Minicars fall short for small overlap frontal crash protection (IIHS)

[MetroMPG]

I had the same thought. They might ace the offset crashes because the car may just deflect.

[user removed]

I have looked a a heck of a lot of wrecked cars, in the tens of thousands over the last several decades. At one auction there were 3 rolled Toyota Land Cruisers (newer models) and less than 3 % of the vehicle population. I personally can not remember a single car that was hit precisely the same way as that test process produces damage.
A sharp (or fairly) fixed object, that does not give a millimeter, just outside of the frame rail.
The natural reaction would be to deflect a lot of the energy to the right with the vehicle bouncing hard to the right and the other object hard to it's right. The front bumper reinforcement will just fold over and the impact then is concentrated on the suspension, driving it into the rear fender well. Even the location of the tie rod, in front or behind the lower control arm, would influence the wheel and tires position when it impacted the cowl area. The best desgin would push the rear of the front wheel outwards so it would hit the unibody broadside instead of end on.

regards
Mech

[user removed]

The VLC would just shear off the suspension assembly. The fixed axle support beam would bend and deflect the mostly intact body cage away from the point of impact.

regards
Mech

[NeilBlanchard]

Originally Posted by HydroJim

Lets see the Edison2 VLC take this test!

They actually have tested the VLC chassis in this test:

Edison2 - Very Light Blog - Edison2 on Impact Avoidance: Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a*Butterfly

The wheel structure does sheer off and the elongated diamond shaped chassis deflects away from the barrier. Oliver Kuttner said that the dummy got only about 17G's (if I recall correctly) and this would be relatively safe with just a seat belt.

[vskid3]

I've never checked the crash test ratings before buying a car. As long as it isn't known as being a death trap, that's good enough for me. I try to drive safe and watch out for the other guy.

I think more focus should be put on making drivers safe. Seems like it would be more efficient than adding armor and 10 airbags to every car.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by vskid3

I think more focus should be put on making drivers safe.

Can you explain this one a few times to me? Please use sock puppets.

[RedDevil]

If you want to make drives safe maybe we should make dash cams mandatory and follow up on all the, lets say 'unsafe drivers' out there...
If we ban them the roads will not only be much safer but also very quiet.

[PaleMelanesian]

There was a wreck that very closely resembled this just yesterday outside work. Car 1 was in the left-turn lane, protected from oncoming traffic by a curb/median. Car 2 hopped the curb and hit Car 1 front corner to front corner. Car 1 was dented and scraped almost exactly the same as these tests show.

[MetroMPG]

Was Car #2's structure made from unyielding concrete and steel?

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Was Car #2's structure made from unyielding concrete and steel?

Great! The next generation of SUVs, concrete and steel!