The end of year is typically the best time to buy a new car. That’s when yearly, quarterly, and monthly sales goals can add up to savings in your pocket.

But if car safety is also on your list, don’t put your trust in the New Car Assessment Program sticker that shows the vehicle’s 5-star safety rating. It comes with a great big caveat. And, as you will see, it defies logic.

Misleading Ratings

Since its start in the 1970s, the NCAP has rated vehicles like boxing classes: lightweights (e.g., Honda Civic, Mazda 3), middleweights (e.g., Subaru Legacy, Hyundai Sonata), and heavyweights (e.g., Ford Expedition, GMC Yukon). Cars in different classes can’t be compared. That’s in the tiny print on the sticker.

This system is useless for deciding if your teenager is safer in a Civic (less than 3,000 pounds) or an Expedition (more than 7,000 pounds). Both vehicles get top 5-star safety ratings. According to their lab tests involving dummies, these vehicles are equally safe.

But you don’t have to have a degree in engineering to know that isn’t true in real life. The heavier car is safer.

Real Ratings

You deserve better than the outdated national rating system. That’s why my team of data scientists developed the TheAutoProfessor.com, a free safety ranking system using real-life crash records. Each Auto Grade is based on whether human drivers walked away from the worst crashes or did not. All vehicles are rated on the same scale from “A” to “F,” regardless of vehicle class or size.

More than 32,000 Auto Grades are broken out for women, men, young and old. Safety experts have known for years that women and older adults die at higher rates in crashes. Auto Grades is the only rating system that reflects these facts.

It’s fun to think about surprising your loved one with a new car with a big red bow on it for the holidays. But it’s even better to know they’ll be protected in a crash.

(This blog appeared as an opinion piece in Ahwatukee Foothill News.)