Ford, Honda at top of safest cars list

BEIJING, Nov. 15 -- Ford Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. led the way as the number of new cars considered the safest by the U.S. insurance industry nearly tripled the past year, aided by automakers' push to make certain safety equipment more available.

Ford and Honda had the most vehicles on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's annual list of the safest cars for the 2008 model year. Thirty-four vehicles received the top safety pick designation for 2008, compared with 13 vehicles from the 2007 model year.

The institute requires new cars and trucks to have electronic stability control, or ESC, to qualify for the award. Many auto companies are putting the anti-rollover technology into their fleets ahead of a government requirement for the systems by the 2012 model year.

Ford was represented on the list by the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable passenger cars with optional ESC, and the Ford Edge, Ford Taurus X and Lincoln MKX midsize sport utility vehicles. The Volvo S80, C70 midsize convertible and XC90 SUV, part of Ford’s Volvo unit, made the list.

Ford has said previously that it will put stability control on its entire lineup by the end of 2009.

Honda and its Acura unit had seven vehicles on the list: the Honda Accord, Odyssey, Pilot, CR-V and Element, and the Acura MDX and RDX SUVs. Honda has had stability control on all SUVs, pickups and minivans since the 2007 model year and the technology is now standard on the Accord.

Electronic stability control senses when a driver may lose control of the vehicle and automatically applies brakes to individual wheels to help keep it stable and avoid a rollover. The technology helps motorists avoid skidding across icy or slick roads or keep control of their car when swerving to avoid an unexpected object in the road.