Volkswagens win IIHS top pick 2009 awards!

Volkswagen Passat

A total of 5 Volkswagen cars have managed to get the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick award for 2009 – the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Volkswagen Rabbit (called the Golf outside of the US), the Volkswagen Jetta, the Volkswagen Passat and the Volkswagen Eos.

IIHS says the winners offer superior overall crash protection among the vehicles in their classes, and to quality it must earn the highest rating in the IIHS front, side and rear crash tests. It also must have some form of stability control, and IIHS says it is now a trend for ESP to be standard on all trim levels in a model range. The EuroNCAP also recently announced that it has revised its rating system to make it impossible to get 5-stars if ESP is not a standard feature.

This kind of puts into perspective how far behind Proton is in terms of its safety feature offerings in Malaysia. Nevermind as standard, what about optional? We’re still waiting for some form of stability control to be offered at least as an option on a Proton car… and you can say the same about side airbags.

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Paul Tan

After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history.

 

Comments

  • ALPINA Bukard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 3:25 am

    volvo and saab didn’t win?…..no only side airbags, curtain airbags are also important. they protect the head, one of the most vulnerable part of the body

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • mahs (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 4:50 am

    hahaha
    proton? not more expected than it can still running…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1
  • whiteeye (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 9:36 am

    May be this is the right way to produced a car which care passenger safety, plus i might rethink to buy it n wat’s the price in Malaysia. No wonder VW tarik balik to join with Proton, oh man if not we can’t have this nice car in Malaysia. As for Proton there a short name for CMR + TTL.

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  • ALPINA Bukard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 9:55 am

    whiteeye said,

    November 9, 2008 @ 9:36 am

    May be this is the right way to produced a car which care passenger safety, plus i might rethink to buy it n wat’s the price in Malaysia. No wonder VW tarik balik to join with Proton, oh man if not we can’t have this nice car in Malaysia. As for Proton there a short name for CMR + TTL.
    —————————————————
    at least we still get the proper volkswagen’s , brazil and china get cheap rip offs. its weird, a cheap carmaker with serious image problems in europe(phaeton failure) is consider a luxury brand here

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • hyundai (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 10:09 am

    Too bad Peugeot and Renault are not in the US… Maybe they can win more awards in safety.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Xx- Ferrari -xX (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 10:47 am

    Where is Volvo ???????????????????????

    ********** VOLVO FOR LIFE *************

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • alamak (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 11:30 am

    the golf gti has 12 airbags if counted individually including front / rear curtains.

    woo grats VW !!

    that must be some achievement to have 5 cars from same manufacturer getting top awards.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • ALPINA Bukard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 12:02 pm

    alamak said,

    November 9, 2008 @ 11:30 am

    the golf gti has 12 airbags if counted individually including front / rear curtains.

    woo grats VW !!

    that must be some achievement to have 5 cars from same manufacturer getting top awards.
    ——————————————————
    rear side and curtains are option, what about ferrari, how safe are they, a lot miracles happened in dubai, crazy crash but come out unscathed

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • nuvolari (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 12:09 pm

    I beleive Proton has the capability to produce cars with ESP and stuff. The issue is the price will not be as now. I don’t see many Japanese cars equipped with those except for premium and mid range cars. There other ways to to make the car stable. The IIHS is not necessarily the best standard. Their Standard and Poors & Moody’s were sleeping. As a result, US has financial crisis now. Somethg interesting now, GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking bailout of USD 50 millions. Proton is doing well under current situation with healthy cash flow.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • nuvolari (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 12:19 pm

    I beleive Proton has the capability to produce cars with ESP and stuff. The issue is the price will not be as now. I don’t see many Japanese cars equipped with those except for premium and mid range cars. There are other ways to make the car stable. The IIHS is not necessarily the best standard. Their Standard and Poors & Moody’s were sleeping. As a result, US has financial crisis now. Somethg interesting now, GM, Ford and Chrysler are seeking bailout of USD 50 billions. Proton is doing well under current situation with healthy cash flow.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • bmpower (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 12:24 pm

    now i even more wonder how safe VIVA and myvi ..
    both are more worst.
    check behind viva bumper.. how tiny was that bar.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • IsaacVky (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    Proton is ready for ESP with their Campro engine, because it has got electronic throttle.

    Perodua, in your dream. Cable driven throttle engines.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • a18 (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    alamak said,

    November 9, 2008 @ 11:30 am

    the golf gti has 12 airbags if counted individually including front / rear curtains.

    woo grats VW !!

    that must be some achievement to have 5 cars from same manufacturer getting top awards.
    ——————————————————
    rear side and curtains are option, what about ferrari, how safe are they, a lot miracles happened in dubai, crazy crash but come out unscathed

    ——————————————————
    mine golf fsi has 12 air bags as standard inclusive of front & rear curtains

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • ALPINA Bukard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 2:22 pm

    a18 said,

    November 9, 2008 @ 1:39 pm

    alamak said,

    November 9, 2008 @ 11:30 am

    the golf gti has 12 airbags if counted individually including front / rear curtains.

    woo grats VW !!

    that must be some achievement to have 5 cars from same manufacturer getting top awards.
    ——————————————————
    rear side and curtains are option, what about ferrari, how safe are they, a lot miracles happened in dubai, crazy crash but come out unscathed

    ——————————————————
    mine golf fsi has 12 air bags as standard inclusive of front & rear curtains
    ——————————–
    well at least volkswagen malaysia gives us all, in europe they are options.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • tokmoh (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 5:18 pm

