Car of the future?

Inkara1

Inkara1

Well-Known Member
The car's ugly, and I don't see where the air bags would go. If they ever sent the car to the US, they would be kinda sorta required.
 
Luis G

Luis G

<i><b>Problemator</b></i>
Staff member
Inkara1 said:
The car's ugly, and I don't see where the air bags would go. If they ever sent the car to the US, they would be kinda sorta required.
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I thought the security requirements in the US were not that strict.
 
JJR512

JJR512

New Member
Luis G said:
I thought the security requirements in the US were not that strict.
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Safety requirements in US cars have traditionally been some of the tougher standards worldwide. European car makers have often had to slow their cars down for the US market, and some exotic cars (Lamborghini Countache) had to have ugly bumperettes tacked on to make them meet US safety standards. That's been less of an issue in recent decades as European standards have caught up and European manufacturers decided it's better to make one vehicle that can be sold anywhere.
 
unclehobart

unclehobart

New Member
The safety standards was one of the tricky spots for getting certain rare and expensive imports over to the states. I remember that the super expensive Porche 959(?) never was legal in the US market because Porche refused to give testers a dozen of the cars to wreck and prod to determine their crash safety... even though they were supposedly already well and above any safety concerns for crashes and the like. Porsche, I think, was just a bit mift at having to throw away a few million in well crafted machines to satisfy a checkmark on a page.
 
chcr

chcr

Too cute for words
Sharky said:
Make that two.

Anyway, how does one pronounce "Citroen"?

sit-ro-YON?

sit-ROY-an?

sit-ren?
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See-twy-enn, viz you nose in zee aire and zee stinky, stinky cigarette dangling from you pouty lip, you foolish 'mary-ken you. ;)


BTW, jjr, as unc points out, what Nader and his ilk really succeeded in doing was making American manufacturers (and others that wanted to sell here) make their cars for people who crash rather than people who like to drive.
 
Luis G

Luis G

<i><b>Problemator</b></i>
Staff member
Well, I'm sure the US had some strict rules, but I don't believe their cars were the safest. I thought asians and europeans made the safest cars, while the US market focused more on luxury and looks than security.

btw, I didn't ask it straightforward, are all cars sold in the US required to have airbags?
 
Inkara1

Inkara1

Well-Known Member
Yes... dual air bags, in fact. Plus, they have to have beams in the doors to protect against side impacts... the beams in the doors of my Dodge Neon are two- or three-inch tubes.

As far as who makes the safest cars... it's a hodgepodge. Some really safe (crash-test-wise, anyway) cars come out of Detroit, and some cars that fare pretty poorly in high-speed crashes also come out of Detroit, even within the lineup fo the same manufacturer. Hell, even Toyota varies in how well their cars crash-test.
 
unclehobart

unclehobart

New Member
I think the Nordic nations have the strictest car safety laws. Lets not forget Volvo constantly patting itself on the back as being holier than thou with safety.
 
Luis G

Luis G

<i><b>Problemator</b></i>
Staff member
Inkara1 said:
Yes... dual air bags, in fact. Plus, they have to have beams in the doors to protect against side impacts... the beams in the doors of my Dodge Neon are two- or three-inch tubes.
Click to expand...

Wow, how long since the airbag requirement?
 
unclehobart

unclehobart

New Member
It started in the mid to late 80's with a simple driver airbag. Passenger ones came a little later, and the full complex rail types have been around for (guessing) 10 years.
 
Luis G

Luis G

<i><b>Problemator</b></i>
Staff member
That's quite a newsflash for me. Commonly, the US make cars sold over here had no such features. Even now, only the luxury versions have those. That gave me the impression that the rules over there were not strict.

Ours are way lax.
 
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