Safest Cars for 2008 When you are looking for a new vehicle, safety is always an extremely important feature to consider. Newer cars compete for your business by trying to make the best and safest new cars available for the year 2008. In this article, we will review the top 5 safest cars of the year 2008, and why they are so safe. The 2008 Ford Taurus The new 2008 Ford Taurus is among the safe gas economical small cars considered safest in 2008 and is a powerful and attractive car, designed for both efficiency and safety.  There are many safe cars on the market today, and the Ford Taurus ranks up in the top 5. The new Taurus has a 3.5-liter V6 engine that employs 260 horsepower, which is a great improvement over the 3.0-liter V6 that the old Taurus had. The 2008 Taurus is available with a new project between Ford and Microsoft that connects and controls cell phones, music players, and even gives the ability to listen to text messages while driving, instead of having to read them. This especially makes the Ford Taurus a safe car to drive. There are many safety features that the 2008 Taurus offers. These include seat-mounted airbags on the side for the front seats, and also two-row side-curtain airbags. The Taurus is available with all-wheel drive and electronic stability control. The Taurus has a rear seat head restraint, and a trunk release button that opens from the inside. The seatbelts are adjustable for adults so everyone of every size can fit comfortably in the car. For those who have children, the Taurus has child seat lower anchorage to keep your children safe at all times. The 2008 Mercury Sable For a full sized Sedan that is guaranteed to get you and your family around safely, check out the new 2008 Mercury Sable. The Sable is able to carry up to 5 passengers at a time, and is run off of a 3.5-liter V-6 engine. A six-speed automatic transmission means that the Mercury Sable is powerful, yet easy to drive. This beautiful car comes in either front wheel or all-wheel drive for driving in all conditions. Consumer reports on the safest cars on the market list the 2008 Mercury Sable in their top 5 report. There are many additional safety features on this car that make it one of the smartest choices for today’s busy lifestyle. The safety features on the Mercury Sable include: four-wheel drive anti-lock brakes, both stability and traction control, and an inside trunk release button. There are six airbags in the Mercury Sable, including side airbags, driver and passenger airbags. The Sable has a child seat lower anchorage to hold your precious cargo firmly and securely in place. Ford’s Safety Canopy also protects occupants of the Sable in the event of a rollover, making it a very safe car for long road trips. The 2008 Audi A6 The Audi A6 of 2008 comes loaded with all the newest technology for driving excellence and comfort, as well as style. The Audi A6 comes in a 4-door, and can handle up to 5-passengers at a time in a sedan or wagon. The Audi A6 has cruise control and air suspension as an optional addition. The Audi A6 is one of the top 5 safest cars for the year of 2008, for many reasons. Many safety features are available on this car, as well as being economical on gas consumption. The Audi A6 comes in a 4-wheel drive, which makes it a great car for all kinds of weather. This car comes with side, front and passenger airbags making it very safe in crash tests. Daytime running lights make it easy to see during the daytime, and the Audi comes with many energy management features. Traction control helps keep the wheels on the road, and all the seat belts are adjustable for maximum comfort. The trunk comes with an inside trunk release, making it safe in the event of an accidental locking. All in all, the Audi A6 is economical, safe and stylish, and a great choice for a new car for the year 2008. The 2008 Saab 9-3 The new 2008 Saab 9-3 not only is sporty and affordable, it also features many safety features that make it a great pick for the year 2008. There are three body styles to choose from, including a four-door sedan, a two-door convertible, and a four-door wagon called the SportCombi. Safety features make this pretty car a good pick for those who have children or do a great deal of driving. Traction control helps driving in bad weather. You can check the pressure of the tires all the time with the built-in tire pressure monitor. The Saab 9-3 has a child seat lower anchorage that helps keep your child safe and still. Four-wheel ABS makes the Saab a safe car to drive. The car is fuel efficient, making it an economical car to drive, as well as safe. There are advanced air bag features, such as side, driver and passenger. Daytime running lights make the 2008 Saab 9-3 an easy car to drive in all kinds of daytime weather. For a safe choice of vehicles, the 2008 Saab 9-3 may be right for you. The 2008 Subaru Legacy The 2008 Subaru Legacy is not only a fun and sporty car to drive; it is also safe and affordable. Starting in the year 2008, the Legacy will only be available in sedan model. An interesting SI-Drive system allows three different modes of driving, Intelligent, Sport, and Sport Sharp. The Subaru Legacy has many special features that make it one of the top 5 safest vehicles for 2008. You can always check the pressure of your tires with the standard, built-in tire pressure monitor. The Legacy has daytime running lights for enhanced visibility, energy