Summary from the Latin New Car Assesment Programmes after they crashed a Geely CK 1 1.3, "Protection for the driver poor for most body regions. Significant collapse of the body shell during test."
The NCAP frontal test involves an offset, deformable object being struck at 64 km/h (39.8 mph) and was conducted on the most popular cars in Latin American and the Caribbean. Those are the, Toyota Corolla XEI; Chevy Meriva GL Plus; FIAT Palio ELX 1.4 (with and without airbags); VW Gol Trend 1.6 (with and without airbags); Peugeot 207 Compact 5p 1.4 (with and without airbags) and the Geely CK 1 1.3. All of these cars scored more than zero stars (out of four). Geely would've been better off just staying home.
Volvo should help this. Four Volvos, including the C30, are IIHS Top Safety Picks for 2010.
firstwagon says:
12:32 PM, 10/20/10
"All of these cars scored more than zero stars (out of four). "
How many more then zero?
Without knowing how the standards (like the Corolla) did in this test set up it's impossible to tell just how bad the Geely was.
From what I have heard Geely is using old design platforms and thus results are simular to cars from the 80's and into the 90's. A Volvo platform would indeed make a huge difference here.
06scooby says:
01:58 PM, 10/20/10
Wow that looks horrible!
billt9 says:
01:59 PM, 10/20/10
http://latinncap.com/_en/?pg=press
Corolla 4 (13.6)
Palio 3 (10.65)
Gol 3 (10.0)
Meriva 3 (8.64)
207 2 (7.13)
CK 0 (1.06) - no airbag, no body integrity.
billt9 says:
02:00 PM, 10/20/10
I can't believe they even sell cars without airbags in those countries. The Peugeot and VW also have no-airbag variants that suck ass.
ergsum says:
02:28 PM, 10/20/10
Looks to be about equivalent structurally to a baked potato wrapped in tinfoil.
shouldermonkey says:
03:02 PM, 10/20/10
@billt9
in some countries, seatbelts are optional. Airbags, I think, are a premium option.
goodandbadcars says:
03:11 PM, 10/20/10
This car is ABSOLUTELY RUBBISH. NO LUXURIES NO SAFETY CHINESE CARS ARE RUBBISH.
sugarlandtx says:
03:31 PM, 10/20/10
I was in Russia in 2007 when a Chinese car failed Russian testing and was banned for sale in the country. Same story different country.
If it had caught fire, then it could have been advertized as a Shake and Bake special.
goodandbadcars says:
03:44 PM, 10/20/10
This car is ABSOLUTELY RUBBISH. NO LUXURIES NO SAFETY CHINESE CARS ARE RUBBISH.
fast_cars says:
05:33 PM, 10/20/10
Well, what do you expect? It's made in China! What!? You didn't see it? Look under the car! There's a big sticker that says "Made In China."
greenpony says:
06:29 PM, 10/20/10
Apparently the market doesn't demand safety. I wonder if this will change people's perception of the Geely in the Latin American market. I'm dubious.
bearsdkillz says:
10:15 PM, 10/20/10
The Chinese should really stick to making sweaters, shoes and toys. Because when you try to make cars, it can kill people.
stovt001 says:
10:31 PM, 10/20/10
firstwagon said: "Without knowing how the standards (like the Corolla) did in this test set up it's impossible to tell just how bad the Geely was."
I'd say looking at the included picture lets you know exactly how bad the Geely was.
qrmu says:
02:17 AM, 10/21/10
So they actually managed to make a car that is less safe than any us/euro/japan car made in the 60's?
The old cars weren't safe, but they didn't deform like a sheet of tinfoil either.
ed341 says:
03:59 AM, 10/21/10
I'm more worried about the day when the world's biggest auto marketplace starts dictating quality and safety standards...
mieden says:
09:32 AM, 10/21/10
@qrmu,
The did deform like tinfoil sheets mate, just MUCH bigger sheets...
firstwagon says:
09:36 AM, 10/21/10
"So they actually managed to make a car that is less safe than any us/euro/japan car made in the 60's?
The old cars weren't safe, but they didn't deform like a sheet of tinfoil either."
Yes they did. So did cars of the 70's and 80's. (Remember crash test used to be done at lower speeds and not into offset barriers)
It's only relatively recently that cars design has made the huge advances that we all expect and accept as normal these days. The Chinese are just a generation behind but don't expect them to stay that way.