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"Small SUVs Don&amp;#039;t Perform Well in Side Crashes   Only two out of 12 2003-model compact sport utility vehicles \u2014 side airbag equipped versions of the and the \u2014 scored a &amp;quot;good&amp;quot; grade in a new crash test performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.   Seven other small SUVs earned the lowest rating of poor \u2014 the Escape without optional side airbags, Toyota RAV4, Suzuki Grand Vitara/Vitara/Chevrolet Tracker, Land Rover Freelander, Mitsubishi Outlander, Saturn VUE, and Honda Element. The Jeep Wrangler and Honda CR-V were rated as marginal, and the Hyundai Santa Fe as acceptable.   The Institute said in a statement that its side impact crash test &amp;quot;represents what happens when a passenger vehicle is struck by a pickup truck or SUV at about 30 mph.&amp;quot; The tests are not required by the government but the Institute says it is performing the tests for &amp;quot;consumer information.&amp;quot;   &amp;quot;Our side impact crash test is severe,&amp;quot; says Institute president Brian O&amp;#039;Neill. &amp;quot;Given the designs of today&amp;#039;s vehicles, it&amp;#039;s unlikely that people in real-world crashes as severe as this test would emerge uninjured. But with good side impact protection, people should be able to survive crashes of this severity without serious injuries.&amp;quot;   O&amp;#039;Neill adds that he expects this new crashworthiness evaluation program to influence consumers&amp;#039; car-buying choices. &amp;quot;This is what happened with our frontal crash test results, and now we expect consumers will use the new test results to help them choose vehicles with good occupant protection in both front and side impacts.&amp;quot;   The Institute says its side impact test is a 31 mph perpendicular impact into the driver side of a passenger vehicle. The moving deformable barrier that strikes the test vehicle weighs 3,300 pounds and has a front end shaped to simulate the typical front end of a pickup or SUV. In each side-struck vehicle are two instrumented dummies, one in the driver seat and one in the rear seat behind the driver. These dummies are the size of a short (5th percentile) female or a 12-year-old child.   Toyota Has Big Plans for Hybrids   says it will double the number of models that use hybrid engines to six by about 2006, including sport-utility vehicles, Bloomberg News reported, citing company president Fujio Cho.   &amp;quot;We will release hybrid sport-utility vehicles in the next two to three years,&amp;quot; Cho told Bloomberg News in a television interview at Toyota&amp;#039;s fifth environmental forum in Tokyo.   Toyota, which has sold 140,000 cars with engines driven by a combination of gas and electricity since 1997, plans to release a larger, faster and cleaner version of the Prius hatchback later this year.   The new Prius is expected to achieve about 55 miles per gallon for average city and highway driving, up from 48 miles in the current version.   Ford Boss Sees Company&amp;#039;s Resurgence   Ford Motor Co. chairman and chief executive Bill Ford Jr. told 1,600 shareholders at the company&amp;#039;s annual meeting, that its turnaround effort is working, The Associated Press reported. Ford also warned that the company was starting its second century in business in a fiercely competitive environment.   Still, Ford said the company has reached its goal of trimming expenses by $500 million this year, has seen its quality improve by 5 percent in the past year, its recalls decline by 40 percent and its warranty payments drop by 10 percent.   Ford said the company also expects its U.S. market share to increase slightly in 2003, despite foreign automakers&amp;#039; increasing capacity and models in the U.S. market.   Toyota Puts Tab on Terminator   Toyota announced pricing for the Terminator 3 (T3) special edition package, which has a tie-in with this summer&amp;#039;s action film &amp;quot;T3: Rise of the Machines,&amp;quot; the third installment of the popular &amp;quot;Terminator&amp;quot; films, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.   The Terminator 3 Special Edition package includes interior and exterior enhancements such as a full color-keyed appearance package including a custom grille, T3 badging and graphics, fog lamps and 17-inch magnesium-toned alloy wheels.   Performance enhancements in the T3 Special Edition include a sport suspension with Tokico shocks, a limited slip differential, heavy-duty stabilizer bar and a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) dual exit exhaust.   The Tundra T3 Special Edition package is offered on Tundra SR5 Access Cab 4X2 V8 models in two exterior colors, Black and Imperial Jade Mica, the company said in a statement. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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