Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > General Efficiency Discussion
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 12-21-2007, 02:43 PM   #11 (permalink)
Giant Moving Eco-Wall
 
DifferentPointofView's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Dale, IL (or A-Dale)
Posts: 1,120

The Jeep! - '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ Laredo
90 day: 23.75 mpg (US)

The Caliber - '07 Dodge Caliber R/T
90 day: 30.6 mpg (US)

The 'Scort - '98 Ford Escort LX
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
^
Was the show called Top Gear?

See, what they don't compare though, is a larger vehicle hitting it instead of a wall, when you hit a wall, you stop, if you hit a big rig, you stop.. and then get pushed backwards until the big rig comes to a stop.. and there is the problem with that. But yes, Small cars can DEFINITELY be safe. It just comes into play in a non-controlled environment. I think that side-curtain airbags need to be standard, not just an option though on all vehicles.

__________________


Yea.. I drive a Jeep and I'm on a fuel economy site, but you just wouldn't understand... "It's a Jeep thing!" *Jeep Wave*

Did I Use Too Many Abbreviations? Here's The Abbreviations List
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 12-21-2007, 03:56 PM   #12 (permalink)
EcoModding Lurker
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: St. Catharines Ontario
Posts: 15
Thanks: 0
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
It might have been top gear.... and you are correct, if a big rig runs over a car then it is lights out.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2007, 04:35 PM   #13 (permalink)
Batman Junior
 
MetroMPG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: 1000 Islands, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22,534

Blackfly - '98 Geo Metro
Team Metro
Last 3: 70.09 mpg (US)

MPGiata - '90 Mazda Miata
90 day: 54.46 mpg (US)

Appliance car Mirage - '14 Mitsubishi Mirage ES (base)
90 day: 57.73 mpg (US)
Thanks: 4,082
Thanked 6,979 Times in 3,614 Posts
Fifth gear ...

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/v/CJHpUO-S0i8[/YOUTUBE]
__________________
Project MPGiata! Mods for getting 50+ MPG from a 1990 Miata
Honda mods: Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater
Mitsu mods: 70 MPG in my ecomodded, dirt cheap, 3-cylinder Mirage.
Ecodriving test: Manual vs. automatic transmission MPG showdown



EcoModder
has launched a forum for the efficient new Mitsubishi Mirage
www.MetroMPG.com - fuel efficiency info for Geo Metro owners
www.ForkenSwift.com - electric car conversion on a beer budget
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2007, 06:00 PM   #14 (permalink)
Giant Moving Eco-Wall
 
DifferentPointofView's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Dale, IL (or A-Dale)
Posts: 1,120

The Jeep! - '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ Laredo
90 day: 23.75 mpg (US)

The Caliber - '07 Dodge Caliber R/T
90 day: 30.6 mpg (US)

The 'Scort - '98 Ford Escort LX
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Yep, that's Top Gear.

Not that I'm saying that the smart isn't safe, but it really doesn't matter what the car looks like after the crash, it's what your brain looks like after the crash, and what went on in the car. So it's not going for just the smart, but SUV's, big rigs, Vans, cars, and buses.
__________________


Yea.. I drive a Jeep and I'm on a fuel economy site, but you just wouldn't understand... "It's a Jeep thing!" *Jeep Wave*

Did I Use Too Many Abbreviations? Here's The Abbreviations List
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2007, 08:15 PM   #15 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 152

The Mighty Mira - '92 Daihatsu Mira
90 day: 61.32 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
I suspect this post might raise some hackles, so please read to the end before you reply.

If you compare the average person driving a small car to the average person driving an SUV, there is an insurmountable difference in crash survivability.

See the statistics on this. Open that page up now. No amount of wishful thinking is going to stop the fact that small masses have large changes in velocity in collisions with large masses. In fact, for cars as light as mine, I think it would be stupid not to extrapolate and estimate the probability of death in a collision with virtually any vehicle as a certainty. If you think that the SMART car has much chance of surviving a collision with Silverado, please don't drive with other passengers.

