VOA标准英语2009-Insurance Industry Picks Safest Cars of 2010

Ford¹, Subaru, Volkswagen receive most awards in annual insurance industry tests for car safety

Mil Arcega | Washington, DC 20 November 2009

 

The private U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its list for what it considers the safest cars of 2010

"The absence of Toyota among the top safety picks is a bit of a surprise. They had 11 of these for 2009 and none this year."

The private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety here in the United States has released its list for what it considers the safest cars of 2010; 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles received top honors. Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen lead the pack.  Fewer cars made the list this year, largely because the insurance group has added a new test to determine overall car safety.

For safety conscious car buyers, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's annual list of the safest new vehicles provides a few surprises. 
U.S. automaker Ford and its Volvo unit received the most with six awards  -- followed by Subaru and Volkswagen with five safety awards each.

Another big winner was Chrysler.

"Chrysler this year has four top safety picks," said Insurance Institute President Adrian Lund.

Lund says in all -  27 cars and sport utility vehicles received top safety awards for 2010 models.  Other winners included Honda and G.M.  But in a surprise twist this year, Toyota, the world's largest automaker, came up empty.

"The absence of Toyota among the top safety picks is a bit of a surprise," Lund said.  "They had 11 of these for 2009 and none this year."

Part of the reason, is that apart from the obligatory² front end crash tests
side impacts, and rear-end collisions, this year, car roofs also had to be strong enough to withstand rollovers.

The Volkswagen held up well.

But many new vehicles failed.

"Well, a lot of vehicles missed this list because of the new roof strength rating," Lund said.  "Their roofs aren't quite strong enough to get a good rating in our test."

To make the list, new vehicles must also come equipped with electronic stability control, or ESC, which helps drivers maintain control in a skid³.

"It's very interesting to see manufacturers build safer and safer cars.  And the real winner is the consumer," said Karl Brauer, editor for online car advisor⁴ Edmunds.com..

The Insurance Institute attributes the additional tests for the smaller number of awards issued this year.  Last year, more than 90 vehicles received the coveted⁵ safety awards.

 

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 obligatory   

adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的

参考例句：

• It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
• It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。

3 skid   

v.打滑 n.滑向一侧；滑道 ，滑轨

参考例句：

• He braked suddenly,causing the front wheels to skid.他突然剎车，使得前轮打了滑。
• The police examined the skid marks to see how fast the car had been travelling.警察检查了车轮滑行痕迹，以判断汽车当时开得有多快。

4 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

5 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》