CrashTest

The Chicago Tribune is shaking a rattle at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Its investigation has found 31 cases of infant seats exceeding injury limits or disconnecting from their bases during federal vehicle frontal impact crash tests. The NHTSA slams countless cars into barriers each year. In addition to the sensor-laden crash dummies, some of the vehicles are also fitted with infant or child seats. According to the Tribune, the unreported child seat failures in those tests - crashes conducted only to test vehicle safety, not the safety of the child seats - has uncovered a serious flaw in infant/child seat testing.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety took some GMC Acadias and smashed them up to see how the big crossovers hold up against immovable objects, and unlike recent tests conducted for the Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent, the news is positive. An AWD Acadia SLE acted as a stand-in for all of the Lambda models - Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Saturn Outlook, and all Acadia trims included. It didn't matter whether the IIHS attacked the front, side, or rear - the CUV earned a "good" rating in all directions. With the standard fitment of Stabilitrak, the IIHS also bestowed a Top Safety Pick crown on GM's big haulers. The Lambas now have both a five-star rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick designator about which to brag.

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ford Flex.

Hit the jump to view more high res images of Ford's VIRTTEX simulator

Ford already boasts has the most five-star crash rated cars and trucks of any automaker, and now the automaker is looking to take the next step by avoiding crashes all together. Technologies like adaptive cruise control, blind spot detectors, and traffic alert will help prevent collisions from ever happening, but testing these technologies can be dangerous. For that reason, Ford uses a simulator to present real-life driving conditions to real drivers without any risk of accident or injury.

Click above to view video of the 2008 smart fortwo crash test

Click on the image above for pics of our uncrashed 2009 Acura TSX