**The Importance of Crash Testing: Understanding the Regulations and Exceptions**

In the automotive industry, crash testing is a crucial aspect of ensuring safety on the roads. Every vehicle sold in the US must meet federal regulatory crash testing standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, there are exceptions to these regulations that can raise questions about why some vehicles are not subject to every test.

The NHTSA conducts all of the federal regulatory testing, including side-impact tests that every vehicle has to go through. These tests assess a vehicle's ability to protect its occupants in the event of a crash. However, there are certain exceptions built into the regulations that can affect which vehicles are subject to these tests. For example, if a vehicle weighs over 14,000 pounds and is classified as a heavy-duty truck, it may be exempt from certain tests. Additionally, vehicles with no doors or exclusively have doors that are designed to be easily attached or removed so that the vehicle can be operated without them are also exempt.

One such exemption applies to the Jeep Gladiator, which was not subject to side-impact testing in its initial launch. The NHTSA determined that the Gladiator's structure is different from that of the Wrangler, and therefore, it did not carry over the Wrangler's side-impact ratings. However, this decision has raised questions about whether Jeep is intentionally avoiding certain tests or if there are genuine differences between the two vehicles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) also conducts consumer crash testing, including a five-star rating system that provides information to consumers about a vehicle's safety performance. Like NHTSA, IIHS also has exceptions built into its regulations, and in some cases, vehicles may be exempt from certain tests based on their weight or design.

One notable exception is the 2500 series trucks, which are not tested by IIHS because they are considered heavy-duty vehicles that are not typically targeted by safety advocates. Similarly, expensive vehicles may not undergo crash testing because the cost of doing so outweighs its potential impact in terms of reducing injuries and fatalities on the road.

The decision to carry over ratings from one vehicle model to another is also an important consideration when it comes to crash testing. For example, if two car seats have similar structures, they are likely to perform similarly in crash tests, and therefore, their ratings can be carried over. However, this approach does not always apply to vehicles.

The importance of knowing a vehicle's safety performance cannot be overstated. As the saying goes, "you don't get to choose your crash." While some vehicles may excel in front-end crashes, there is no guarantee that they will perform well in side-impact tests or other types of crashes. Therefore, it is essential for consumers to have access to reliable and accurate information about a vehicle's safety performance.

In conclusion, the regulations surrounding crash testing are complex and multifaceted, with exceptions built into various standards. While some vehicles may be exempt from certain tests based on their weight or design, this does not necessarily mean that they are intentionally avoiding safety tests. Rather, it reflects the reality of the automotive industry, where resources and priorities can sometimes influence which vehicles receive attention.

As consumers, it is essential to stay informed about a vehicle's safety performance and to hold manufacturers accountable for ensuring that their vehicles meet rigorous safety standards. By doing so, we can work towards creating safer roads and reducing the number of injuries and fatalities on our highways.

**Additional Resources**

If you have questions or concerns about your vehicle's safety performance, we encourage you to reach out to NHTSA or IIHS directly. You can also visit their websites for more information on crash testing regulations and ratings. Additionally, our website provides a wealth of information on car seat safety and other topics related to automotive safety.

**Epilogue**

The debate surrounding the Jeep Gladiator's safety ratings highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in the automotive industry. As manufacturers continue to innovate and push the boundaries of vehicle design, it is essential that consumers have access to reliable and accurate information about a vehicle's safety performance. By staying informed and advocating for better safety standards, we can work towards creating safer roads for everyone.

