The New York Times, "Some Popular SUV's Fare Badly in Rollover Tests"

          The rear-wheel-drive version of the Ford Explorer, the nation's best-selling sport utility vehicle, tipped up on two wheels during a rollover test performed by the government, according to results released Monday. The news comes less than a week after a woman paralyzed in an Explorer rollover accident won a $369 million judgment against the Ford Motor Company.
          The government said three other popular S.U.V.'s tipped during tests: the Chevrolet Tahoe and the GMC Yukon, both by General Motors, as well as the rear-wheel-drive version of the Mercury Mountaineer, also made by Ford. The extended cab version of a pickup truck made by Toyota, the Tacoma, also tipped up on two wheels.
          The results underscore that sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are not as safe as many consumers believe because they ride higher from the ground than passenger cars do. And the problem shows no sign of going away. While the Explorer involved in the lawsuit was a 1997 model, the version tested by the government was an extensively redesigned 2004 model.
          None of the passenger cars received less than four of five stars in the government ratings, indicating a 10 to 20 percent chance of a rollover during a single-vehicle crash. On the positive side for Ford, the RX-8 from the company's Mazda affiliate was the only one of 27 vehicles tested to receive the government's highest rollover rating of five stars, indicating a less than 10 percent rollover risk. By contrast, at least one version of four of the six S.U.V.'s tested tipped up on two wheels; both versions of the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon did so. Consumer groups have been sharply critical of the government's new testing because it has inflated grades for some vehicles; even the Tacoma that tipped up on two wheels received four of five stars on the test, a finding that baffled some experts.