TOKYO, Japan, September 18, 2008 – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced that it will begin using its new third generation pedestrian dummy, POLAR III, in vehicle-to-pedestrian crash tests before the end of this year, with the aim of reducing pedestrian lower back and upper leg injuries which are common in collisions between a pedestrian and a SUV or mini-van.

With POLAR III, the reproduction fidelity for the lower back and upper leg areas has been further improved enabling the evaluation of bone fractures in these areas in addition to the prior ability to evaluate injuries to knee ligaments and fractures to lower leg bones.

In 1998, Honda became the first in the world to develop a pedestrian crash test dummy to reproduce the human body’s kinematics during vehicle-to-pedestrian collisions, with the aim of identifying parts of the vehicle body most often resulting in injuries, and developing safety technologies to reduce pedestrian head injuries during the collision with a vehicle. In 2000, Honda broadened the scope of its effort to mitigate pedestrian injuries by developing the second generation pedestrian dummy, POLAR II, which improved reproduction fidelity of the human body’s kinematics and measured the level of injury in eight body areas, including the head and neck through use of embedded instruments. Additionally, Honda conducted independently developed simulations in which the kinematics of the body and injuries were reproduced.

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New small SUVs received high enough marks in the latest round of insurance industry crash tests that testers recommend them over small cars for buyers looking for more fuel-efficient rides.

Among eight new models tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, four earned the “top safety pick” award — the Ford Escape, Volkswagen Tiguan, Nissan Rogue and Mitsubishi Outlander — for highest grades in front, side and rear crashes.

Other SUVs tested — the Suzuki Grand Vitara, the Chevrolet Equinox and the Jeep Patriot — received a mix of grades. And the new Jeep Wrangler suffered the only poor score, recorded on the test for side-impact protection, a downgrade from the old model’s results.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Some sport utility vehicles don’t provide the protection in a side crash that one might expect from such large vehicles, according to tests released Thursday by the insurance industry.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave marginal scores in side-impact tests of 2008 versions of the Chevrolet TrailBlazer, Jeep Grand Cherokee and two SUVs built by Nissan Motor Co. — the Pathfinder and Xterra without optional side air bags.

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