The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put every new vehicle through rigorous safety tests before they are released for sale to the public, and the IIHS is adding a new test to the roster. In addition to rear, side rollover and moderate overlap frontal crash testing, the agency has also started looking at the effects of small overlap frontal crashes on occupant safety.

Most vehicles have safety cages built into their chassis to reduce the impact of major crashes on the passenger cab, and this protected zone only typically accounts for the middle half of the front end. Small overlap crashes are those that mainly affect the outer edges of the vehicle. Since the outer areas aren't as protected as other areas of the car's body, the crash forces tend to directly impact the infrastructure of the vehicle and can damage the suspension system, the wheels and the occupants of the car.

"These are severe crashes, and our new test reflects that," said Adrian Lund, president of the IIHS. "Most automakers design their vehicles to ace our moderate frontal overlap test and NHTSA's full-width frontal test, but the problem of small overlap crashes hasn't been addressed. We hope our new rating program will change that."

The IIHS began testing on luxury and near-luxury models from the 2012 model year, as these types of cars are typically ahead of the pack in terms of new safety innovations. Of the 11 models tested so far, only two had good safety ratings (the Acura TL and Volvo S60), and one was deemed acceptable (the Infiniti G).

Drivers in the market for a safe, reliable ride can refer to the IIHS and the NHTSA to get an idea of the safety ratings of vehicles they're considering. Then, they can head over to New Jersey State Auto to test drive the models they like. Every car on the lot is CARFAX certified, so car shoppers know they'll be getting a reliable ride.