As the car making industry moves to create more fuel-efficient cars, ideas that are being promoted include more hybrid and diesel-powered cars, lighter models made with aluminum parts and small cars imported from China and Italy.

With these new ideas to create more fuel efficient cars, car makers cannot forget about conducting proper testing when figuring out the potential hazards and personal injury a car accident in these new cars can cause.Our firm’s car accident attorneys know there is a desire from consumers to switch to cars that are more fuel efficient and energy friendly.  They do however believe that car makers should continue to take the proper steps to ensure the safety of drivers before a car accident happens.

Design defects are a top cause of automobile accidents and these accidents can cause a variety of personal injury, but they can also cause wrongful deaths of drivers, passengers, other motorists, and pedestrians.

In the past, many car makers, especially General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, opposed higher fuel-efficiency rules claiming they would cost billions while hurting the sales of trucks and sport-utility vehicles that create large profits.

The new rules would require passenger cars sold in the U.S. to get an average of 39 miles per gallon and light trucks to have an average of 30 miles per gallon by 2016.  The technology required to meet these standards could add about $1,300 to the average vehicle cost at a time.

One new product being used in new Ford cars is its EcoBoost engine.  The engine is expected to improve fuel economy by 10% to 20% and lower greenhouse gas emissions by about 15%.  By 2012, Ford wants to sell 750,000 EcoBoost-equipped cars a year in North America.

As car accident lawyers, we support the car making industry in its new direction of creating more fuel-efficient cars for consumers, but we urge these same car makers to continue to create quality products that do not have the potential to cause car accidents out there on the open road.

With new products comes new responsibility to test and retest to confirm a product free from defects.  All it takes is the smallest mistake to cause a large car accident that leads to personal injury or wrongful death.  So no matter what you drive, make sure that you have the best car insurance policy working for you and your family.

Please contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION with an experienced car accident attorney — in either English or Spanish — at (800) 655-6585 or click here to submit your case for a Free Review.