Usually, I don’t talk about cars on this show.

Sometimes, something comes along that I do get to talk about - like today. This week, the IIHS (International Institute for Highway Safety) released its results for a group of subcompact cars. It turns out that the only one you can get that carries an overall “Acceptable” rating (3 out of 4 stars, in layman’s terms) is the Chevrolet Spark. Which is strange, considering it doesn’t sell well. And the original point of the car, the electric version, is only sold in two states - California and Oregon. There are only ~400 Spark EVs on the road.

Still, the large players in the segment didn’t do well. The Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, and Chevrolet Sonic (GM’s main subcompact) all scored “Marginal” (2 out of 4 stars) overall. The renowned Honda Fit scored a “Poor” (1 out of 4 stars).

Modern technology has improved the survivability in accidents across all car segments, but basic laws of physics still hit low-mass vehicles hard.