management features, side and front airbags as well as adjustable seat belts, and a trunk release button located inside of the trunk. All of these features make the 2008 Subaru Legacy a safe and affordable car to buy in the year 2008. The importance of being a safe driver and owning a safe vehicle cannot be underestimated. However, some accidents are simply unavoidable and purchasing the safest car to drive, as determined by organizations that exist specifically to evaluate the safety of new vehicles as they are introduced to the consumer population, can help save lives. On average, approximately 40,000 people are involved in fatal accidents on American highways each year. Therefore, it is well worth the investment of a little bit of your time to research the safety ratings of the vehicle you intend to purchase. The NHTSA and the IIHS There are two organizations that conduct crash tests that determine the safety ratings of vehicles–The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, is part of the Executive branch of the United State ’s Department of Transportation. Data files maintained by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis represent one of the NHTSA’s greatest achievments. Their tole in the maintenance and publication of information regarding vehicle safety,  including information that helps new car buyers identify the safest car on the road, the safest car for teens and the safest small car, both consumers and the automobile industry benefit mutually. The National Center for Statistics and Analysis has resulted in FARS-the Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which is the primary resource for traffic safety in the United States and throughout the world. The NHTSA uses a 5 star rating system, with 5 stars being the safest, in order to evaluate the safety level of vehicles as indicated by crash tests evaluating Frontal Impact, Side Impact, Rear Impact and Rollover type car accidents. You can visit the websites of the NHTSA at:  http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ Purpose of the IIHS The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is a United States non-profit organization and is funded by automobile insurers. The primary purpose of this organization is to work towards reducing the amount of motor vehicle accidents, injury rates resulting from an automobile accident and the amount of property damage that occurs due to car crashes. They, too, conduct crash tests associated with Frontal Impact, Side Impact, Rear Impact and Rollover accidents. The rating system produced and published by the IIHS is presented as Good , Acceptable, Marginal and Poor . Automobiles that have a Good rating in all four categories of crash tests conducted by the IIHS are generally considered to be amongst the safest new cars and the safest cars in America . You can visit the website of the IIHS at:  http://www.iihs.org/ NHTSA and the IIHS Differences In addition to different rating systems, the NHTSA and the IIHS conduct their crash testing differently. The difference in the crash test results between the same model tested by the NHTSA and IIHS are can be substantial, and both should be taken into consideration if your goal is to be the operator of the safest car on the road or the safest vehicle you can afford to purchase. Both organizations conduct rigorous testing and the results of both the NHTSA and IIHS should be considered when you are trying to determine the safety of a vehicle. Informed For Life Informed For Life, a non-profit organization in the United States , was created solely for the purpose of informing consumers of their options regarding the safety of the vehicles they purchase and combines the crash test results of both the NHTSA and IIHS based upon an average vehicle configuration. The rating system used by Informed For Life is represented as a SCORE (Statistical Combination Of Risk Elements). Vehicles with a SCORE of less than 70 are considered amongst the safest cars in America , vehicles with a SCORE above 100 indicate an above average risk, and the vehicles with a SCORE in between 70 and 100 being considered medium risk. For more information, visit website for Informed for Life at: http://www.informedforlife.org Although the model releases and ratings for 2008 are still incomplete at this point in time, according to data risk assessment and ratings data combined by Informed For Life and provided by both the NHTSA and IIHS, Informed for life has recently released the vehicle safety SCORE’s for twenty three 2008 vehicles. Topping their list is the Ford Taurus X with a SCORE of 56.. The Ford Taurus has been very popular with consumers since its introduction in December of 1985 and has frequently received admirable safety ratings.  The Mercury Sable and Hyundai Entourage Van also received high ratings and join the ranks as two of the safest cars in America . Three hybrid vehicles received the lowest SCORE’s thus far-the Ford Escape Hybrid, Mazda Tribute Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid, with all three receiving a SCORE of 157. Today’s consumers have a far greater amount of auto safety information available to them due to the efforts of NHTSA and IIHS. If you would like more information regarding the safest car on the road, the safest car in America , the safest car for your teen and to investigate the safety ratings of particular vehicles visit the NHTSA website.