12-25-2008, 12:35 PM
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Scooby Guru
Member#: 73805
Join Date: Nov 2004
Vehicle:24 TypeS ZO6 White
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Crash And Learn: Chinese Homegrowns Get Safer
Quote:
China is sick and tired of the bad crash test rap their cars receive abroad. Many of them, a few years ago, were really bad. To remedy this, China established their own Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC) in Tianjin, which smashes new cars for a living. The standard they use is the Chinese New Car Assessment Program, or C-NCAP. According to China Daily, C-NCAP “is similar to Euro-NCAP.”
reports now that “China’s domestically made cars are making progress in terms of safety.” Homegrown Chery A3 (shown in the video) and SAIC’s sortof homegrown Roewe 550 received five stars at CATARC. Six stars would be best, and so far, only one, the Hongqi, received top honors earlier this year.
Amongst the joint ventures, the China-made Mercedes-Benz C200, and FAW-VW’s New Bora also received five stars.
The Chinese are quick studies: In the two years the center has been in operations, the proportion of five-star cars rose from a horrendously low 8.3 percent in 2006 to 36 percent in 2007 and to 46 percent in 2008. Still, in 2008, more than 30 percent of all tested models limped out of the testing lab with only two or three-stars.
Now, “similar to Euro-NCAP” isn’t “same as.” The devil is in the details, especially in crash testing. We’ll see how they fare with a Euro-NCAP, which will be much tougher in 2009.
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http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/cra...wns-get-safer/
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