European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 2, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday september 2,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 7air bags touted in Auto crash tests Washington apr front seat passengers of the 1990 Chrysler Lebaron Are nearly seven times More vulnerable to head injury in crashes than the cards Drivers a who Are protected by air bags a government tests show. A Chrysler spokesman however said the tests were unreliable and that they were based on conditions that exceed government safety standards. The National Highway traffic safety administration on Friday released its final round of crash test results for 1990 automobiles. For the year the Agency tested 34 vehicles ranging from subcompact to luxury sedans and Light trucks. The tests showed that most Drivers protected by air bags were significantly less Likely to sustain head injury than unprotected front seat passengers in the same vehicles. In the Chrysler Imperial four door Sedan for example the passenger is four times As vulnerable As the Driver. Chrysler spokesman Steve Harris said the tests were based on crashes of cars into fixed objects at 35 Miles per hour. But government regulations require Only that vehicles have safety belts or air bags that perform satisfactorily in tests conducted at 30 Mph. Also the tests were not repeated to ensure that initial results were free from external factors such As the weather or equipment failure he said. But Harris acknowledged air bags have a major Impact on safety and Are needed for passengers plus Drivers. A everybody has indicated that a the direction they re going a he said. A a we la be moving air bags into the minivans next year and Start working toward passenger air bags shortly  the Nitsa tests under the same conditions As a frontal collision Between two identical vehicles driving at 35 Mph Are equivalent to a car moving at 70 Mph striking an identical parked car. Tests Are conducted using dummies that represent an average sized adult male. The dummies Wear seat belts. According to the Nitsa Index a score of 750 or lower Means head injury is unlikely 750 to 1,250 Means head injury is possible and anything higher Means head injury is Likely. A separate scale records the possibility of Chest injury which is considered Likely when the score tops 60. The lower the numbers the lower the potential for injury. But for purposes of comparison vehicles have to be of the same Type and weigh within 500 pounds of each other. The Chrysler Lebaron a score for Driver head injury was 298, Well below the threshold for Likely injury. But the front seat passenger score was 2,043. Chest injury scores were 40 for the Driver and 46 for the passenger. In the Imperial the Driver head injury score was 517 while the passenger head injury score was 2,132. Rated highest of All vehicles tested for potential Driver head injury was the Ford club Wagon Van with a score of 2,613. Its passenger score was 1,896. The Isuzu trooper ii had the highest potential injury score for the front seat passenger a 1,952. The Chevrolet s-10 Blazer had the highest Driver Chest injury score a 74. The highest passenger injury score was the trooper ii a 64. Government lists results of 34 vehicles it tested Washington apr Here is a list of the 34 vehicles that underwent government crash safety tests in 1990. Head injury numbers below 750 indicate that head injury is unlikely in a head on crash in a vehicle travelling 35 Mph. Between 750 and 1,250, head injury is possible above 1,250, head injury is Likely. Chest injury numbers above 60 indicate that Chest injury is Likely. Light 2,500-2,999 pounds a Mazda Miata two door convertible. Head 920 Driver 531 passenger. Chest 59 Driver 42 passenger. A Hyundai Excel two door Hatchback. Head 696 Driver 419 passenger. Chest 41 Driver 39 passenger. A Geo prize four door Sedan. Head 1,030 Driver 1,141 passenger. Chest 47 Driver 53 passenger. A Futura integral four door Sedan. Head 585 Driver 637 passenger. Chest