[chromal]

Ford Fiesta First Minicar To Snag IIHS Top Safety Pick Award
What a great little car design. Efficient AND safe.

 

[Audrey]

Here's the IIHS ratings. You can see how it compares to other "minicars" too.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=706

 

[iamz]

I was about to say that this is great news until I read that cars built before July don't get this rating. So is my insurance going to be higher because of this?

 

[NLC-KC]

Since many of our cars were produced in May and June, I guess we are the early adopters and ours don't meet these standards?

 

[cosmicrhino]

Interestingly, the sedan has a higher roof strength

 

[AlanBDahl]

I wonder if thats why Ford gave us a $50 gift card for our cars being late?

Someone to check to see if it's possible to retrofit the new door handles to the older cars. Or was the change actually to the door skin, not the handle? If it's just the handle IMHO we should push for a recall.

 

[dfw.embalmer]

That Sucks....

Thanks Ford!

 

[AlanBDahl]

I was about to say that this is great news until I read that cars built before July don't get this rating. So is my insurance going to be higher because of this?

Wonder if that's why the rates State Farm is charging me is so crazy-high? Never understood why it cost $10 more a month to insure the Fiesta vs my 260-hp Solstice.

 

[dfw.embalmer]

So.......RECALL TIME!!!!! !

This must have been what the big hangup was (or at least part of it) that caused the delay.

Ford found a safety issue with the door handles in testing, and found out that the doors are likely to come open in a crash.

SO it's time to call NHTSA, file a complaint and hope for a recall, so those of us who got the faulty doors can get new doors with the fix in place!

What was that URL for NHTSA?

 

[dfw.embalmer]

I am right there with you...

I wonder if thats why Ford gave us a $50 gift card for our cars being late?

Someone to check to see if it's possible to retrofit the new door handles to the older cars. Or was the change actually to the door skin, not the handle? If it's just the handle IMHO we should push for a recall.

They should replace the whole door on all affected cars.....I think I am going to get an attorney!

 

[MegEtc]

Here's the quote about cars built after July:

The Fiesta's award applies to cars built after July 2010 because Ford made design changes to strengthen the outside door handles to minimize the possibility of doors opening in side impact crashes.

Link: News from IIHS and HLDI

I knew there was a dirty reason for the holdup. My car was moldering in a Mexican parking lot long before the hurricane struck. That just stinks that they didn't give us the chance to decide for ourselves whether to take a car with a safety defect or wait for a car that didn't have one.

Though the odds of triggering this particular saftey flaw is low enough that it doesn't change my overall satisfaction with the car. I still think my car is as safe for me personally as the ones built after July.

 

[iamz]

I can only hope that the reason they held my car for a couple of months was to exchange out my door handles for the safer ones. If they didn't, I'm ready to sign whatever is needed to get Ford to recall and fix our cars.

 

[Ataru]

If the safety rating was a crucial part of deciding to buy the car, then why place an order and make the purchase before the safety ratings were revealed?

2011 models could have been sold all year long without the change and who knows, it might have received an Average rating instead of a Good rating. Then for 2012 changes could have been made to the door handles giving a higher rating for 2012. You can see many ratings for the same car change from year to year.

Yes, it does suck that those early models don't meet the same rating, but that's the risk of buying a car before the safety ratings have been revealed.

 

[FiestaFaction-1]

I echo the sentiment that if the results of the IIHS ratings were paramount in a person's decision to buy a car, why would you purchase one before those ratings were published?

AFAIK, the door handle revisions were a rolling change to the cars, and cars built before the mentioned July date do NOT have the revised handles.

Also, the handles were not the holdup of the first batch of cars. I know that for sure.

As long as a car passes the DOT tests it is legal for sale. The IIHS is a third-party organization. It's tests are "allegedly" for consumer awareness. Their ratings are like the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" or Consumer Reports "Recommend Pick" accolades.

Car companies are within their rights to make rolling upgrades to safety features of cars. While they might offer a retro-fitted upgrade to customers, I'm pretty sure that they are not required to by law (granted, I'm not an attorney, so YMMV).

