21st Feb 2007, 07:25
19:24 posts the same disinformation on every board it seems. Funny, how suddenly his "family members" are now doctors. They were just "working in the medical field" before.
Yet he doesn't cite any statistics, just hearsay and anecdotes. He continues to avoid admitting the FACTS about the Ford Explorer, and continues to ignore basic high school physics about such things as high center of gravity.
21st Feb 2007, 13:05
My wife bought her first SUV (an Explorer) in 1998. Just a short time after, she was stopped at a red light when a man in a Chevy Silverado who was rubber-necking at a nearby accident plowed into her at 45mph, knocking her Explorer completely THRU the intersection (fortunately no cross traffic was there). The Silverado was totalled, but due to it's size and rugged construction the driver and his children (who were properly belted in) were not injured. Amazingly, my wife's Explorer suffered one broken tail light, a bent bumper and a dent in the rear hatch. Incredibly the rear hatch glass was not even broken. Her vehicle suffered so little damage that she drive on to her appointment. It has been this sort of thing that convinces so many people not to risk their lives in a small car. My next door neighbor's son turned 16 last year, and for his first car he was given a Chevy Silverado because his parents want him to be safe.
21st Feb 2007, 13:17
I need to make a correction to my comment no. 19:24. My wife's friend was driving a 2005 Acura RSX, not an Integra. I was not aware the small Acura was no longer called the Integra. At any rate, the car was brand new (our friend was very excited over having gotten it). She was driving in a blinding rain storm and somehow either hydroplaned or became confused and got into the service lane, where she struck the Ford 150, which had pulled over due to the lack of visibility at the time. I never saw the car after the accident, but the state trooper's description was that it was "crushed like an egg". It was estimated that she was travelling at between 55 and 65 mph at the time of impact. Having seen a number of similar accidents I am not surprised. "Crumple zones" are great as long as they know when to STOP CRUMPLING. We were told that the entire front of the car collapsed in on our friend, causing massive (and fatal) head and internal injuries.
21st Feb 2007, 16:13
Wow, all these comments about how safe SUVs are and yet all the statistics say otherwise. I guess it goes back to "if you think it's safe it must be".
As for me, I love my family and friends too much to endanger their lives in unsafe, unstable deathtraps that don't even meet the minimum safety requirements ALL cars must meet.
22nd Feb 2007, 14:59
SUV's have ALL safety features cars have. Please name even ONE safety feature a car has that my SUV does not have. As for statistics, they are based on drunk drivers who WERE NOT wearing their seat belts and crashed at high speed. And yes, there probably ARE more deaths due to SUV's because SUV's comprise about 80% of the vehicles driven. On my street there are a total of TWO families who do not own an SUV. And those crash tests?? How many STEEL REINFORCED CONCRETE BARRIERS does one see cruising along the freeway?? Real world crashes involve small, squishy cars, NOT steel reinforced concrete blocks zooming down the highway. Go on fantasizing that your Civic will come out just fine if an Expedition hits you head on at 75mph. It's obvious how scientifically illterate Americans have become when people will actually argue that small, flimsy cars protect their drivers and occupants better than large, steel-framed trucks and SUV's. That reminds me of a comment on the Cadillac CTS site that argued that an egg could smash a bowling ball because it was "better designed". Until SUV's are outlawed (and I would LOVE IT if they were, as they waste WAYYYY too much fuel) my family will be in on for their safety. It scares me to think that there are people out there so totally clueless as to haul their children around in small, flimsy cars and actually think they are safe. Try telling that to the parents of a friend of ours who was killed when her "much safer" Acura RSX hit a Ford F-150 and the car crumpled like tinfoil and crushed her. The driver of the truck was totally unhurt and his truck was actually still DRIVABLE after the crash. If you want to risk your family's lives following an unscientific MYTH, that is your business. I hope you don't hit anything bigger than a Corolla.
22nd Feb 2007, 15:13
Many of our friends refuse to allow their children to even RIDE in smaller, less safe cars. When their children turn 16 most of their parents buy them a truck-based SUV (such as a Trailblazer or Explorer) or a full-size domestic truck. Our friend's son saved up some money and bought himself a used small import car. His parents refused to allow him to drive it and bought him a large Chevy truck. One of my clients was involved in an accident where his GMC Yukon hit a Honda Accord head on, killing the driver and all the occupants of the car. My client, of course, suffered no injuries as he was driving a much more substantial vehicle. Since that accident he has refused to allow his children to go out with any of their friends unless they go in one of their GMC Yukons. After his accident he bought his wife and all his driver-aged children a GMC Yukon because he wants to keep them around a while longer. Every time I'm driving and see a crash between a large, heavy vehicle and a small import and see the seriously injured occupants of the small car, I cringe at the thought that people actually ENCOURAGE their children to drive such death traps. Just a few weeks ago a carjacker here ran a redlight in the full size domestic truck he had stolen and hit a small import, killing all 4 people in the small car.
22nd Feb 2007, 17:17
15:22 needs to provide proof for that statement. US auto deaths only went UP when SUVs became popular (they had been consistently declining for decades as cars employed more safety devices), so using 15:22's logic SUV drivers suddenly became more incompetent.
Funny thing is, drivers of cars became MORE competent during the same period since deaths and injuries involving those vehicles continue to go DOWN.
22nd Feb 2007, 18:41
I get a kick out of watching some of these car commercials lately, the Dodge... whatever their latest piece of crap is, and the "Fusion"... EVERY commercial speaks about how good THEIR car is when compared to the Accord and the Camry. They all say it.."blah, blah, blah... better than Accord or Camry". Wonder WHY?? Because the Accord and the Camry are the BEST, the TOP spot, the leaders. Everybody wants to be the best; you know who actually IS; Honda and Toyota. ALL those other cars are Accord and Camry wannabe's. At least, they want the STATUS of being reliable and being the best. Too bad they don't build them that way. Ford attacks these two cars, pathetically trying to explain somehow that it's better than Accord or Camry, and hoping that somebody actually believes it. These two cars are time-tested, bulletproof, rock solid-reliable cars. The Fusion is a lame, soon to be forgotten flash in the pan.
21st Feb 2007, 07:19
Yes I am convinced that an suv will win in every instance with a smaller car.
You're going to have to prove that statement with facts, since every statistic regarding it says the opposite on a per 100K mile basis.