McCann’s Motors

Does Safety Sell?

Richard McCann looks at how popularity and safety are not always the same…

Since most of us didn’t have anywhere to go last year, it’s little wonder that not many people chose to buy a new car. Sales were down 30 percent. Yet there were still 1,631,064 new cars delivered to their lucky owners. Considering lockdown this is a remarkably robust performance, aided no doubt by dealerships that rapidly shifted to offering a ‘click-and-collect’ service for buyers who needed a new car when the manufacturers’ sites were closed. taking more than 10% of the UK car market.

So where did the money go? Which cars sprinted to the front to take the gold medal and which were left back in the changing room? 1) Ford Fiesta (49,174 sold) 2) Vauxhall Corsa (46,439 sold) 3) Volkswagen Golf (43,109 sold) 4) Ford Focus (39,372 sold) 5) Mercedes-Benz A-Class (37,608 sold) 6) Nissan Qashqai (33,972 sold) 7) MINI Hatch (31,233 sold) 8) Volkswagen Polo (26,965 sold) 9) Ford Puma (26,294 sold) 10) Volvo XC40 (25,023 sold)

ASTON MARTIN BACK ON THE GRID

I was pleased to be invited to the launch of ‘our own’ Aston Martin’s new Formula 1 car, marking the return of the constructor to the grid after 61 years away!

Following the rebranding of the Racing Point team over the winter, Aston Martin launched the AMR21, resplendent in a striking shade of British Racing Green – although sadly not the same as their iconic ‘60s hue.

The move into F1 is the keystone of a bold plan to revive the flagging fortunes of the company and turn it into a sporting and commercial brand to rival Ferrari.

Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel made his first public appearance with the team at the event following his winter move from Ferrari, joining new team-mate Lance Stroll, son of the team’s money-man Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. The team is realistic, focussing on being a consistent points scorer rather than expecting to win the Championship.

There are new rules this year so they could be in with a good chance – let’s hope so!

Now, to me, something matters more than popularity or performance. More than economy. Surely what matters most when we take our precious loved-ones on today’s busy roads is SAFETY?

So who makes the safest cars? It’s not easy to sort this out from all the stats out there. Safety can be measured in many ways. But to me, as good a test as any is to measure the lowest percentage of fatalities in accidents. the IIHS, which analyses crash data and tests cars that rate is fewer than 6 driver deaths per 1-million registered vehicles (adjusted for fewer than 1-million vehicles.) Those are: • Audi A4 AWD • Honda Odyssey • Kia Sorrento 2WD • Lexus RX350 AWD • Mercedes GL-Class AWD • Subaru Legacy AWD • Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD • Toyota Sequoia 4WD • Volvo XC90 AWD

On the flip side of that, there’s also a list of what some people debatably call the ‘least safe’ cars. The rate for those is 46 driver deaths per million registered vehicles or nearly eight times more dangerous than the safer cars listed above. Those are: • Kia Rio • Nissan Versa Sedan &

Hatchback • Hyundai Accent (2-door & 4-door) • Chevrolet Aveo • Chevrolet Camaro • Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew

Cab 4WD • Honda Civic • Ford Focus • Nissan Cube

Before you all start shouting, yes I’m sure there will be opinions in strong disagreement – for example smaller, cheaper cars may be more likely to be bought by young, inexperienced drivers, who in turn are perhaps more likely to get in a serious accident. As for the appearance on the list of the giant Chevy, who knows? Perhaps a big 4x4 imparts a misplaced sense of invulnerability? Either way, it’s an interesting topic for discussion…