Since the dawn of comparative crash testing in 1979, several new car makers have made a try at the USA market. Some, like Hyundai, have gone on to become very successful. Others, like Daihatsu, fizzled out pretty quickly. Note that this list does not include new brands under existing carmakers, such as Lexus (Toyota) or Saturn (GM), only full-on companies new to the USA market with crash test data available. Nor does it include companies such as Isuzu and Mitsubishi that debuted before 1979 with rebadged vehicles (i.e. Isuzu's Chevy LUV or Mitsubishi's line of Dodge/Plymouth Colts) that only sold vehicles under their own name after 1979.
Only vehicles from the first five years that the vehicle was in the USA market will be used, and vehicles must be the first generation of that vehicle in their class. For example, even though the 1998 Kia Sephia falls in that first five years window (1994-1998 model years for Kia), it was the second generation of the Sephia sold in the USA and is thus disqualified.
In the 1980s, four new carmakers debuted in the USA: Suzuki, Yugo, Hyundai, and Daihatsu.
Suzuki - The Suzuki Samurai and Cultus (sold as the Chevrolet Sprint in a deal with General Motors) were the first two Suzuki vehicles to go on sale in the USA in 1985. At this time, the only crash test done for consumer comparison purposes was the NHTSA full-frontal crash test.
The Sprint was well below average for its time, falling firmly in the 1-star range in its first NHTSA crash test with an 80% risk of severe injury for each occupant (average for 1985-1986 vehicles was 40% and 29% respectively). Of the 30 vehicles tested by NHTSA in 1985, the Sprint had the 6th-worst driver injury risk and 3rd-worst passenger injury risk.
The Samurai did considerably better on injury measures; with severe injury risks of 24% for driver and 14% for passenger. However, the Samurai suffered severe structural collapse in the NHTSA test, and as such would be considerably less safe in the real world than its decent crash test results suggest. In addition, the Samurai was well-known for having issues with rolling over.
Overall, not a good opening for Suzuki, though they would become considerably safer relative to the market by the late '90s. In an ironic twist, their last USA-market vehicle - the Kizashi, introduced for 2010 - was one of the safest midsize sedans of its era.
Yugo - The Yugo GV, introduced in 1985 as a 1986 model, was the only model that Yugo ever sold in the USA, and given its reputation, it should be no surprise that its crash test results were poor for the era. The GV would be tested twice by NHTSA in its full-frontal test, first as an '86 and then as an '87. The average 1986-1987 vehicle had a severe injury risk of 34% for the driver and 23% for the passenger.
The 1986 Yugo nearly doubled this at 60% and 43%, earning 1 star for the driver and barely squeaking out 2 for the passenger. Presumably, Yugo made some running changes for the 1987; this time the injury risks were a whopping 85% for the driver and an impressive 8% for the passenger. This made the 1987 Yugo the 3rd-worst performer for driver protection out of 37 vehicles tested that year, while the passenger scored the full 5 stars.
The improved front passenger protection is progress, but the dismal driver protection means that all Yugos firmly fall in the "death trap" category for their era. No surprises there.
Hyundai - On February 20, 1986, Hyundai entered the USA market with their Excel subcompact. They followed up with the Sonata midsize sedan for the 1989 model year.
Keeping in mind our 34% driver injury risk and 23% passenger injury risk baseline for the 1986-1987 model years, the 1986 Excel (tested as a sedan) was a disaster in the NHTSA full-frontal test. The driver's severe injury risk was 49% and the passenger's a whopping 99%, meaning death would be nearly guaranteed for whoever was riding shotgun. In the entire history of NHTSA full-frontal testing, only one vehicle performed worse for the passenger. And not by much (the 1980 Subaru GF managed to get the full 100% risk for passenger).
Hyundai fixed the Excel very quickly by putting in a set of stronger seat belts and NHTSA tested two 1987 Excels to test the fix. A hatchback tested on 2/26/87 had injury risks of 22% and 24%, putting them toward the upper-end of the 3-star range for both occupants; a sedan tested 6/10/87 had injury risks of 22% and 10%, still scoring 3 stars for the driver but the full 5 stars for the passenger. The hatchback performed pretty close to Hyundai's claims; the sedan actually performed slightly better.
The new-for-1989 Sonata, however, would not perform as well. It scored a 40% driver risk and 25% passenger risk (average for all 1989 vehicles was 31% and 27%), good for 2 stars for the driver and 3 for the passenger.
Overall, after that initial hiccup, early Hyundais were competitive on safety for their era.
Daihatsu - Daihatsu's run in the American market started in the 1988 model year with the subcompact Charade and the Rocky mini SUV. Despite good reviews and high quality, they failed to gain traction in the USA market and were pulled after 1992.
Only the Charade was crash-tested, and it did quite well; its injury risks were 15% for driver and 10% for passenger, scoring 4 stars for driver and the full 5 for the passenger. The 1988 model year average was 35% and 19%, respectively.
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