When you look at buying a new or pre-owned car, there are several factors to consider that are more important than the color or style of the vehicle. Aside from a car’s appearance, knowing that you and your passengers will be safe in the event of an accident should be one of the top considerations.

Safety organizations like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have various methods and procedures for crash testing vehicles. They consider safety gear like seat belts, air bags and antilock brakes as well as how the vehicle protects passengers in a crash.

Not all cars behave or perform in the same way when involved in an accident, making thorough crash testing instrumental in the car industry.

What Criteria Is Tested that Affects a Car’s Overall Safety Rating?

• Frontal and side-impact crash tests: Lab simulations of head-on or side-impact collisions
• Rollover resistance test: Determines a vehicle’s center of gravity using a lab measurement called the Static Stability Factor and a dynamic rollover test
• Roof strength: Tests how well a vehicle’s roof will perform in a rollover crash by forcing a metal plate onto the roof, crushing it by exactly five inches (the more force required, the more likely the roof will perform well)
• Rear-impact protection: Rates how the design of a vehicle’s seats and head restraints can reduce whiplash injury in a rear-end collision
• Accident avoidance: Braking and emergency handling are key factors while testing a vehicle’s accident-avoidance capability
• Rear blind zones: Larger vehicles like trucks and SUVs have bigger blind spots that can make it difficult to see while backing up

What Recommended Safety Features Should all Modern Vehicles Have?

It is because of crash data, safety ratings and technological advancement that additional safety features are added to newer vehicles. As manufacturers develop and build new cars, safety is one of their top priorities. Many pre-owned vehicles sold by Easterns Automotive include these recommended safety features.

• Head-protecting airbags: Aside from frontal airbags, curtain air bags that deploy from above the windows prevent drivers and their passengers from hitting their heads or being ejected from the windows.
• Antilock brake system: This system is designed to prevent the wheels from locking up under hard braking conditions, which helps prevent sliding or spinning.
• Driver assistance: A car that is fully controlled by a driver (not automated) can also be equipped with numerous assistance features like blind-spot warning, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control and lane-departure warning. These systems are designed to prevent some accidents that might be caused by driver inattention or slow reaction times, increasing a vehicle’s accident-avoidance rating.
• Electronic stability control (ESC): Vehicles manufactured in 2011 or later are required to have ESC to reduce spinouts if a driver loses control of the car. It may also help prevent a top-heavy vehicle from rolling over.
• Rearview (or backup) cameras: When a vehicle is put in reverse, the backup camera reveals any objects that are directly behind the car on a screen, usually in the dashboard middle console. This gives drivers a clear view of what’s behind their vehicle and can reduce the occurrence of back-over accidents.

Find a Top-Rated Pre-Owned Vehicle in Maryland or Virginia

At Easterns Automotive, we understand there are a lot of important decisions to make when buying a newer car. We sell many recent model year pre-owned vehicles that are equipped with must-have safety features like ESC and driver assistance.

Our friendly customer care team can help make your car buying experience easy and memorable — no matter how you choose to do it. Whether you purchase your vehicle completely online, in-person or a combination of both, you can count on Easterns to show you why we earned an over 97 percent customer approval rating. Browse our inventory online and learn more about how we can help you find your dream car by calling us at 877-867-0641.

The post Understanding Crash Test Ratings and Modern Vehicle Safety Features appeared first on Easterns Automotive.

Sales at the brand were up 9 percent last month to 153,075, the group said today, compared with growth of 5 percent to 140,300 and 8 percent to 131,609 at Audi and Mercedes respectively.

Six-month sales at BMW brand rose 8 percent to 804,000 cars, expanding the lead over runner-up Audi to 24,000 from 11,000 after five months. Half-year sales at Audi and Mercedes rose 6 percent each to 780,500 and 694,000 respectively.

“BMW has stronger momentum than Audi and Mercedes, that won’t change in the second half,” said Hanover-based NordLB analyst Frank Schwope. “Design of their cars has improved and they’re ahead on fuel-saving technologies.”

The post BMW extends global sales lead over Audi, Mercedes in June appeared first on Easterns Automotive.

The electric-car maker will be added to the gauge, which tracks the biggest companies on the Nasdaq, before the start of trading on July 15, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said in a statement Monday. Oracle, which last month said it will join the NYSE, is the biggest company to jump between the competing exchanges.

Shares of Tesla, the carmaker headed by billionaire Elon Musk, have more than tripled this year as the popularity of its new Model S sedan helped the company turn its first quarterly profit. Gaining entry to benchmarks tracked by investors is attractive to public companies because it provides a guaranteed shareholder base.

“It’s a coming of age, recognition that a company has market

The post Tesla to join Nasdaq 100 as Oracle defects to NYSE appeared first on Easterns Automotive.

Toyota’s Camry exceeded its seasonal historical average inventory by more than 15 days supply in June and Honda carried about 25 days more Civics than usual, Joseph Spak, a New York-based analyst for RBC, said in today’s report. Camry and Civic were the only models identified as at risk for reduced output among 16 of the top-selling vehicles in the U.S. market. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC all added U.S. market share in the first six months of 2013, the first time that all three gained first-half share in 20 years. Models such as GM’s Chevrolet Cruze compact and Ford’s Fusion mid-size sedan, leading Detroit’s most competitive set of passenger cars in

The post Toyota Camry, Honda Civic inventories rise, report says appeared first on Easterns Automotive.

The move is part of CEO Sergio Marchionne’s step-by-step purchases intended to lead to full control of Chrysler and the creation of a merged company that would be able to compete better with industry leaders Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen.

Fiat has been exercising options since mid-2012 to buy holdings of about 3.3 percent from the VEBA, a medical-benefits trust for the U.S. carmaker’s retirees.

Including today’s purchase, Fiat has exercised three of its six-monthly options, increasing its stake to 68.49 percent.

Fiat has said it wants full control of Chrysler, which would give it access to some of Chrysler’s cash flow for investments in new models.

Chrysler has become Fiat’s most reliable profit generator as the Italian company struggles to end losses in Europe that totaled 704 million euros ($903 million) in 2012 amid a

The post Fiat exercises option to buy additional 3.3% of Chrysler shares appeared first on Easterns Automotive.