Growing list of safest cars belies fears in record US recalls

Southfield, Michigan

THE insurance industry's list of cars and trucks that do the best job of keeping owners alive in a crash jumped 82 per cent this year against a backdrop of US recalls of older models that were killing their passengers.

The number of vehicles ranked best for keeping occupants safe in a crash rose to 71 for 2015 models from 39 a year ago even as the crash tests used to pick winners got harder, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Toyota Motor Corp has the most models on the list.