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2001 Honda Civic Coupe Receives All-Around 5 Star Safety Rating

22 November 2000

2001 Honda Civic Coupe One of First Passenger Cars To Achieve All-Around Five Star Safety Rating

    TORRANCE, Calif. - The 2001 Honda Civic Coupe is one of first two passenger 
cars ever to earn the Federal Government's top Five Star safety rating for the 
driver and front and rear seat passengers in both frontal and side impact crash 
tests, according to information released today by the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration (NHTSA).  The all-new Civic Coupe and the 2001 Volvo S80 
each earned all-around Five-Star ratings in the NHTSA's first round of crash 
test results for the 2001 model year.

    The frontal and side crash tests are part of NHTSA's New Car Assessment
Program (NCAP) that provides consumers with safety information on the two most
common injury-causing crashes.  In frontal tests, vehicles are crashed at
35 mph into a rigid, fixed barrier.  The side crash is conducted with a
moving, deformable barrier impacting the vehicle at an angle at 38.5 mph.
Vehicles are given a rating from one to five stars, with five stars indicating
the best level of crash protection.

    The 2001 Honda Civic Sedan also performed well in the tests, earning a
Five Star rating for the driver and front seat passenger in the frontal impact
test and a Four Star rating for the driver and rear seat passenger in side
impacts.

    All 2001 Civic models feature dual seatbelt pre-tensioners for front seat
occupants and dual-stage front airbag inflators.  Both Civic models tested
also were equipped with Honda's advanced side airbag system, available on all
2001 Civic models.  The side airbags include a cutoff system that will prevent
the side airbag from deploying if a child or small statured adult is leaning
into the side airbag deployment path.

    The Civic line was completely re-designed for the 2001 model year.  About
50 percent of the body structure, including the important mid-floor cross
members and floor gussets, are made of high-tensile steel.  Multi-directional
cross members were used to create a "smart-linked" body and chassis to enhance
impact energy absorption.  In a frontal collision, the energy is divided
between the parallel side frame and a sub-frame, both new components on the
2001 Civic.

    The 2001 Honda Civic Coupe was designed and developed by Honda R&D
Americas, Inc.  It is built exclusively at Honda of America Mfg., Inc.'s, East
Liberty (Ohio) Auto Plant.