Ten more cars are Top Safety Picks; Cadillac SRX, Dodge Avenger, and Mazda3 are among IIHS choices

  The 2010 Cadillac SRX luxury SUV was among 10 vehicles recently
  judged to be IIHS Top Safety Picks for their crash-test performance
  and available safety equipment. (Photo courtesy Insurance Institute
  for Highway Safety)

Ten cars and SUVs from General Motors, Chrysler, Ford, Mazda, and Subaru have been recently commended by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for demonstrating strong protection in crash testing and offering electronic stability control. 

These cars earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick 2009 designation, bringing the total of cars called out for their safety up to nearly 100. 

It is increasingly uncommon for new designs not to be IIHS Top Safety Picks, and more and more older designs are getting upgrades that help them achieve the goal -- such as redesigned head restraints on the the 2010 Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, even as the overall designs of the midsize sedans were largely unchange

But many of these cars will likely lose their Top Safety status when the IIHS moves on to issue its Top Safety Pick 2010 award in the fall with a roof strength component. 

Currently, Top Safety Pick winners must earn the IIHS's top rating of Good in front- and side-impact crash tests and in its head restraint safety evaluation, while offering skid-reducing electronic stability control. But starting in November, cars whose roofs cannot withstand more than four times their own weight before caving in by four inches cannot be Top Safety Picks. 

The IIHS has so far published roof strength results for six subcompact cars and twelve compact SUVs, and just five earned the top rating of Good in those tests that would make them eligible to be Top Safety Picks, and two of those five are ineligible to be Top Safety Picks for weak performance in other IIHS tests. 

IIHS detailed test results and photos of the new Top Safety Pick 2009 recipients:
2010 Cadillac SRX luxury SUV
2010 Chevrolet Equinox compact/midsize SUV (read review)
     Equinox test also applies to 2010 GMC Terrain compact/midsize SUV
2010 Dodge Avenger midsize sedan
     Sebring test also applies to 2010 Chrysler Sebring midsize sedan (read review)
2009-2010 Dodge Journey midsize SUV
2010 Lincoln MKT luxury SUV
2010 Mazda3 compact sedan (read review)
2010 Subaru Legacy midsize sedan (read review)
2010 Subaru Outback midsize station wagon