This muscle car crash test will help you decide what one you want to buy

It’s a question safety experts get asked often: How do muscle cars perform in crash tests?

The answer, it turns out, is good, but not great.

In a departure from its typical emphasis on mainstream vehicles, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety decided to crash-test the three top-selling muscle cars in the U.S.: the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger, and Ford Mustang.

“Given that sports cars have high crash rates, it’s especially important that they offer the best occupant protection possible in a crash,” IIHS President Adrian Lund said in a statement.

To earn the IIHS Top Safety Pick designation, cars must achieve good ratings in five categories — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint evaluations — and must receive at least a basic score in front crash prevention.