Due to tougher criteria, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s top safety picks for this year are far fewer, from 94 last year to 27 this year. And for the first time in three years, there is not one Toyota Motor Corp. vehicle on this list. Ford Motor Co. leads with six 2010-model top safety picks. Four of these are Volvo brands. Subaru and Volkswagen AG tie for second place with five vehicles each. Continued after the jump!

Chrysler Group had four vehicles that were selected. Various cars from General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Kia and Nissan also made the list.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a nonprofit insurance group that’s funded by auto insurers. Since it started giving safety awards in 2006, this has been the second time that it has tightened its top pick criteria.

This year, the vehicles are required to have “good” ratings in the rollover testing. Achieving that rating means doubling the roof strength required by the U.S. government. This condition adds to existing requirements for receiving the “good” label in front, side and rear crashes and having electronic stability control.

[via autoweek]

Tags: car news, Luxury cars, Toyota, toyota news, toyota top safety pick rating

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