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sheepdog 44 · 02-13-2012, 06:24 PM

I'm thinking of the future in mind when i say this. If everybody drove really light cars under 1500 lbs as i think we will have to do in the future, then i suppose it would be safer overall. I would think that two 1500 lbs cars colliding head on would experience less G's in deceleration as the crumple zones don't also have to absorb an extra 2000 lbs or more mass. A future low mass vehicle would be designed to hold structural integrity and not implode. A low mass vehicle also doesn't necessarily have to be small, It can take up the space of a larger car giving it a larger crumple zone. More of the mass could be designed into safety features instead of just relying on the "dead weight" of 1000 more lbs to save you.

As far as hitting a legitimate source of weight on the highway such as a commercial truck or tractor trailer, weight will not save you up to a point. A lighter car would be more manueverable and brake faster avoiding head on collisions easier which would be much safer overall. Less accidents, safer low impact accidents, safer pedestrian accidents. Overall just much safer across the board compared to the marginal improvement of safety a higher mass vehicle offers in certain situations, and then that is only for you.

The best thing you can do is just buy a car with a good crash rating. A compact car today is much safer than a compact of the same size and weight from the 80's. It's not the weight, it's crashworthiness designed into it

The biggest problem i see with those mini city cars in the video is that they just dont have enough of a crumple zone in the front! That is a design liability, and i do disagree with them being that short. You can have the same mass and add 3-4 feet to that car in length and it would be much much safer. Furthermore your mpg would get much higher. More length doesn't add to the area of drag and it'll improve aerodynamics so much like the Aero civic. Ecomodding Boat tails and bullet nose extension are good for gas and safety! Get with the picture car manufacturers!

02-13-2012, 06:24 PM	#25 (permalink)
sheepdog 44 . Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Salt Lake valley Utah Posts: 923 Thanks: 114 Thanked 397 Times in 224 Posts	I'm thinking of the future in mind when i say this. If everybody drove really light cars under 1500 lbs as i think we will have to do in the future, then i suppose it would be safer overall. I would think that two 1500 lbs cars colliding head on would experience less G's in deceleration as the crumple zones don't also have to absorb an extra 2000 lbs or more mass. A future low mass vehicle would be designed to hold structural integrity and not implode. A low mass vehicle also doesn't necessarily have to be small, It can take up the space of a larger car giving it a larger crumple zone. More of the mass could be designed into safety features instead of just relying on the "dead weight" of 1000 more lbs to save you. As far as hitting a legitimate source of weight on the highway such as a commercial truck or tractor trailer, weight will not save you up to a point. A lighter car would be more manueverable and brake faster avoiding head on collisions easier which would be much safer overall. Less accidents, safer low impact accidents, safer pedestrian accidents. Overall just much safer across the board compared to the marginal improvement of safety a higher mass vehicle offers in certain situations, and then that is only for you. The best thing you can do is just buy a car with a good crash rating. A compact car today is much safer than a compact of the same size and weight from the 80's. It's not the weight, it's crashworthiness designed into it The biggest problem i see with those mini city cars in the video is that they just dont have enough of a crumple zone in the front! That is a design liability, and i do disagree with them being that short. You can have the same mass and add 3-4 feet to that car in length and it would be much much safer. Furthermore your mpg would get much higher. More length doesn't add to the area of drag and it'll improve aerodynamics so much like the Aero civic. Ecomodding Boat tails and bullet nose extension are good for gas and safety! Get with the picture car manufacturers! Last edited by sheepdog 44; 02-13-2012 at 06:43 PM..