IIHS says Audis have poor headrests

[jallred@spdg.COM (John Allred)]

This came from the Mercedes mailing list (the wife's car is a 1985
300SD):

        Car models rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
for headrest design in protecting the average male from neck injury
in rear-end collisions. The institute's headrest measurements were
based on the distance from the back of the occupant's head to the
front of the headrest and the top of the occupant's head to the top
of the headrest. The institute said the head should be close to the
restraint and at least as high as the head's center of gravity.
Models with an (f) have fixed headrests.

        GOOD:
        -- Honda Civic Del Sol (f)
        -- Porsche 911 (f)
        -- Volvo 850 (f)
        -- Volvo 940 (f)
        -- Volvo 960 (f)

        ACCEPTABLE:
        -- BMW 525i
        -- BMW 540i
        -- Mercedes E Class
        -- Mercedes S Class
        -- Mercedes SL Class
        -- Mercury Villager
        -- Nissan Altima
        -- Saab 900

        MARGINAL:
        -- Acura Integra
        -- BMW 325i
        -- BMW740iL
        -- BMW840Ci (f)
        -- BMW M3 (f)
        -- ...

        POOR:
        -- Acura Legend
        -- Audi 90
        -- Audi A6
        -- Audi Cabriolet
        -- Audi S6 Quatro
        -- BMW318i
        -- <and a slew of others>

--- end list ---

I found this rather odd -- my 1990 Coupe Q's head rest seems solid,
adjustable, and fits my head well.  One wonders what the IIHS magic
formula is -- perhaps it is like the Consumer Reports formula which
dinged the Audi 100 for no cup holders.

Comments?  Did Audi recently change their headrest design?

John
-- 
John Allred (jallred@spdg.com)
Stratos Product Development Group, Seattle, WA