Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded two of the newest Chrysler models, 2011 Chrysler 300 and 2011 Dodge Charger, as Top Safety Picks. Both vehicles received ‘good’ ratings, the highest achievable, in all four categories of front, side, rollover and rear crashes.

Based on the new rules, all vehicles must have available electronic stability control (ESC) systems to be qualified. That’s not a problem for these cars since they come with a range of standard active and safety features including full length side curtain airbags, seat-mounted side thorax air bags, driver’s knee bag, front-row reactive head restraints, Hill Start Assist, Rain Brake Support and Ready Alert Braking.

The new Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger join five other Chrysler Group LLC vehicles that were named Top Safety Picks by the IIHS in December. Dodge Avenger and Journey, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Patriot, when equipped with optional side airbags, and the Chrysler 200 were recognized for superior crashworthiness.

“With the addition of the new Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, Chrysler Group now has seven Top Safety Picks in the 2011 model year. This recognition by the IIHS underscores our commitment to safety across all vehicle segments,” said Scott Kunselman, Senior Vice President – Engineering, Chrysler Group LLC. “As we continue our product transformation, we’ll continue to engineer safety leadership and more capabilities into all our vehicles.”