Good place to get started ? want to get at lest 40-45MPG.highway.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

What's a shooting brake?

What Autobahnschleicher says except Basically has two 'a's and two 'l's.



Really a panel van, but aerodynamically dialed in, except the cooling air exit should be like the Citroen Tubik 21.

[Piotrsko]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

Everyone's circumstances are different. It sounds like the OP wants the Tahoe because he thinks it's safer, not because he needs more space.

My thoughts are that as a fad there's a lot of propaganda to make SUV's seem better than they are, and safety is one of them. Statistically there is no fine line between SUV's and alternatives such as sedans. (Sorry for beating the dead horse a again.)
.

I dunno , what I've seen is the Tahoe climbs up over the top (or attempts to) small cars and most new pick ups in the accident results I've seen on the freeway. The crumple mode for the powertrain is down and back lifting the cab upwards like a pole vault. (Whack whack)

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

I dunno , what I've seen is the Tahoe climbs up over the top (or attempts to) small cars and most new pick ups in the accident results I've seen on the freeway. The crumple mode for the powertrain is down and back lifting the cab upwards like a pole vault. (Whack whack)

• Tahoe weighs more, point for Tahoe.
• Average sedan doesn't roll over as easily, point for sedan.
• Tahoe is higher off the ground placing impact close to legs, point for Tahoe.
• Average sedan is less likely to let you run over your own kids, point for sedan.

The thing is we could go back and forth on advantages and disadvantages all day. But in the end, the question is: what are the overall probabilities? I don't care if I'm more likely to die in a head-on collision in an airplane. That little fun fact doesn't help me understand my overall chances of death in an airplane. It's the same with cars. I need the overall chance of probability of death in a vehicle to determine if it's less safe or not.

A lower percentage of drivers die in Prii than in 2WD Tahoes. End of discussion.

[Piotrsko]

Actually you more likely to die from a ground impact if you need to be that technical with explosive decompression / oxygen starvation running right in there. However it is safer than crossing the street.

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Actually you more likely to die from a ground impact if you need to be that technical with explosive decompression / oxygen starvation running right in there. However it is safer than crossing the street.

I meant in comparison with other head on collisions in other vehicles.

Take three guys. All of them got into a head on collision. One in a plane, one in a Tahoe, and one in a Prius. Which one is more likely to die and which one is more likely to survive? Well, you would probably say the guy in the airplane would most likely die and then guy in the Tahoe the least likely.

But does that mean we shouldn't fly in airplanes? No, it doesn't mean that because statistically the overall chances of dying are less in the airplane than in a road going motorized vehicle.

When comparing a Tahoe to a Prius we see something similar. True, fewer people statistically die in 4WD Tahoes than in a Prius. But fewer people statistically die driving a Prius then a 2WD Tahoe. And even fewer die in a Subaru Legacy than all the above. So which is safer? And does it matter?

The point is that there isn't a fine line of safety between SUV's and cars. If you want a safe vehicle it's best to look at each vehicle individually. Some cars, pickups and SUVs are safer than others. Pick a category that meets your needs and then pick an individual vehicle that has good safety ratings and history. Otherwise my sedan might be safer than your SUV.

Although honestly, if you're buying a newer vehicle in the USA, chances are it's level of safety is not going to differ much compared to other newer vehicles.

[Piotrsko]

When comparing apples, oranges and bananas, unless you make fruit salad, it is very difficult to make like comparisons unless your definations and controls are extremely broad. For example, apple juice, orange juice but I have never seen banana juice. So how do you compare these? Can you even make a banana juice? Possibly an infusion or distillation, but squeeze, I think not unless you consider a semi paste to be a juice..

In a collision between a pri and tahoe, head on at freeway speeds, your pri is going to be the brunt of a huge physics experiment regarding mass and kinetic energy. While it may be safer in the passenger miles driven category statistically.......the same is true for a tahoe vs long haul dual trailer loaded semi truck head on. Or even your pri and the aforementioned semi. And I haven't mentioned the behavior of the operator.

Your vehicle may be safer by an arbitrary metric which will disqualify the tahoe. I only comment on what I have seen riding shotgun on a tow truck in a LA suburb

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

In a collision between a pri and tahoe, head on at freeway speeds, your pri is going to be the brunt of a huge physics experiment regarding mass and kinetic energy.

So everyone who buys a Prius is immoral because they put their families and themselves at a greater risk of death by headon collision or side impact? So we all should be buying Suburbans and Expeditions to transport ourselves, even if we're drive solo for the sake of safety?

But wait, you're more likely to run over your own kids in such a vehicle. You're also more likely to get into a deadly rollover. So now what? Get a Suburban, lower it as far as you can, and put crossover mirrors on the front and backup cameras in the rear?

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

I only comment on what I have seen riding shotgun on a tow truck in a LA suburb

Speaking of "what I've seen," I've seen many SUVs rolled over, and in many cases the driver or other occupants were dead. But I can't recall ever seeing a sedan rolled over. Also every case of someone getting ran over, even by a family member, has been ran over by an SUV or pickup.

The problem with going by "what I've seen" is that we tend to see what we prefer. If you like SUVs you're more likely to see headon collisions and think "good thing I have a large SUV." But when someone who likes SUVs sees one get into a rollover he thinks "that won't happen to me."

In our minds we can make any vehicle seem like the safest vehicle, backed up by "what I've seen" and a few half-the-story facts as well as sometimes a few outright misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the facts.

The point is that although "what if I'm in a head-on?" or "what if I'm in a rollover?" are good questions they don't really indicate the overall safety of a vehicle. Our best indicators are studies that include every possible way to die the best that they can. Overall statistics, though not a perfect indicator, do more than just head-on only statistics. Crash test and safety ratings are also a better indicator than a "my car looks safer than others" metric.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Isaac Zachary

So everyone who buys a Prius is immoral because they put their families and themselves at a greater risk of death by headon collision or side impact? So we all should be buying Suburbans and Expeditions to transport ourselves, even if we're drive solo for the sake of safety?

But wait, you're more likely to run over your own kids in such a vehicle. You're also more likely to get into a deadly rollover. So now what? Get a Suburban, lower it as far as you can, and put crossover mirrors on the front and backup cameras in the rear?.

Real Americans only drive this and in a few years it will likely be the new f150

[Vwbeamer]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Real Americans only drive this and in a few years it will likely be the new f150

GOBBLESS MERICA

[aerohead]

Perhaps my understanding of the English language failed me. The caveat of 'easy' escaped me.