14th Sep 2010, 08:35

Tell you what, let me borrow your car so I can do some redline takeoffs over and over and then lock up the brakes and slide it around corners just to see what it can do. What? You wouldn't let someone do that to your car? So why would you think someone else should let you do that to their car? Don't say you would let someone drive your car that way because you know it isn't true. For you to expect to take someone else's car and totally beat on it is unrealistic!

And EVERY brand of car is NOT made for taking to the limits, as they are built for street use, and therefore there is no need for that. Good luck if you drive your cars that hard all the time. You may want to research just how much cash it takes to keep a race car on the road before you think a street car will perform like one.

14th Sep 2010, 18:23

"Good luck if you drive your cars that hard all the time"

I buy cars with small, economical engines. These cars are ALL designed to be used to their full potential. I get a laugh out of comments from people who argue that you should buy a 400 horsepower car and use 30% of its potential rather than buy a 4-cylinder and use most of its potential. Modern domestic compacts are designed and built to be DRIVEN. I routinely red-lined my 4-cylinder GM merging onto freeways (when I wasn't encumbered by someone using 30% of his 400 horsepower), and I routinely red-line my I-4 Fusion. Never a problem with either.

I did the same with my 2.2 Dodge subcompact. It DID finally develop a noisy CV joint... at 239,000 miles.

I can't really speak for modern imported compacts, because after bad experiences with a few in the past, we drive nothing but domestics now. I do, however, know several people who have used the full potential of their Honda Civics, and some of these guys have actually gotten over 100,000 miles out of them. That's really good for an import.

15th Sep 2010, 09:23

Huh, the highest recorded car at 2.7 million miles on its original drivetrain is a 1966 Volvo. Isn't that an import??

4th May 2011, 19:11

I agree, I drive an 06 Trailblazer, I have a 4 year old, and an 8 month old, you can be a "good, safe" driver all you want, but when you are on a highway and you see a full airborne Honda Civic, flipping over in mid air, coming right at you at about 60mph, I would rather my kids be in a BIGGER truck to withstand the impact, if we were in another Civic or Corolla, we would be dead, like the other driver, who wasn't paying attention, because they were texting while driving.

5th May 2011, 17:19

Commenter 19:11 really has a valid point. Two of our rear-drive, truck-based SUV's have been in accidents (an Explorer and a GMC Envoy); neither was heavily damaged, while the other vehicle was totaled. My wife (who drives the SUV) was not at fault, and not injured in either crash, both of which were due to attention-impaired drivers who were not watching the road.

A client of mine was hit head-on by speeding teenagers in a Honda Accord doing 80mph. The teenagers died instantly, while my client walked away with a sprained wrist. He was driving a GMC Yukon. Another dear friend died when her Acura rear-ended a Ford F-150 during a terrible rainstorm. The Acura folded up like a tin can, crushing her. The Ford F-150 was still driveable afterward, and its driver unhurt. Larger vehicles offer far more protection, and that is why so many people drive them, even with high gas prices.

6th May 2011, 18:28

Actually, smaller vehicles are still far safer than truck-based SUVs. Cars are smaller and take up less space (which is probably one of the most important things to have when trying to avoid an accident.) Small cars are also handle far better than heavy SUVs, and are a capable of making quick maneuvers without flipping over.

The main reason truck-based SUVs are so dangerous is because they are truck-based and top heavy. Being truck based, they have a heavy duty, full frame and stiffer suspension components. On top of this rigid frame is a body, just a body. No structural components of the vehicle are in the body, the frame provides all of the vehicle's support, so when an SUV rolls over, the flimsy body simply folds under the weight of the frame.

If you ask me, the safest vehicle to have in the case of an accident is one that can prevent the accident from happening in the first place.

7th May 2011, 10:05

That is my point too. The safer vehicle is the one you can control more efficiently. If we hadn't had the love affair with big heavy SUV's for two decades, we wouldn't have roadways clogged with them, and people would all be driving smaller more efficient cars today. Gas would probably be around $2 per gallon too. Thanks to all of you SUV people for that one! LOL!!

Yes, in a head on collision, the SUV is going to fair better, but stupid kids driving drunk are going to die in whatever they are driving around in eventually. I have avoided countless accidents in smaller, better handling vehicles. I no doubt would have crashed and been seriously injured if I had been driving a poor handling top heavy SUV. One time I was on the parkway headed to work, and it was tight, traffic wise. The SUV right in front of me rear ended the pickup in front of him, and both stopped dead instantly. I was able to stop in time because I was driving a car. Had I been in an SUV, I would have surely been the third vehicle in the accident! I was so close when I stopped, I had to actually back up to go around... WHEW!! I was shaking the rest of the way to work for sure, but happy I had the right vehicle to avoid the collision!

In the end, DRIVING ABILITY is the safest on the road. I feel I can maximize my safety by driving vehicles that are better handling and shorter stopping. Yes, there is always the case of the drunk running a light in their Hummer and plowing into me at a light. I could get struck by lightning too though couldn't I? I am very observant and know what is going on in a 360 degree complete circle all around me at all times. Driving is a necessity, and not really enjoyable for me anymore, so I am on top of it every second. This is why I stay safe and avoid accidents. It has nothing to do with me driving a lumbering battering ram around to crush the little cars with!

People seriously need to change their perception of safety on the road. It is not helping us to have inexperienced kids driving 5,000 pound vehicles around, just so their parents think they are safer. How about enrolling them in a REAL driving school that teaches them how to drive right. It also is not helping the environment or our wallets to be consuming so much gas. There really is no good reason to own a full framed SUV anymore. At least go to a smaller crossover if you need space. I know some people will just never learn though. Maybe the over $5 per gallon gas will give them a clue again, like it did in 2008!