---

AAMA Statement on the Vehicle Compatibility Crash Test Conducted by NHTSA

3 March 1998

AAMA Statement on the Vehicle Compatibility Crash Test Conducted by NHTSA

    WASHINGTON, March 2 -- The following statement was issued by
Andrew H. Card, Jr., President & CEO of the American Automobile Manufacturers
Association, on the vehicle compatibility crash test conducted by the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at its East Liberty, Ohio, test
facility today.

    "We are surprised that NHTSA has chosen to take the highly unusual step of
opening this crash test to the media.  This media access is unprecedented in a
NHTSA crash test program conducted for purposes of research and calls into
question the agency's objectives and objectivity on the issue of vehicle
compatibility.
    "Crash test data analyses will not be available, and, as a result, the
media covering the event will not be able to provide their audiences with any
new information about vehicle compatibility.  And today's crash test is only
one of many elements of what should be a broad research program on the issue
of vehicle compatibility, a program that is still in its early stages.
    "AAMA member companies take the issue of vehicle safety, including vehicle
compatibility, very seriously.  Our members have volunteered to participate in
international research on the issue of vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility and
just two weeks ago agreed to co-sponsor a conference on this issue with NHTSA.
    "AAMA agrees with NHTSA that more research is needed to understand what
happens when vehicles of different size, weight, front end stiffness, and
design collide.  Before changes in vehicles can be considered, automakers and
the government need to understand how much each of these factors contributes
to vehicle incompatibility.  And, we must ensure that any changes in design to
light trucks intended to reduce risks to passenger car occupants do not
inadvertently decrease the safety of the occupants of those light trucks."

SOURCE  American Automobile Manufacturers Association