Ford Tops Safe Car List

The insurance industry named dozens of new cars and trucks, led by Ford and its Volvo subsidiary, to its annual list of the safest vehicles today. Ford and Volvo saw 16 of their 2009 vehicles make the list; Honda followed with 13. Some 72 vehicles received the top safety pick designation, more than double the number that received it in 2008, helped by the increased use of anti-rollover technology.

"The sheer number of this year's winners indicates that automakers have made huge strides to improve crash protection," said the head of the compiling institute. The selected vehicles are the best in protecting people in front, side, and rear crash tests based on institute evaluations during the year. The vehicles are required to have electronic stability control to qualify for the award. (More car safety stories.)