Chrysler Pleased with 4 IIHS Tops Safety Picks

As we told you yesterday, among the 27 winners of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Picks, 4 belonged to American carmaker Chrysler. The four are the 2010 Jeep Patriot, 2010 Chrysler Sebring, 2010 Dodge Avenger and 2010 Dodge Journey.

“With the addition of the Jeep Patriot, Chrysler Group has received four Top Safety Picks in the 2010 model year - a great accomplishment for our company,” Scott Kunselman, Chrysler Group vice president said in a release. “IIHS’ recognition of our products underscores Chrysler Group’s engineering capability and leadership in occupant protection.”

The four vehicles were selected by IIHS based on their performance in the crash tests required by the Institute. Additionally, all the four models feature ESC with traction control, Brake Assist and Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), driver and front-passenger active head restraints, front seat-mounted side airbags and advanced multi-stage front airbags.

Most of all, the cars are equipped with the new active head restraint system for front-seat occupants. It works to enhance head restraints ability to minimize neck injuries caused by rear-impact accidents. Should such an impact occur, he head restraints deploy to remove the space between the occupants head and the restraint, minimizing the whiplash type injuries.

“Chrysler showed the most improvement of any automaker for 2010,” Adrian Lund, IIHS CEO added. “These Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models are part of an elite group that afford the best overall crash protection and have electronic stability control, which can help keep drivers out of crashes altogether.”