Five Years of New Car Assessment Program - Balance and Current Conclusions

In 1972, the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act assigned to the Department of Transportation the mission of evaluating methods designed to yield a determination of a vehicle's damage susceptibility, degree of crashworthiness and ease of diagnosis and repair.

Crashworthiness was defined as the protection a passenger vehicle affords its passengers against personal injury or death as a result of a motor vehicle accident.

In 1978, NHTSA established a rating system for application to automobiles. The testing began on 1979 vehicles. The data of six years of tests has been acquired. The results of the New Car Assessment Program are reviewed