**Note:** The article is written based on the provided transcription, without any editing or condensation of the content.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHi, everyone.Welcome back.I'm Jon Linkov.I'm Emily Thomas.I'm Mike Quincy.And in this episode, we're goingto talk about the Honda AccordHybrid, some new stuff withHonda where they changed upthe Honda Accord line a littlebit with what they offer,what we bought thisyear for our testing.We already havea regular Accord.But we bought a 2023Accord Hybrid Sport.That comes witha 204 horsepower,2-liter four-cylinder enginewith a two-motor hybrid system,continuously variabletransmission.As some people will knowbut some people may not,Honda does things alittle differentlywith options packages.They don't have them, really.They do somedealer-installed stuff.Maybe you want--Differently is a niceway of putting it.Is it good or bad?I don't know, right?Well, I don't I don'tthink it's that good,just because-- and we'll getinto this in a few minutes.But just the inflexibilityof some of their trim lines--True--and what can and can't add.You're already jumpingahead in the future.You're jumping to thefuture, Marty McFly.I'm sorry about that.So Honda may do somedealer-installed options.But for the most part, you buythe vehicle at the trim level,and you get what you get.And you don't get upset.No questions asked.Exactly, right.So ours, manufacturer'ssuggested retail price,$31,895, destination $1,095.The total is $32,990, andthat was it, no, nothing weirdabout it.Oh, wait, there is weirdness.But wait, there is weirdness.And Mike kind of talkedabout it with equipment.But at the basic sense from aCR standpoint, one of the thingsis the safety features.So I'm going to pop thisoff to you, Emily, first,a little out of the blue.They do some weird thingswith blind spot warningand rear cross trafficwarning, right?Yeah, so our Sport doeshave blind spot warning.But it's listed as standardequipment on the window stickerbut available when yougo to shop for the car.So that might add somelevels of confusion.It's not available on theirbaseline, which, we reallybelieve that these safetyequipments should be standardacross all trim levels,especially on the base modelsbecause it's notfair to consumersto have to make thempay more for safety.You should be able toget safety as standard.And it should beaffordable for everybody.So not a great moveand certainly not onethat we approve of.Yeah, and it's interesting withthe CR-V, their compact SUV.When they introducedit, it was standard.It was big deal,blind spot warningand rear cross-trafficwarning standard.And all of a sudden,they go, for 2023, we'regoing to add in the baseEX model, not standard,not available.And Mike, we this actuallyhelps auto manufacturersin our ratings whenthey make that standard?Well, it has to bestandard on all trim linesto get a CR recommendationbecause, as Emily says,I mean--Well, get points, get extrapoints in the overall score.Yes.Correct.Right, right.Right.But Emily is right.If you can't afforda top-level trim,you still should be able toget all of the safety features.Right.And we'll give them credit for,on the rear-seat safety side,we do our own evaluationof what safety features areavailable for rear occupants.They have added thingslike a rear belt reminder,a rear seat reminder, arear occupant alert, really,to kind of give you thataudible and visual reminderat the end of the trip that youshould check your back seat,make sure you've gotteneverybody out of the car.They do have advanced restraintfeatures in the back seatfor the rearoutboard passengers,like advanced seatbelts,side torso airbags.So they are doing some of thethings that we are asking for.Sure.And again though, it would begreat if all of those things,including the blindspot and includingrear cross-trafficwarning, were availableas standard equipment.And they're not the only ones.Subaru does this too.In a number of their vehicles,it's either available or not.So anyway, the other weirdnessthat we were talking aboutis there's no moreseparate hybrid.It used to be that you wouldhave the Accord Hybrid,and you would havethe Accord, and nevershould the twain meet.And they had theirown powertrains.And they look the same, butthey were different lines.So now what do we gotafter the EX at $29,000?We hop up to the Sport Hybrid.Right.I mean, that's just the nextlevel in the trim sequencefor the new Accord.And like the previous model,if you wanted a top of the lineAccord, you got the Touring.And you could get itwith a hybrid powertrain,or you could get it withoutthe hybrid powertrain.In other words, itwas your choice.And now, as you go past theEX in the Accord lineup,it's all hybridsfrom there on up.So yes, you canstill get a touring,which is just reallynice, leather seatsand all that stuff.But you would have to getthe hybrid powertrain.And I guess Honda'sthinking was, well, why