"Why do you think that JAB? the Corolla has some impressive safety ratings:"
Those ratings are virtually worthless in the real world--they're rigged to give an advantage to the smaller cars. They typically don't reflect multi-car crashes, and especially not ones where your car is struck by a larger vehicle (and in a Corolla, virtually everything on the road is bigger than you). They also don't normally account for features like AWD which might help you avoid a crash in the first place.
Let me put it this way--the Corolla and the Ford Crown Victoria both have a 5-star frontal crash rating. If that 2600-pound Corolla gets rammed by a 4000-pound Crown Victoria, do you REALLY think the guys in the Corolla will do as well as the guys in the CV? Obviously not, everyone knows it, yet the rigged system still counts them as equal. Isn't that messed up? If you want a better indicator of your vehicle's safety in the real world, check its curb weight. The safest thing on the road is a 5-axle truck, not a flimsy Corolla with 5 meaningless stars.
The rating system I use is what I've seen with my own eyes responding to crashes (or in some cases, actually being in crashes). From what I've seen, the sardine cans are deathtraps. I'm sick of seeing people get injured or die who would have been fine if they just had more metal under them.
J_A_B