However, note that these statistics are for the AVERAGE person who drives a small car. No one dies if you can avoid collisions. Just as you can exceed the EPA estimates of mpg by driving a certain way, so too can you lower the risk of having an accident on the highway through defensive driving.

Basically, if you are driving at a safe speed, in the day, on a dry road, with lots of distance between you and the next car, in a lane that's not expected to be going very fast, in a well maintained car, having had enough sleep, paying close attention to your mirrors and other people on the road, only changing lanes when you have scoped out everything well in advance (and not because someone has just braked ahead of you and you want to coast a bit longer)... guess what? The risk of you having an accident is minimal.

And note that all of this can go hand in hand with hypermiling. Perhaps there needs to be a defensive driving sticky. One thing that is very helpful is to check the weather before you drive. Most places these days have doppler radar available on the internet, with a loop so that you can judge when rain is heading through an area, and either delay or expedite a trip, or at the very least remind yourself to leave lots of room between you and the next car.
__________________
"Every body perseveres in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed." - Isaac Newton

Last edited by newtonsfirstlaw; 12-21-2007 at 08:38 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2007, 08:35 PM   #16 (permalink)
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 152

The Mighty Mira - '92 Daihatsu Mira
90 day: 61.32 mpg (US)
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 7 Posts
An exercise for those who would overly trust the crash safety of small vehicles:

Two vehicles collide head on, going 100kph (27.8m/s). One vehicle has mass 2200kg, the other has mass 1200kg.

1) Assume the masses stick together after collision. Calculate the change in momentum for both vehicles, and hence the change in velocity for both vehicles.

2) Assume that crumple zones of both vehicles cause the two vehicles to reach their state of moving together without further crumpling after 0.5 seconds. (If you can research a better estimate, please use it.) Assume constant acceleration. Assume both vehicles hold a passenger of mass 90kg. Calculate the acceleration of each passenger, and then calculate the force imposed on each passenger during the collision.

3) Consider the collision as perfectly inelastic. Calculate the required quantities as in 1 and 2.
__________________
"Every body perseveres in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force impressed." - Isaac Newton

Last edited by newtonsfirstlaw; 12-21-2007 at 08:39 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-22-2007, 02:14 AM   #17 (permalink)
MechE
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,151

The Miata - '01 Mazda MX-5 Miata
Thanks: 0
Thanked 22 Times in 18 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by DifferentPointofView View Post
Yea, the Toyota Prius did drop a huge mpg difference from last year to this year. But not so bad that it's gotta be "that bad"
Fair Enough... But now we're comparing hybrids to non hybrids
__________________
Cars have not created a new problem. They merely made more urgent the necessity to solve existing ones.
  Reply With Quote
Old 12-23-2007, 10:56 PM   #18 (permalink)
Giant Moving Eco-Wall
 
DifferentPointofView's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: The Dale, IL (or A-Dale)
Posts: 1,120

The Jeep! - '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ Laredo
90 day: 23.75 mpg (US)

The Caliber - '07 Dodge Caliber R/T
90 day: 30.6 mpg (US)

The 'Scort - '98 Ford Escort LX
Thanks: 0
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Wow, so that one time that one Chevy Cavalier almost smashed into the engine bay of my vehicle after running a stop sign had around 6-8 times the chance of death then me, depending on how much my vehicle weighed with me, a passenger, and my large amount of sub woofer box weight in the trunk, plus the likelihood of his car being wedged under mine and me running over the roof. That kinda sucks. they should do an all-weight crash test rating that goes along with the regular IIHS and NHTSA ratings.

__________________


Yea.. I drive a Jeep and I'm on a fuel economy site, but you just wouldn't understand... "It's a Jeep thing!" *Jeep Wave*

Did I Use Too Many Abbreviations? Here's The Abbreviations List
  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread






Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com