notjust get better fuel economy?But again, it takesaway some of the choice.What do you-- is it asmart idea, Emily, doyou think to get rid of that?I mean, we've already seenthe elimination of V6 engines,for example.It was four cylinders and V6s.And there was power, andthere was fuel economy.And then you went, OK, wellmaybe it's turbo fours.And now it's just fourcylinders and hybrids.I mean, turbo fours, but youjust have those two choices.And you don't get--you get somethingwith the hybrid,but are you gettingeverything you want?So I think part of theissue is our consumerism.We like to be able tohave all the optionsand pick for ourselves.We want to be able to kindof cherry pick our vehicleand get all thethings that we want.And there may be people whodon't want the hybrid option,but they want all thenice amenities thatcome with a higher trim level.Right.But at the same time, I rememberwe did an episode recently--I think it was the Lexus, wherethere was too many options.And kind of flaggedthat as being like,that was a little bit too extra.And so in one way, it's likethey streamlined it here.Honda, they reallyboiled it down.And they've limitedyour options.The question is, is ittoo much of a limitation?For somebody who'strying to buy a car,maybe this is likeyour first time buying.Maybe having the feweroptions is a good thingbecause it kind of like--you don't feel overwhelmedby all the choicesand what's available to you.But for the person who mightbe a more seasoned car buyerand really does wantto kind of customcreate their vehicleof choice, theymight find this too restrictiveand a downside for them.Sure.What was interesting,John, which Ithought about when youwere talking about howthe Accord has evolved.The first AccordHybrid was a V6 hybrid.Yeah.And it was all aboutpower and performance,not so much about fuel economy.Yeah, I mean, I remembergoing to a launch for that.And that was the big dealabout it, because it was--It was fast!--the only way that Ithink auto manufacturersthought they could sell it.And now it's a differentthing for Honda and Toyotato an extent as well, butparticularly for Honda.They don't have any EVs.This is their slow walk intoelectrification, if you will,which is kind of a dirty wordbecause auto manufacturers useit as a way of like, ourlineup's electrified.And you could go 5miles on electricity,but it's electrified.So I mean, it's a weird word.But yeah, they'reslowly going into it.I mean, Acura is going to havean EV, but not much with Hondayet.I think that's part ofthe game plan, though,or at least that's whatit seems like, right?We're slowly eliminatingyour gas options,or we're keepingit down to like--We're tricking you.It's like, you will eventually--it's a little bit ofa Jedi mind trick.Eventually, youwill move towards--It's putting peas into thatmacaroni and cheese, right?I was just thinking that.I like veggies.So anyway, so enoughof the parenting stuff.Like the Civic,like the HR-V, likethe CR-V, very streamlinedinterior the new car.So it's simple.It's got the mesh kind ofwaistline around the dashboard,nice vents, buttons and knobsthat are really nice, reallyhigh quality controls.Still at the pricepoint, but nice clicksand detents on the knoband stuff like that.Emily, interior space,roominess, trunk, child seataspect, as you know, Imean, this is your focus--particularly child seats,so I want to go with you.What do you what doyou see with the Accordas a family-friendly vehicle?So the one thing that alwayssurprises/impresses mewith the Accord is how roomythat interior cabin is.So I have two boys, one ina rear-facing convertible,which they're not tiny, right?And my oldest is nowin a high-back booster.And so I mean, wewere at a pointwhere we had two convertiblesin the car, one rear-facing, oneforward-facing.And I always findthat in the Accord,I can do that prettycomfortably with my family.So it's plenty of space.It feels so muchlarger inside thanwhen you look at itfrom the outside.Even when I had to domy car swap and, asusual with the kids, Ialways have so much stuff,extra bags of everything,toys and jacketsand shoes and whatever.And I was able to throwall that into the trunkand still have a ton of room.So not only do you getthis immense amountof interior cabinspace, but you alsohave a really deep trunk space,which is awesome for a family.Right, particularly for--the days of the hybrid beinga compromise are gone.You have a full trunk.You have all that room.And you have the hybrid.So much room back there.I found that forchild seat fits,the nice thing with the Accordis that they have the loweranchors and the outboardseating positions,but they also do allowfor center borrow.So if you wanted to do a latchinstall in the center seat,you can borrow fromthe outboard seatingpositions forforward-facing car seats,rear-facing convertibles.Seatbelt installs werevery good across the board.The one challenge is that