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In 1947 we wrote, “The Studebaker Champion has considerably less than the usual amount of rear wheel traction under adverse road conditions. You will need to put on chains sooner in wintertime, and CU suggests also a wariness about getting into places from which you must back out upgrade on a low-friction surface.” Doesn’t sound like the car we’d expect to be driven by R. David Pittle, Consumers Union’s recently retired senior vice president for technical policy and a contributor to many consumer-safety advances in the U.S. But that Studebaker was in fact his first set of wheels. When David drove away from CU’s offices on a Friday afternoon in January to start his retirement, it was in a very different car, one whose safety belts and air bags could help him if he had an accident and, better yet, whose electronic stability control and antilock brakes could help him avoid an accident in the first place. A vital--and vibrant--part of CU for 22 years, David was instrumental in a number of auto-safety campaigns. For years David hounded the government to initiate a dynamic rollover test. Time was when the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration assessed a vehicle’s rollover propensity using a “static” calculation based on the vehicle’s width and center of gravity. Since you can’t drive a calculation, we were pleased when in 2004 NHTSA also began “dynamic” rollover tests, taking vehicles through a series of sharp turns at various speeds to measure performance in an emergency maneuver. NHTSA’s five-star scoring isn’t as helpful as it could be: Vehicles that don’t tip earn an extra half-star, but those that do tip aren’t penalized. This results in absurdities, such as the tipped-up Chevrolet Equinox earning the same score as some vehicles that kept all four wheels on the ground. Still, we think that anyone considering a sport-utility vehicle or pickup truck should check both CR’s and NHTSA’s ratings and performance reports. To date, 8 SUVs and pickups of 34 vehicles tested by NHTSA tipped up, exposing dangerous flaws in the vehicles’ designs. (For those test results, go to www.safercar.gov.) No vehicle that tips up in NHTSA’s rollover test will be recommended by us. For an SUV or pickup to be considered a “CR Recommended” model, it must either perform safely in NHTSA’s rollover test or, if not tested, be equipped with electronic stability control. Other requirements for a “CR Recommended” vehicle remain the same: It must do well in CU’s tests, must have average or better reliability, and must have performed adequately if crash-tested by NHTSA or by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It’s a fitting send-off for David that his 16-year campaign to inform consumers of rollover risks reached this pivotal point before he retired. His dedication to improving the American marketplace and his determined battle against unsafe products have substantially improved all our lives. David’s inspiration and values will continue to guide us in our work at CU.
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