From the moment that a new car gets released to the public, engineers are already hard at work on the next model. This is partially due to the fact that government safety standards grow more stringent by the year. The idea is simple, as technology gets better, cars should kill less people. Because of this, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is constantly raising the bar for cars to qualify as top picks for crash survivability. A strong impact-absorbing chassis and an interior with cushy airbags has always been a requirement to get a top score.

However, nowadays, a lot more technology is required to earn high marks. That is why out of the 46 2016 model year cars that earned top safety picks, only a single one of those was an American car, the Chrysler 200. Other domestic cars like the Ford F-150, Buick Encore, and the Chevrolet Malibu did very well in crash tests but they didn't have the optional automatic braking systems like the Chrysler did. As more drivers hit the roads with itchy thumbs and expensive smartphones on which to tap, the IIHS is requiring these types of systems to keep drivers safe while tweeting pictures of their In-N-Out drive thru loot.