ithas integrated head restraintsacross the rear seat.Yep.So you can't makeany adjustments.In the center seatingposition, it's too low, really,for any adults to sitthere or even kidsthat aren't in ahigh-back booster wherethey're going to get thatadditional had support.Right, so they don't adjust.They don't adjust.They just stay the same height.In the outboardseating position,they're tall enoughso that it shouldn'tbe an issue for most people.However, becausethey're integrated,I couldn't use Micah'shigh-back booster.I had to take theback off because itcaused an interferencewhere his booster was nowgetting pushed forward.It's, creating a gap.And so as a result, he reallyhad to use the backless boosterand rely on the head restraint.And he was so uncomfortable.He really did not like how thedesign of that integrated headrestraint interactedwith his head.So that's something toconsider for parents as they'redoing this with their kids.And as I mentionedearlier, when youhave kids that arein booster modeand now they've graduatedout of their boosters,they're using the seatbelts in the back seat,the Accord reallydoes provide themwith additional crashprotection by havingthese advanced restraints.It has seatbelt pretensionersand load limiters.It has side torso airbags forthose rear outboard occupants.So those are great features asyour children are growing up.And they're able to get thisadditional crash protection.It makes it in a sense ofan option for parents thatdon't have to run to an SUV.I mean, I think that that's abig thing is that parents all--and my familysuffered from that.So let me just be thefirst to throw myselfon the mercy of the court.You can go with a sedan.And you have all thesafety and the room.And I think that also,yes, it's a little bitof a dropdown to put childrenin, but it's still pretty easy.And particularlythe price of SUVs,if you don't needall-wheel drive--because one of the things aHonda Accord doesn't offer,unlike some of itscompetitors, Mike,is all-wheel drive, right?Right.Right.And that can be areal sticking point.Certainly peoplein the Northeast,where they're always lookingfor all-wheel drive--but I mean, I'm kindof with you and Idon't think all-wheel drive isas essential as people thinkit is just because,in most cases,the roads are clearedbefore the schools reopen.Well, or theschool's just closed.Yeah.I think people getreal panicky about it.And as our tire guyshave taught me at least,snow tires are more importantthan having all-wheel drive.Oh, definitely, yeah.So Mike, first of all, how isthis not like past Accords?But also, is it--the Accord of yorewas-- look, wetalked about Honda inother podcasts and onlinein the sense of powertraincompany, great engines,incredible transmissions.I mean, I think back, all theirmanual transmissions have--even to today, toCivic Si or what--has it changed?I mean, it's aHonda Accord Sport.Right.Is it sporty enough?Well, this is as sportyis it's going to get.You talked about it cappingat about 204 horsepower.And that's in comparisonto last year's top enginewas a 2-liter turbo thatput out 252 horsepower.Now, we haven't done our 0 to60 acceleration runs on it yet.So we really can't say it'snot as good as the top one.But clearly Hondais saying, perhapsfuel economy is a bitmore important than a 0to 60 sprint.And that's just theway it's going to go.It doesn't feel deficientin the sense becauseof the hybrid integrationthough, right?No, no.I mean, I think compared tothe nonhybrid that we're alsoin the midst oftesting right now,I think the hybridpowertrain is really nice.It has a realseamless integration.There's a little boostwhen you need it.Yeah.And I mean, we're anticipatingthe fuel economy definitelybeing better thanthe nonhybrid model,because that's the wholepoint of having it, I suppose.Right, right.it especially was less noisy.Yeah, exactly.That was my one real complaint.I could deal with the driving.The driving, Ithought, was great.But I wish it was less noisy.It felt too loud in the cabin.From what aspect?Because Honda's have always hadthat reputation, or at leastwithin these walls--but in general,a little noisier.You hear the road.You hear the wind.They're making improvements,I think, over the--They have been.Right.Yeah, right, right, theycertainly have been.Every time we testone it's like, eh,it's a little quieter.Yeah.So where did you feel--I felt I got alot of road noise.Yeah?But I also tend to be reallysensitive to interior noisein the cabin.Like children screamingand stuff like that?My whole life is noisy.So all the noisejust is amplified.Cacophony.You were talkingabout one thing, Mike,in our premeeting,something that's reallydrawing a lot of criticismwith the Accords,and it's the seats.Oh, yeah.No, it really is abummer because, lookingat our digitallogbooks of not onlythe regular Accordbut the Accord Hybrid,and I kept doing comparisonsbetween the AccordHybrid and the