 

[dfw.embalmer]

No rating at all for cars produced before July 10!

The problem is there is NO safety rating at all for cars produced before July 10. I will be calling Mitch Rasansky today, he is a big time Automotive Lawyer in Dallas (former city council member of Dallas too) he goes after car companies and trucking companies. When it comes to litigation there is no one better. I will be contacting his firm if Ford doesn't step up and fix the early cars.

You would think they would test the car BEFORE releasing it!

 

[dfw.embalmer]

So what do you know about the hold up thet you are holding back?

I echo the sentiment that if the results of the IIHS ratings were paramount in a person's decision to buy a car, why would you purchase one before those ratings were published?

AFAIK, the door handle revisions were a rolling change to the cars, and cars built before the mentioned July date do NOT have the revised handles.

Also, the handles were not the holdup of the first batch of cars. I know that for sure.

As long as a car passes the DOT tests it is legal for sale. The IIHS is a third-party organization. It's tests are "allegedly" for consumer awareness. Their ratings are like the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" or Consumer Reports "Recommend Pick" accolades.

Car companies are within their rights to make rolling upgrades to safety features of cars. While they might offer a retro-fitted upgrade to customers, I'm pretty sure that they are not required to by law (granted, I'm not an attorney, so YMMV).

If you know something (about the holdup) please share!

 

[FiestaFaction-1]

The problem is there is NO safety rating at all for cars produced before July 10. I will be calling Mitch Rasansky today, he is a big time Automotive Lawyer in Dallas (former city council member of Dallas too) he goes after car companies and trucking companies. When it comes to litigation there is no one better. I will be contacting his firm if Ford doesn't step up and fix the early cars.

You would think they would test the car BEFORE releasing it!

FYI, of course they (Ford) tests the cars before releasing them.

And, I don't think you understand who, or what, the IIHS is, reread my post.

 

[dfw.embalmer]

So where are the NHTSA and DOT ratings?

I echo the sentiment that if the results of the IIHS ratings were paramount in a person's decision to buy a car, why would you purchase one before those ratings were published?

AFAIK, the door handle revisions were a rolling change to the cars, and cars built before the mentioned July date do NOT have the revised handles.

Also, the handles were not the holdup of the first batch of cars. I know that for sure.

As long as a car passes the DOT tests it is legal for sale. The IIHS is a third-party organization. It's tests are "allegedly" for consumer awareness. Their ratings are like the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" or Consumer Reports "Recommend Pick" accolades.

Car companies are within their rights to make rolling upgrades to safety features of cars. While they might offer a retro-fitted upgrade to customers, I'm pretty sure that they are not required to by law (granted, I'm not an attorney, so YMMV).

If DOT has to certify the car for sale, where are those ratings?

And just a caveat: As Meg said above, I am sure the car is (fairly) safe as long as you don't get hit in the side, for that reason I think it would be wise for Ford's public image to just quietly replace the doors on the early build cars just to be safe. Is one life worth a couple of hundred doors, even a couple of thousand doors? With the admission that the early cars have a door issue, it seems to me that the best decision would be for Ford to voluntarily replace (maybe even without issuing a formal recal, just a "service bulletin" and err on the side of safety.) Probably be a lot cheaper than a class action lawsuit, or worse if someone acutally died as a result.

Just sayin......I love my Fiesta, I just want safe doors.....I have a 31/2 year old that rides in that car!

 

[dfw.embalmer]

The hold up...

If you know something (about the holdup) please share!

You made comment you knew "for a fact" that the door handles were not the holdup......if you know that....what WAS the holdup?

You opened the door there.......enlighten us.....

 

[FiestaFaction-1]

AFAIK, as long as vehicles meet the FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS they are legal for sale.

Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations

Of course, many (most?) exceed these standards, and may use that fact in their marketing, but as long as they satisfy the standard, it's legal.

Rolling updates to vehicle safety standards, either year-to-year, or mid-year is just part of an ongoing process.