Is your car safe? The Insurance Institute for Highway Safetyrecently performed crash tests and rated the cars in four separatecategories. 24/7 Wall St. analyzed the ratings and rankedthe seven most dangerous cars in the country.

The IIHS' four rating categories are:

1. A frontal offset crash test in which the vehicle travels at40 miles per hour and hits a barrier head-on.

2. A side-impact crash test in which a 3,330-pound “SUV-like”object strikes the driver side at 31 mph.

3. Rollover ratings in which a metal plate hits the corner of avehicle to determine how much force it can take before rollingover

4. A rear-impact protection rating that focuses on the abilityof seats and seat belts to protect against whiplash.

The worst-scoring cars commonly received poor grades in the lasttwo categories.

24/7 Wall St. also examined other safetymeasures for these vehicles including Consumer Reportsratings, crash safety ratings performed by the National HighwayTransportation and Safety Administration and JD Power's overallInitial Quality report.

However, poor ratings have not affected the sales of thesevehicles—in fact, sales are up from last year.

Before you go shopping for your new car, see which vehicles arethe most dangerous cars in America.

7. Suzuki SX4

Bad ratings: rollover-marginal, rear-marginal

2011 sales: 12,520

Price: $13,849

Out of over 30 small cars tested by the IIHS, the Suzuki SX4 wasthe only one to receive two scores of “marginal” or “poor” out offour ratings. Additionally, the SX4 received a “fair” rating—thesecond-lowest possible—in government side-crash testing.

6. Jeep Wrangler

Bad ratings: side-marginal (two-door), side-poor (four-door),rear-marginal

2011 sales: 122,460

Price: $22,970 (two-door), $30,745 (four-door)

One of the few cars that underperforms the two-door JeepWrangler is its larger companion, the four-door Wrangler. During anIIHS side-impact test, a dummy was struck by the steel barssupporting the four-door Wrangler's convertible roof. Both modelswere unable to protect the driver's or back seat passengers' headsand other body parts in simulated accidents.

5. Nissan Pathfinder

Bad ratings: rollover-marginal, rear-marginal

2011 sales: 25,935

Price: $29,290

In addition to troubling scores from the IIHS, in governmentrollover tests, the Nissan Pathfinder registered an estimated 20percent to 30 percent risk of rolling over.

4. Mazda CX-9

Bad ratings: rollover-marginal, rear-marginal

2011 sales: 34,421

Price: $29,725

The Mazda CX-9 had the lowest strength-to-weight ratio of allmidsize SUVs tested by the IIHS. Why is that bad? Thestrength-to-weight ratio measures how much force a car's roof canhandle before it crushes five inches, and then it is divided by theweight of the car.

3. Mazda CX-7

Bad ratings: rollover-marginal, rear-marginal

2011 sales: 35,641

Price: $22,190

Mazda makes it on the list again with its CX-7. The car received“good” scores in front and side impact ratings, but low grades inrollover and rear-impact drive its safety rating down. The CX-7will be replaced by the newer CX-5 model next year, hopefullywith better safety measures installed.

2. Chevrolet Colorado Crew Cab

Bad ratings: side-poor, rollover-marginal, rear-marginal

2011 sales: 31,026

Price: $17,475

This small pickup truck from Chevrolet received poor ratings inthe IIHS, including a “poor” side-impact grade and “marginal”grades for rollover and rear safety. In November 2011, 5,220Colorados were recalled due to seat belt safety concerns, adding toits dangerous safety ranking.

1. Dodge Ram 1500

Bad ratings: side-marginal, rollover-marginal

2011 sales: 156,983

Price: $22,120

The Dodge Ram 1500's long history of an unimpressive safetyrecord continues with the latest model. The truck received failingmarks from the IIHS in the past in frontal offset tests and wasrated “poor” in protecting heads and left legs as well as inrestraining the crash test dummy. Today, the vehicle's side-impactand rollover ratings remain substandard.