data not available for Driver 42 passenger. A Mitsubishi eclipse two door Hatchback. Head 772 Driver 612 passenger. Chest 44 Driver 40 passenger. A Toyota celica two door. Head 834 Driver 685 passenger. Chest 50 Driver 37 passenger. Medium 3,000-3,499 pounds a Chevrolet Cavalier four door Sedan. Head 770 Driver 485 passenger. Chest 49 Driver 37 passenger. A Honda prelude two door. Head 1,279 Driver 854 passenger. Chest 59 Driver 48 passenger. A Subaru legacy four door Sedan. Head 1,007 Driver 675 passenger. Chest 52 Driver 44 passenger. A Nissan stanza four door Sedan. Head 1,105 Driver 629 passenger. Chest 59 Driver 47 passenger. A Bow 325i two door. Head 1,036 Driver data not available passenger. Chest 56 Driver data not available passenger. A Volkswagen passant four door Sedan. Head 1,182 Driver 604 passenger. Chest 59 Driver 46 passenger. A Nissan axness four door Hatchback. Head 1,051 Driver 654 passenger. Chest 46 Driver 46 passenger. A Mercedes 190e four door Sedan. Head 800 Driver 833 passenger. Chest 60 Driver 58 passenger. Heavy 3,500 pounds and Over a Chrysler Lebaron two door convertible. Head 298 Driver 2,043 passenger. Chest 40 Driver 46 passenger. A Ford Taurus four door Sedan. Head 735 Driver 609 passenger. Chest 46 Driver 40 passenger. A Chevrolet Lumina four door Sedan. Head 1,200 Driver data not available passenger. Chest 58 Driver not available passenger. A Buick Lesa re two door. Head data not available Driver 426 passenger. Chest 35 Driver 32 passenger. A lexus es250 four door Sedan. Head 992 Driver 630 passenger. Chest 55 Driver 47 passenger. A infiniti m30 two door. Head 466 Driver 433 passenger. Chest 43 Driver 45 passenger. A Ford Mustang two door convertible. Head 651 Driver 438 passenger. Chest 42 Driver 50 passenger. A Cadillac Deville four door Sedan. Head 423 Driver not available passenger. Chest 39 Driver 46 passenger. A Chrysler Imperial four door Sedan. Head 517 Driver 2,132 passenger. Chest 43 Driver 56 passenger. A Lincoln town car four door Sedan. Head 471 Driver not available passenger. Chest 40 Driver 36 passenger. Multi purpose vehicle a Isuzu Amigo two four 4x4. Head 996 Driver 744 passenger. Chest 56 Driver 63 passenger. A jeep Cherokee four door 4x4. Head 943 Driver 841 passenger. Chest 58 Driver 52 passenger. A Isuzu trooper ii four door 4x4. Head 1,564 Driver 1,952 passenger. Chest 60 Driver 64 passenger. A Chevrolet s-10 Blazer two door 4x4. Head 772 Driver not available passenger. Chest 74 Driver 45 passenger. A Toyota 4-runner four door 4x4. Head 1,306 Driver 1,133 passenger. Chest 48 Driver 47 passenger. Light truck p Chevrolet s-10 two door 4x4 pickup. Head 1,074 Driver 1,358 passenger. Chest 66 Driver 53 passenger. A Ford Ranger two door 4x4 pickup. Head 1,270 Driver 736 passenger. Chest 61 Driver 52 passenger. A Dodge Dakota two door 4x4 pickup. Head 1,169 Driver 558 passenger. Chest 57 Driver 56 passenger. Van a Pontiac trans sport. Head 761 Driver 595 passenger. Chest 42 Driver 37 passenger. A Ford club Wagon. Head 2,613 Driver 1,896 passenger. Chest 59 Driver 49  goodbye a graveside services Friday in Dallas for blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan included from left Jackson Browne Bonnie Raitt and Stevie wonder who led a crowd of More than 1,000 in the hymn a amazing  Vaughan 35, died monday in a helicopter crash after a performance in  Marietta pays $2.6 million Washington up a the Justice department said Friday that Martin Marietta corp. Has paid an additional $2.6 million to Settle allegations that one of its subsidiaries overcharged the government for computer facilities. The company earlier paid $898,000 to Settle a portion of this Case. Martin Marietta electronics and mis Siles group of Orlando fla., disclosed in september 1986 that it had overcharged the government for the use of its technical computation Center. A Federal investigation determined that by providing inflated Cost data the subsidiary received More Money than it would have been entitled to had the True costs been revealed