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Crash Safety
The crash safety equipment of a Geo Storm consists of a driver's side airbag, front manual shoulder
belts, and rear manual lap belts.
Passenger side airbags were not required until after Storm production ceased.
The Geo Storm earned respectable ratings in the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration's crash testing, posting a 4 out of 5 rating for the driver's
safety, and a 3 out of 5 rating for the front passenger.
There is no record for the 1989 and 1990 model years, but the structure of those vehicles is the
same as the 1991 tested, so the results can be expected to be the same.
Looking at the NHTSA crash safety ratings for the same time period (
1990,
1991,
1992, and
1993, the Geo Storm earned the exact same safety ratings as the Buick Century,
Chevrolet Caprice, Oldsmobile Cutlas Ciera, and 1992 Saturn SL 4-Door. The Buick, Chevrolet, And
Oldsmobiles listed are all much larger, heavier, full sized sedans, considered to be extremely
safe.
The Geo Storm earned higher safety ratings than the same year range Acura Vigor, BMW 325, Buick
Regal, Chevrolet Lumina, Chrysler Fifth Avenue, Chrysler Imperial, Geo Metro, Geo Prizm, Honda Civic
4-door, Honda Prelude, Hyundai Elantra, Lincoln Continental, Mazda MX-3, Mercedes-Benz 190E,
Mitsubishi Galant, Nissan Maxima, Oldsmobile Achieva, Pontiac Grand Am,
Pontiac Grand Prix, and Toyota Corolla.
If the Honda Civic is considered the benchmark for the sporty-compact class, it is noteworthy that
all of the pre-1996 Civics earned 3 out of 5 ratings for driver safety, and 4 out of 5 (or lower) ratings for
front passenger safety.
Automobile Magazine's website
shows these same ratings, with slightly expanded details, including stats for Head Injury Criterion,
Chest Deceleration, Left Femur Load, and Right Femur Load.
Again, 1989 and 1990 model years are not shown, but would be identical to 1991.
NHTSA Vehicle Aggressivity Study
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conducted a study on vehicle aggressivity, which
included the Geo Storm. Vehicle aggressivity is defined within the document as the propensity
of a vehicle to inflict injury upon the occupants of other vehicles in the event of a crash.
The conclusion of the study was, as could be expected, that vehicle weight, size, and wheel base, all
contribute to vehicle aggressivity. Or, in simple English, a larger, heavier car will cause larger
numbers of injuries to the occupants of other vehicles that it hits.
The Geo Storm scored expectedly low (in the bottom 25%) in all measurements of inflicting injury to
the occupants of other vehicles.
Safety Recalls
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