CASE STUDIES

Better car designs to reduce theft and cut repair costs

For almost 20 years, IAG's Industry Research Centre has been working with car manufacturers to help improve the repair costs, safety and security of cars on our roads. When Holden Australia began work on its 2006 model Commodore five years ago, it called on us to provide input into how Holden engineers could improve design aspects to reduce repair costs and improve anti-theft security. Similarly, we have provided the same input into the Subaru Liberty, Ford Territory and the new 2005 Mitsubishi 380.

Headlamps are one of the car components most commonly replaced in a collision and there are concerns in the insurance world over the growing complexity and expense of modern headlamps. In response, the International Association of Insurance Research Centres asked us to lead five institutions from Japan, the United States, France, Sweden and the United Kingdom in developing a design guide for manufacturers to follow when designing headlamps for their vehicles. The guide was formally endorsed at the Research Council for Automobile Repairs conference in Milan in September 2005 and should help to provide a blueprint for car manufacturers to avoid designs which unnecessarily add to repair cost.