Oreily?
 

Uhhh, ya think? :lol:

Small cars get poor marks in collision tests

AP – An electric Smart car is presented at the Auto Mobil International motor show in Leipzig, Germany, Friday, … By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer – Tue Apr 14, 6:46 am ET
WASHINGTON – Micro cars can give motorists top-notch fuel efficiency at a competitive price, but the insurance industry says they don't fare too well in collisions with larger vehicles.

In crash tests released Tuesday, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers of 2009 versions of the Smart "fortwo," Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris could face significant leg and head injuries in severe front-end crashes with larger, mid-size vehicles.

"There are good reasons people buy mini cars. They're more affordable, and they use less gas. But the safety trade-offs are clear from our new tests," said Adrian Lund, the institute's president.

Automakers who manufacture the small cars said the tests simulated a high-speed crash that rarely happens on the road. They also said the tests rehashed past insurance industry arguments against tougher fuel efficiency requirements. The institute has raised questions about whether stricter gas mileage rules, which are being developed by the government, might lead to smaller, lighter vehicles that could be less safe.

"If you were to take that argument to the nth degree, we should all be driving 18-wheelers. And the trend in society today is just the opposite," said Dave Schembri, president of Smart USA.

Sales of small cars soared when gas prices topped $4 per gallon last year but have fallen off as gasoline has retreated to about $2 a gallon and the economic downturn has slowed car sales. The small cars are affordable — prices of the three cars tested range from about $12,000 to $18,000 — and typically achieve 30 miles per gallon or more.

The tests involved head-on crashes between the fortwo and a 2009 Mercedes C Class, the Fit and a 2009 Honda Accord and the Yaris and the 2009 Toyota Camry. The tests were conducted at 40 miles per hour, representing a severe crash.

In the fortwo collision, the institute said the Smart, which weighs 1,808 lbs, went airborne and turned around 450 degrees after striking the C Class, which weighs nearly twice as much. There was extensive damage to the fortwo's interior and the Smart driver could have faced extensive injuries to the head and legs. There was little damage to the front seat area of the C Class.

The FBI would call that a clue... :lol:

the more press releases the IIHS puts out the more inclined I become to go out and purchase on old tiny car with no safety equipment.

Old Miata's, maybe an old 240z...
Something lightweight, something that focuses more on driving than on crashing into things.

Fuck the IIHS.

If people want to buy huge barges that aren't fun to drive, more power to them I guess.

If people want to buy small lightweight cars that are fun to drive then more....
oh wait...IIHS and government would like nothing more than to legislate them out of existence.

seen a Brabus smart car the other day. pretty pimp!

I'm getting sick of the government "protecting" me. Let people drive what they want.

take your prius out and tangle with a 80K lb truck on the highway and see how that works out for you

I thought this was a thread about auto parts.

Why do you need to be entertained driving to Subway?

Unfortunately government protection is primarily responsible for a lack of new American car builders. With the exception of a few niche manufacturers (Callaway, Panoz) there is nothing going on outside of the "big three". With the current safety requirements and emissions requirements it would be prohibitively expensive for a new company to try and break in the market.

Agreed!! And the Smart Car is smaller than the Prius! The Smart car did poorly against a Camry!! :panic:

You can make small and indestructable, but CF is to expensive, cheap only gets you plastic and steel, and a little light metal maybe.

Anyone see the stig drive the konig through the tirewall the other night?

Cuz most people drive longer than that?

BTW, your argument works both ways ---- If all you do is drive to Subway, why even waste money on a new car, just buy a used beater.

Pretty sure a motorcycle is even less safe, yet everyone here still rides them.

True, but generally we're crazy. Most people are too risk adverse to ride, let alone ride around 18 wheelers.

Reliablity!....I mean I don't want my sandwich to get mushy if I have to wait for a tow!

Thought you skipped the bread anyway, lol

It would appear to the layman... or someone who dabbles in physics...
:lol:

Less safe for whom? The C-class driver is now "safer".

How much less safe? 10%? 100%? How is "safe" measured?

It's measured with crash test dummies, and rated by their survival, injury rates.

A 1980 Accord was smaller and lighter than anything on the road today, maybe even a Miata. Yet now, they are trying to turn the Accord into a Lexus, even though consumers never asked for that. The manufacturers just go ahead and make each new generation bigger and bigger, simply because they want to have a selling point for their advertising......Not because consumers actually demanded it. It's pretty fucking sad.

I disagree. Manufacturers are changing their produce based on buying habits, Most people want bigger cars, power windows and seats, leather, etc, etc if they think they can afford it. Sure there are people who buy stripped down cars, mostly because they want as cheap as car as they can get, But I'd bet it's not a very big % of buyers.

Sure, people want luxury features, but do they really "want" larger dimensions? If you are looking for a 4-door sedan, and you don't have any kids or carry back-seat passengers very often, what is the point of large size?

I'm just going by the trends I've read about.

IMO most people if they could, would get bigger cars over smaller cars. Now that wouldn't include people who like small sports cars, and probably a lot of people who struggle in traffic and parking might pick smaller cars, but most everyone else, if there wasn't a penality, would get a bigger car.

Excuse me but for an extra 30 cents you can supersize your order.

Would you like the combo deal?

Honda didn't make large cars for quite a while. They turned the Accord in to a large car while giving people who didn't need the space the option of buying a Civic. Now that the Civic has become a larger car as well you have the option of buying a Fit. Toyota did the same thing with the Camry, Corolla, and now the Yaris. You may not like it but the numbers don't lie, the Camry and Accord were the two best selling cars of 2008 in America. They were #1 and #2 respectively and beat out the Corolla (#3) and Civic (#4). Apparently people do want the larger size. Of course, all of them were outsold by the Silverado and F-150 when you add trucks in the list.

"Apparently people do want the larger size".........Maybe only because the large cars are the only ones with real luxury or performance features anymore. Compare the Fit to the Civic, the Civic offers a performance version (the Si) that is actually pretty fast, the Fit doesn't. So, a young performance enthusiast is "forced" to buy the Civic Si instead of a Fit, even though he may have preferred something smaller. Same thing with the Accord. Many Accord buyers might have preferred a smaller car, but they did not buy a Civic because it was not available with all the luxury features that the Accord offers.

How many Sis do you see on the road vs. standard Civics. Even if every person who bought an Si would have bought a performance version of the Fit instead, you are still dealing with a small number compared to those who bought a standard Civic over a Fit.

What luxury features does the Accord offer that the Civic doesn't? You can get navigation, bluetooth, leather, heated seats, and XM radio in a Civic. What more are buyers getting in an Accord other than space, especially when you consider they are paying a $6k premium for a similarly equipped Accord?

Yes, but the motorcycle is a choice, that many in government seem to be trying to take away...and at the same time, force the prius and other econo boxes on us.

As someone who drives tens of thousands of miles on Interstates every year, I am not going out in the middle of those overloaded 18 wheelers in a prius.

Get the trucks off the road and you might see more response for the small car.

people who ride motorcycles worried about driving small cars......:idk::chug:

Holy crap!!!

I agree with Racer X?!!?

I gotta go run a snopes check on my post now.

And diesel wins again! Ford has a 65 MPG diesel car right now they can't sell in the US...And with the EPA announcing today, they intend to regulate emmissions, including the air we exhale, just proves all they care about is money