    I reckon before fixing the car, we need to fix the driver 1st. Usually, it’s the driver that causes such accidents due to negligence or some sort. U can have even the “uncrushable” s-class, but with typical msian style driving, everyone inside it can still get killed =.= uncrushable? Not if it can’t be helped with Msia boleh spirit.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • mct (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 8:16 pm

    nuvolari:
    many car have side airbags and esp for standard (out side boleh land )
    a i10 in uk also have a side airbags and it price is less than 7k pound
    last time the waja in uk have side airbags and tc as standard but it is discontinue already

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • BanyakMasukWorkshop (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 9:19 pm

    5 VW’s are in the list, some of the other winners include honda’s, as well as mitsubishi for 2009.

    another interesting thing to note is, you dont see any french cars in the list, coz none were ever tested.. also, no volvos coz none were tested in 2009 that i can see. the latest volvo on the list, S80 was tested in 2008, and it had a perfect score also.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • ingolstadt (Member) on Nov 09, 2008 at 11:25 pm

    Well Paul, I guess before pointing the smoking gun at Proton, which had neither the technological prowess and economies of scale to include ESPs, TRCs into their relatively expensive cars (low production volume)…. WE SHOULD SHOUT AT THOSE RIPPING-US-OFF-BIG-TIME-JAPANESE MANUFACTURERS.

    With tax exemptions and all, they’re still ripping us off with huge profits and not including plenty of safety features in their cars, even when they have such high economies of scale and own patents to many of these safety features they developed their selves.

    Bobby
    WheelsWeekly

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  • bmpower (Member) on Nov 10, 2008 at 2:05 am

    With tax exemptions and all, they’re still ripping us off with huge profits and not including plenty of safety features in their cars, even when they have such high economies of scale and own patents to many of these safety features they developed their selves.

    Bobby
    WheelsWeekly

    ***

    That’s exactly what we (economist related) see now.
    Toyota was the best Malaysian money sucker right now. Not only their car and p2. But they also transferring via Van, MPV and lorry.

    well.. you can say I’m patriotic.. but economic wise.. I know.. it’s really a big loss for our economy.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • 4G63T DSM (Member) on Nov 10, 2008 at 8:11 am

    ingolstadt said,
    November 9, 2008 @ 11:25 pm

    Well Paul, I guess before pointing the smoking gun at Proton, which had neither the technological prowess and economies of scale to include ESPs, TRCs into their relatively expensive cars (low production volume)…. WE SHOULD SHOUT AT THOSE RIPPING-US-OFF-BIG-TIME-JAPANESE MANUFACTURERS.

    Correct, not proton’s problem, but we can blame consumers (ie. the rest of us) for that.

    Consumers vote with our money. But we haven’t been voting very well from the looks of it.

    You should see the faces of some americans that we met up during a business meeting when we told them not all new cars come with airbags. To them, thats almost unheard off/unacceptable.

    Malaysians are still a step behind (or several steps) when it comes to safety awareness. We still need to “remind” people to wear seat belts…. do you think they will care if a car has 6 airbags?

    Consumers are willing to pay good money for the privalage of not having to drive a proton or perodua. The manufacturers know this. And they are charging us and running laughing to the bank (or filling up the pockets of some select few…think AP…if you can and must have a car with proper safety gear)

    But then again, beggars can’t really be choosers…….

    In a free market, consumers call the shots. Things get better. Do you even think Proton would be actually coming out with better products now if we hadn’t stop buying them? Proton must have been somethign real bad, that given its “protected” status,only managed to see its market share get diminished……

    I will still maintain this. If Proton can build a good car at cheap prices, the market will reallign itself for the benefit of the consumers. Its only due to its failure(s) we are looking at this current situation.

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  • ALPINA Bukard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 10, 2008 at 11:18 am

    proton car put airbag inside also no use, still will die 1

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  • IsaacVky (Member) on Nov 10, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Toyota P2 still selling like ‘hawt’ cakes.
    All ah beng & uncle aunty feel so proud driving Toyota.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • BanyakMasukWorkshop (Member) on Nov 10, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    4G63T DSM said,
    November 10, 2008 @ 8:11 am

    I will still maintain this. If Proton can build a good car at cheap prices, the market will reallign itself for the benefit of the consumers. Its only due to its failure(s) we are looking at this current situation.
    —————————————————-

    to be fair to proton, their new models do reflect a drive to come up with better models, and at as affordable pricing as possible. Some of their pricing is definitely commendable considering their lack of economies of scale. At least in the malaysian market, their new models are quite on par and better than some foreign or foreign derived makes.

    the lack of standard safety items in cars are not just the domain of the malaysian auto market.. its the same with india, thailand and indonesia. this is more a reflection of the buying publics mentality for sure, but lets also not forget the overall buying power as well of the general public in the region (singapore excluded of course). everyone wouldnt mind a high specced car with all the bells and whistles, if they could afford it.

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  • varman24 (Member) on Nov 13, 2008 at 8:52 am

    hmmmmmmm bravo VW.bilalah proton nak capai standard nie…………..

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  • varman24 (Member) on Nov 13, 2008 at 8:54 am

    VW always stabil.Proton CEO pun dah nak cabut!Tahun 2020 proton tak de kot.Perodua kereta nasional

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  • varman24 (Member) on Nov 13, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Proton MPV=kura kura beroda

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  • ALPINA Bukard Bovensiepen GMBH + Co. KG (Member) on Nov 13, 2008 at 2:19 pm

    my bicycle is safer than any of the protons

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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