Detroit (WWJ)  -- How safe is your pickup truck?

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently tested a series of small pickup trucks, and most of them did not score well. 

Versions of the Chevy Colorado and its clone, the GMC Canyon, without optional side air bags, earned the institute's lowest rating of "poor" in the side impact test. 

And size does make a difference, said Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 

"When they give up the protection that is provided to them by being in a large, heavy vehicle and trade down to one of these, these vehicle really don't have the kind of crash protection to offset the loss in weight and size. " Lund said.

Some don't even score as well as some cars in side impact tests, said Lund.

Automakers say they plan make side air bags standard across their fleets by the 2010 model year.