Interesting info from Lutz

[Daox]

There are few gems of info and even a good point or two amongst his usually whining.

GM’s Lutz Calls for Break on Crash-Testing in U.S.

[RH77]

Meanwhile, I can see Ralph Nader blowing a gasket...

Well, GM has to make more (I mean A) profit, so cut safety! Brilliant!

All this is going to do is make allsmall cars appear unsafe so they can go back to selling the guzzlers when the rep is trashed.

By the way, this will never happen. The geezer needs to stick to golf and turn over GM's keys to someone else.

RH77

[NeilBlanchard]

Hi,

I scanned the article -- can you quote the interesting points you are referring to, please?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by RH77

Meanwhile, I can see Ralph Nader blowing a gasket...

Best thing that could happen to that... well, anything I could say would probably be filtered out :-) But his attitudes aren't ones I share. Passive safety is way down near the bottom of things I look for in a car.

Lutz has some good points, even if he's years late in making them: why shouldn't the US and Europe have common standards? It would save a lot of duplicated effort, and let us get some halfway decent cars in this country. Which is a safety issue after all: how badly is the collective safety of the US degraded by high fuel costs & dependence on foreign oil?

(High fuel costs aren't the same as high gas prices, BTW. At $4/gallon, my fuel costs in my Insight are less than what they would be in an SUV at $1.50.)

As for the Corvette being a sports car, or needing a 600 hp engine to be one, just consider what Lotus & Porsche do with less than half that, or what REAL sports cars like the '50s & '60s Austin-Healeys, MGs, and their like did with a hundred or so.

[RH77]

Don't forget that Euro NCAP rates vehicles' pedestrian impact scores, and the European Union requires a certain rating.

[cfg83]

Daox -

This is a way to make it easier to import GM's high-MPG car lines from Europe (and other countries). Quoting the Lutzter :

GM’s Lutz Calls for Break on Crash-Testing in U.S.

“We also would like a 3-year moratorium on certain U.S. front- and side-impact crash test regulations,” Lutz adds. “The regulations impact our ability to bring in several high-mileage small cars we make elsewhere in the world.

“In Europe, the crash-test procedures are different than in the U.S., so the tests are different. If our government says cars that meet crash tests in other countries are good enough to be sold here, we would have more high-mileage, small-car flexibility.”

This way, you could import an Opel Corsa *tomorrow* without worrying about complying with US crash standards :



I have read that the current Corsa doesn't meet US crash standards, but the next generation will. If Lutz got his 3 year moratorium, that would give him a breathing spell for the next-gen Corsa.

The (negative?) corollary to this is that the Chinese Chery auto company could also bring cars to market in the USA faster :

Chery Automobile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lotus Engineering (known for their racing car chassis expertise) is aiding Chery in car design and quality. Ricardo Consulting Engineers is also devolping a hybrid powertrain for Chery for use on China's first hybrid vehicle. Chery recently entered into a partnership with Chrysler to produce mid to compact vehicles for the United States and European market.

CarloSW2

[Big Dave]

Haven't we discussed this? How many high-MPG cars common in Europe or Asia are excluded from the US by the US regs?

[Frank Lee]

I don't see a downside to making U.S. and European regs the same, or more compatible.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Haven't we discussed this? How many high-MPG cars common in Europe or Asia are excluded from the US by the US regs?

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I don't see a downside to making U.S. and European regs the same, or more compatible.

To hell with human life I guess (and insurance premiums). Let's de-evolve, sounds like a great ****ing plan to me.

If the lazy sons of *****es at GM Corporate want to kill off their customers so Lutz gets a golden parachute, it looks like it's fine. I won't be buying the piece of ****, that's for sure.

Yours Truly,

RICK

[Frank Lee]

Geez Rick, why don't you lock yourself out.