The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is supposed to publish regular safety bulletins and establish safety guidelines regarding cars. But the organization doesn’t want to upset the automakers. On the other hand, the insurance industry wants you to buy safe vehicles because it saves them money. As a result, the industry has created a non-profit group called the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which does comprehensive testing on cars and how they will do in accidents. There are gold and silver level awards given to cars that perform the best. In the large car category, the Ford 500 and the Mercury Montego got a gold award. The Audi A6 got the silver award. In midsized cars - the largest part of the market - the Saab 93 and the Subaru Legacy. The Audi A-3, A-4, the Chevy Malibu (if you get side air bags), the Volkswagen Jetta and Passat. In the small car category, only one car won the gold award. It was the Honda Civic 4-door. Not a single mini-van won an award, nor did any Volvo vehicles, which were once thought of as the safest cars on the market.