps. The turn around or comeback isn't complete or over yet IMO.


M