regularAccord because thereare some similarities.But the seatsreally are a bummer.I mean, just, they're short oncushion and lower back support.There really isn'tas much adjustments,I think, as we'd like.And again, you're talking aboutwhat the trim levels do to you.To get the leather seats andto get the multiple poweradjustments, you haveto go up in price.So as we do inConsumer Reports, we'retesting kind of the mainstreamtrim lines, the onesthat we anticipatemost people buying.So the seats arekind of a bummer.I don't know if having aleather covering, though,is going to change thestiffness or the contouringof those seats.I imagine it's probably stillthe same foams and cushions.I don't know.I think sometimes whenyou go up in a trim line,the leather seat doesmake a difference,even though you thinkit might look the same.But you're also gettingmore adjustments.You're getting moreways to adjust the seat.I haven't spent any timein the higher-trim Accords.So I think thepreliminary advicethat I would tellour audience, try itbefore you buy itbecause a number of ushere at ConsumerReports were notpleased with the seats at all.Yeah, it tends to be, I think,in our history is that--and I made an error beforebecause I talked about the EXbeing it.Really, the LX is theintroduction model.So the CR-V LX is theone that they brought outwithout the blind spot warning.So because I'm talking aboutour lower-level EX Accord, whichis still one upfrom the bottom, youget some features, heatedseats, for example.Right.But cloth seats, cloth heatedseats and a plastic steeringwheel, for example.It's just a weirdkind of combinationthat Honda has done.Well, the Sport gets no heatedseats and a nicer radio.Right.And it's more expensive.And it's more expensive.So you're spending more forthe Sport version over the EX,but you're not gettingsome of the equipmentthat you get with the EX.Right.And just because it'san entry-- and it's allbecause it's anentry-level hybrid,though it's the thirdone up in the hierarchy.So that's a strange thing.Yeah, I think myadvice to anybodywho wants to buy the Accord islook very carefully at what'sincluded in your trim line.Right.Because, especially sincethere's no option packages,you might not realize thatyou have to pay attentionto all the standard listingsunder each trim lineto kind of determine.Usually, most OEMs, whatthey do is like, oh, OK,this is the next trim up.So it's everything thatyou have in the lowertrim plus a few moreoptions baked in.This is, you may or may nothave what's in the lower trim.It's a surprise.Go read the fine print, right?And so definitely, if you'relooking to buy this car,you need to pay close attentionto make sure that you'reactually getting what you want.You might be getting somethings you don't want.Right.But there's really noway around it either.I was playing around withthe Honda configurator.And what I like aboutour Sport hybrid,I think the stylingis really nice.I think the wheels lookgood compared to the EX.But then I wanted--well, I was like, well,if I was going to buyone, I want heated seats.So I went up to theSport with leather, whichgets you heated leather seats.But it gets these black wheels.And I just don't thinkthey look as good.So I'm like, oh, isthis such a bummer.I mean, it's justnot coming together.I like to go on configuratorsfor car manufacturersand kind of do a fantasy car.Sure.I do this and this and this.And there's alwayssomething in the Accord linethat's coming up short for me.So we bought it.And we decided on the trims.But what is it to drive?I mean that's-- visibility-wise,Emily, what do you think,comfort on theroad, just using it?Yeah, so I took ithome for the night.And I was definitelycomfortable driving it.It had good visibility for me,especially since I am shorter.I found that I was able toget a good driving position.That tends to be thething I'm harping on a lotlately because Ihate having to drivewith like the tip of my bigtoe because I can't quitereach everything.So I did feel like thishad enough adjustment.I can see over the dash.I can have a really goodview out the rear window.So overall, it wascomfortable for me.And I wouldn't mind drivingit, except for the noise.That's the partthat sticks for me.But if that was fine,then the rest of itwould be a total go for me.I mean, I took it on a longtrip, 300, 400 miles in it.And it's an appliance.It kind of, for me, has fallendown to the appliance level,whereas in the past, theAccord had that sportiness.It was different.Maybe it didn't go the directionof a Ford Fusion of we'resporty, with its drawbacks.But it just did the job fine.But there was nothing to it thathad any excitement, any verve,or anything that made me say,whoa, this is a sporty car.It just drove.I could see out of it.I could sit in it.I could reach the touchscreen.I could go through the controls.And I liked the fact that thetouchscreen is a little better.They