March 20, 2001--

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is out with results from another round of front-end crash tests.

This time, seven cars were put to the test in a 40- mile per hour front-end crash. The group wanted to examine how well the passenger compartment is protected in an accident.

They found this year's Honda Civic to perform the best, along with the Mercedes "C" and "E" classes.

Researchers say the cars ended up with the least amount of passenger compartment damage.

The biggest improvement goes to the redesigned Dodge Stratus.

And the Ford Focus and Lexus LS-430 both won good ratings.

Overall, the group says new car designs perform much better than older models.