Daimler-Benz, the maker of Mercedes cars, said tests with cadavers were necessary, but it said the company itself had not carried out such experiments.

Dr. Rainer Mattern, head of Heidelberg University's forensic pathology department, said in a telephone interview that the tests with children's bodies ended in 1989, but said the university is continuing to use adult cadavers.

He said that all the corpses were used with the permission of family members and that the parents of the dead children "'were clearly aware of what tests were being carried out with the corpses.

"The tests have saved lives of other children," Dr. Mattern said.

In the tests, the bodies are strapped into cars that are smashed into other cars, walls and various barriers to measure the impact on humans, with the help of cameras and electronic sensors.

Dr. Mattern said the corpses undergo autopsies before being used in the tests, and that the bodies are then given back to their families for burial. Denounced by Automobile Club