Associated Press, "Chevrolet Blazer has highest driver death rate"

          General Motors Corp. vehicles had the highest and lowest driver death rates from 2002 through 2005, according to a study being released Thursday by the insurance industry. Two-door, two-wheel drive Chevrolet Blazers built from 2001 to 2004 had the highest rate of 232 driver deaths per million registered vehicles during the four-year span, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found. By contrast, the Chevrolet Astro minivan had the lowest rate with only seven deaths per million registered vehicles. It was followed by the Infiniti G35, BMW 7 Series and the Toyota 4Runner.
          The two-door Acura RSX had the second-highest rate with 202 driver deaths followed by the Nissan 350Z, which registered 193 deaths. Automakers said the study was limited in its scope because it did not include factors which could play a major role in the fatalities. "The study doesn't really take into account driver behavior or how the vehicles are used so it's difficult to really draw much significance," said GM spokesman Alan Adler.
          The Astro and Blazer went out of production in 2005. GM currently sells the Chevy TrailBlazer midsize SUV. Nissan said all of its vehicles "are engineered to meet or exceed government safety regulations as well as our own rigorous internal safety requirements, and the 350Z is no exception." The automaker said it urges "everyone driving a Nissan or Infiniti vehicle to do so safely."