The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 10, 2008 - 33 Volvo XC60 receives highest rating for its whiplash protection system By ROBINSON BEINTEMA Autofiles www.yourautos.ca The Volvo XC60, with Volvo's unique Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), is one of only five cars to receive the highest rating in Euro NCAP's new assessment procedure for evaluating the degree of whiplash protection offered by passenger cars in rear-end collisions. The Volvo XC60 also received the highest rating of five stars in Euro NCAP's Adult Occupant Protection tests, which includes front and side impacts. The new Euro NCAP evaluation procedure for whiplash protection consists of a number of different tests. Whiplash injuries are one of the most common types of traffic injury and occur primarily in rear-end collisions. If whiplash injuries can be prevented, considerable expense and the amount of suffering by the individual is reduced. Volvo's WHIPS is a form of protection integrated into the front seats which supports the seat occupant's entire back and head in a rear-end collision. This protective system cushions the movement through energy-absorbing deformation elements between the backrest and seat cushion. If a rear-end collision occurs, the backrest follows the occupant's rearward movement in order to reduce the forces on the neck and spine. This year marks WHIPS' tenth anniversary. This technology was introduced in 1998 on the Volvo S80 and WHIPS has been a standard feature on all Volvo models since 2000. According to Volvo's Accident Research Team, this system reduces the longterm effects of whiplash injuries by half. Ph Phone: (905) 825 8088 825-8088 www.volvoofoakville.com Volvo's pioneering Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) has helped the new Volvo XC60 be one of only five vehicles to get the highest rating possible in the tough, new Euro crash safety standards. Four Audi models earn top safety marks in 2009 Awards from IIHS By ROBINSON BEINTEMA Autofiles www.yourautos.ca Four Audi models have won U.S.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Top Safety Pick awards for 2009. Winning the highly sought safety award were the Audi A3, the all-new Audi A4, the Audi A6 and the Audi Q7. The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting passengers in front, side and rear collisions. All of the winners also had to have electronic stability control, which IIHS credits with significantly lowering crash risks. This marks the second consecutive year that four Audi models have earned this important safety award. The Audi Q7, Audi A6, Audi A4, and Audi A3 all received the IIHS Top Safety Pick Award in 2008. The Audi A6 and A4 received the IIHS Top Safety Pick Award in 2007. IIHS launched the safety awards in 2006. The four awards collected by Audi models exceeded the number of awards given to BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Lexus models. IIHS evaluates each vehicle for front crashworthiness following a 40 mph offset collision. Calculations are made on the level of intrusion the crash causes in the occupant compartment and the impact recorded by crash test dummies. Side impact evaluations involve crashing a barrier into the side of a vehicle at 31 mph. Rear crash protection involves measuring the geometry of head restraints. Vehicles with good or acceptable measurements are then struck in the rear at 20 mph.