WASHINGTON (AP) — Head restraints in dozens of sport utility vehicles, pick-up trucks and minivans provided only poor or marginal protection from neck injuries in simulated crashes conducted by the insurance industry.The test results released yesterday found several SUVs had improved protections against whiplash injuries but gave poor marks to vehicles made by several leading automakers, including BMW AG, DaimlerChrysler AG, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said the simulated rear crashes at 20 miles per hour showed that many large vehicles fall short in protecting against neck injuries, which lead to 2 million insurance claims a year costing at least $8.5 billion.

"In stop-and-go commuter traffic, you're more likely to get in a rear-end collision than any other crash type," said Institute vice president David Zuby. "It's not a major feat of engineering to design seats and head restraints that afford good protection in these common crashes."

The institute evaluated 87 current vehicle models based on the geometric measurements of the head restraints and their performance in a crash simulation sled. Fifty-four of the vehicles were rated marginal or poor, the two lowest rankings, while a dozen received the second-highest score of acceptable. Twenty-one received the best rating of good.

Automakers said there were many ways to evaluate rear crash protection and their vehicles were designed to provide a high degree of safety.

"We feel our test procedures are good predictors of how well our seat/head restraints will protect occupants from neck injuries in the event of a rear impact," said Toyota spokesman Bill Kwong in an e-mail.

Several SUVs made progress — 17 of 59 SUVs from the 2007 model year received top ratings in the testing, compared with six of 44 SUVs tested in 2006.

The best performers among 2007 SUVs included: Acura MDX and RDX; Lincoln MKX, and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

SUVs from the 2007 model year rated poorly were: BMW X3 and X5; Buick Rainier, and Hummer H3.

In other categories, the 2007 Toyota Tundra was the only pick-up to receive the top score. Three minivans received the highest marks: Ford Freestar, Hyundai Entourage and the Kia Sedona.