have a rail, so to speak.So you have thingsare accessible.You could jump in andout pretty quickly.That's a smart thing.But I don't know.I mean, just, itworked, which is great.But if you covered up theH, it's just like any car.It's a rental car,yeah, it would be fine.I totally get whatyou're saying.The steering has somefeedback, but it reallyisn't that engaging.It's sort of well-weighted,but it doesn't set you on fire.The handling is fine.But it's not super-memorable.Is that a Goldilocks?It sounds like a Goldilocks car?Honda, after all these years,probably knows their audience.And they're shootingright for the mainstream.And I think they'vehit the mainstream.Yeah, I mean, look, it's adying segment in the sensethat sedans are goingaway more and more.I mean, to see aredesigned sedan come out,that's a huge investment.So like we talkedabout, we have an EX.We have the Sport Hybrid.They are in testing.So we'll have ourinformation out there.So check out consumerreports.orgis the adviceright now if you'reconsidering it.So we're going to pivot now toour question-and-answer partof the show.As always, we love you tosend us your 30-second videoclips or the text questionsto TalkingCars@icloud.com.That's TalkingCars@icloud.com.Our first questionis a video question.Nathaniel from Mississippihas one about window tint.My name is Nathaniel.And I live in Flowood,Mississippi, where it gets hot.I own a 2022 HondaCivic hatchbackand want to getmy windows tinted.I want to know ifyou know which tintwould be best, tint withoutceramic or tint with ceramic.Look forward to your answer.Thank you.All right, so maybenot as hot, warm,sunny here in Connecticutas it is in Mississippi.But we do have some information.Mike, you talked to one ofthe mechanics on our staff,one of the shopmanagers, Mike Crosson,who has appeared on this show.You can see pastepisodes with him in it.What did he have to say?Oh, Mike gave some really greattips about window tinting.In general, ceramic is thebest option 99% of the time.It's going to block a lot higherpercentage of the UV lights.It's going to help to slowthe fate of an interior.And it's going tobe more expensive.I mean, that's kindof the way it goes.But it's 100% worth thecost because it's justa matter of material.It's the same amount of laborto put it in as the other one.And just a reminder to allpeople watching our podcast,every state has different lawsregarding the amount of tintthat you can puton your windows.And there isn't a statein the United Statesthat allows you to tint outthe front part of your window,for example.And just keep inmind how much you'redriving at night becausethe darker your windows are,probably the harderit is to see.But that's neitherhere nor there.But I mean, I thinkif you've livedin a place likeMississippi or Floridaor someplace it getsreally hot, Arizona,a good, sturdy windowtinting probablywouldn't be a bad idea notonly to keep your interiora little bit cooler but alsoto slow the amount of fadethat you might get.So it's really with ceramic,it's the UVA and UVB raysthat it's blocking.Right.So what we wouldprotect ourselvesagainst with sunscreenand such, but also itis keeping moreheat out of the car.And that's kind of abig thing, maybe notso much as driving so you havethe glare and stuff you'reworried about, but just thebuildup of heat over the day.So if you have oneof those silverscreens maybe that youput up in the window,and then you havethe ceramic tint,that's going to reallyhelp you out, right,with keeping the interior cool.And we've talked about it.I mean, Emily, just kind ofhaven't even touched it before.But we do talk about how quicklycars heat up during the day,right?I mean we've done someevaluations on that.Exactly.So it doesn't even--people think that it hasto be a really hot dayor you have to havea really high sunload in order for yourcar to heat up quickly.And that's not true at all.Just because of theway that the sunlightis coming, even on a cloudyday, into your windowsand reflecting off ofthe interior surfaces,it creates thatgreenhouse effect.So your car can heatup very quickly.Over the matter ofan hour, it willbe much higher than whatyou even think the ambienttemperature is outside.And so it isimportant, especiallyif you have kids orpets, to make surethat you never leave themunattended in a vehicle,no matter how cloudyyou think it isor how cool it is outside, ifyou've cracked the windows,whatever.It's never safe.And also if you havecarseats and things likethat in the vehicle,just be carefulwhen you're bringingyour child into the carafterwards because thosebuckles, those metal pieces,they can get really hot.So a lot of times what Iwould do with my own kidsis I would just throw ablanket over the carseatwhen we weren't using it.When we exit the vehicle,after I take the kids out,I would put ablanket or somethingto cover the bucklesand such so that theydon't get quite so hot.And