THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, October 3, 1996             TAG: 9610030339
SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, ASSOCIATED PRESS 
                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

BIGGER CARS HAVE LOWER DEATH RATES IN ACCIDENTS, INSURANCE GROUP SAYS

Big cars may burn more gas, but when it comes to surviving accidents, bigger is definitely better.

``The vehicles with the highest, or worst, driver death rates are small two-door cars, small pickups, small utility vehicles and sports cars,'' Brian O'Neill of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported.

The group compiles annual lists of the cars with the best and worst driver death rates and the cars most and least likely to be stolen.

Two Chevrolet vehicles, the Camaro and Corvette, had driver death rates well above the national average, the Institute reported, noting that the two tend to be involved in high-speed single-vehicle crashes.

Joining them with high death rates were the Geo Tracker and Hyundai Scoupe, the group reported.

``There's a clear problem with small passenger vehicles as a group,'' O'Neill said.

On the other hand, large passenger vans, station wagons, utility vehicles and midsize luxury cars tended to have the lowest driver death rates.

The fatality study was based on reports of accidents involving 1990-1994 models, the Institute said.

The Institute said two driver deaths per 10,000 vehicles was the national average and assigned that a rating of 100. On that basis the safest cars were the Saab 9000, 25; Chevrolet Caprice Wagon, 28; Mazda 626, 29; Lexus LS 400, 31; and a tie between the Acura Legend 4-door and Chevrolet Astro wagon, each at 35. The most dangerous were the Chevrolet Camaro, 297; Geo Tracker, 271; Chevrolet Corvette, 250; Hyundai Scoupe, 245 and Geo Metro, 221.

Similarly the institute gave a 100 rating to the average likelihood of a vehicle to be stolen.

They found that crooks like utility vehicles and luxury cars. The vehicle most likely to be stolen was the Mitsubishi Montero 4x4 with a rating of 1,894. That was followed by the Mercedes S Class, 1,533; Acura Legend 2-door, 1,347; BMW convertible, 1,051; and the Acura Legend 4-door, 665.

What don't the crooks want? The Chevrolet Lumina, 11; Buick Skylark and Saab 900, each 15; Buick Park Avenue, 17; and tied at 19, the Buick LeSabre, Subaru Impreza 4-wheel-drive and Saturn SW. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

SAFEST CARS

Saab 9000

Chevrolet Caprice Wagon

Mazda 626

Lexus LS 400

Acura Legend 4-door

Chevrolet Astro wagon

MOST DANGEROUS

Chevrolet Camaro

Geo Tracker

Chevrolet Corvette

Hyundai Scoupe

Geo Metro

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety by CNB