it did help a little bit.And just be careful whenyou're putting them in.Yeah, well, definitely alot of good information.We have a lot moreon how a car heats upon consumerreports.org.And Mike, thanks for all theinformation on window tint.Hopefully Nathanielcan use that.The second question thatwe have is from Cole.And Cole asks, why isit that all cars are notsubject to all thecrash test categories?I was looking atthe Jeep Gladiator,and there's littleto no informationon how it performs in anythingbut a front impact crash.This becomes a factor inme choosing not to buy it.Is this a deceitfulpractice by the automaker,or are there other reasonswhy some cars are notsubject to every test?Emily, I think you reachedout to the testing evaluationbodies.I did.So important things toknow, every vehicle in orderto be sold in the US has to meetthe regulatory crash testing.So you have--From the federal government?From the federal government.So the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration,they conduct all of thefederal regulatory testing.And they do haveside-impact teststhat every vehiclehas to go through.However, there are exceptions.So it's not so much adeceitful practice as muchas there are exceptionsbuilt into the regulation.So for instance, if you havereally heavy duty trucks,they exceed acertain weight limit,and so they would beexempt from certain tests.In the case of the Gladiator,baked into the regulationis language that saysvehicles which have no doorsor exclusively havedoors that are designedto be easily attached or removedso that the vehicle can beoperated withoutdoors, which soundsa lot like the Gladiator--Sure.Right.They would be exempt fromFMVS214, or the Federal MotorVehicle SafetyStandard 214, whichis side-impact protection.So it doesn't have to gothrough that regulatory test.Now, NHTSA also does the New CarAssessment Program, or the NCAPprogram, which is the five-starratings that you wouldsee on the windowsticker or you wouldsee in the advertisements.Those tests followthe same exemptionsas the regulatory standard.So if the vehicle is exemptfrom the regulatory standardfor side-impactprotection, it's alsogoing to be exempt from the NCAPprogram's side-impact testing,which is why you won't see anystar ratings for side-impact.The other body though, that alsodoes consumer crash testing,which is what NCAP is, isthe Insurance Institutefor Highway Safety.Now, they don't haveexemptions for the Gladiatorfor side-impact testing.However, when theGladiator came out,they believed thatit was structurallysimilar to theWrangler, and so theywould be able to carry over theWrangler's side-impact testingover to the Gladiator.However, they've determinedthat that's not the case.And so it's inqueue to be testedto their side-impact program.However, they don't havea timeline yet for us.Well, because they buythe vehicles to test?Right.So they buy the vehicles.They do allow forsome manufacturersto do their own verificationtesting, et cetera.But it just hasn'tbeen done yet.It's important to understandthat it's not uncommonfor, if you have twovehicles that are essentiallythe same structurally,their crash performance willbe the same.And so it's not uncommon forthem to carry over ratingsfrom another sister modelor something like that.We do that even in our carseat evaluations here at CR.If you have two car seat modelsthat have the same structure,they're not going to havedifferent crash performance.So we will carrythat rating over.But in this case, unfortunatelyfor the Gladiator,it doesn't share the samestructure as the Wrangler.And so it's stillwaiting to be tested.Right, but it's not anythingthat Jeep is doing to avoid--No.--sharing information?They're not skirtingany regulations?It's actually that havingthe real doors is an issue?Right.And it is an issue in thedecision to not test it?Exactly.And some vehicle categoriesaren't tested at all,like 2500 Seriestrucks are not tested.Right.Right.And you won't see a lot ofreally expensive vehiclestested by IIHS because they'reputting their money whereit has the mostimpact, so to speak.Sorry, bad pun, not intended.But on moremainstream vehicles--Exactly.But I do think it isimportant, personally.I think that Colemade the right choice.I would want to know beforeI purchase a vehicle--Certainly.--whether or not it performswell in those scenarios,because--I say this all the time.You don't get tochoose your crash.And so only knowing that, oh,OK, it does great in frontals.But I'm not reallysure how I'm goingto fare out in theseside-impact crashes is notthe best scenario.No, it's interestinginformation.I've learned a lot on this.So thank you very much.But that'll do itfor this episode.But as always, send usyour 30-second videos,or text questions toTalkingCars@icloud.com.This episode wasproduced by Dave Abramsand shot by Andrew Belisand Anatoly Shumsky.Thanks for watching.And we'll see you next time.\n"