head-on collision: old car vs new

[jamespowers]

While there were no TV screens in cars when I was a kid, it was drummed into me by my Dad that when you were riding with him your job was to ride shotgun and be an extra pair of eyes, not sleeping, reading or contemplating your navel and most certainly not gabbing on the phone or texting if they had been around back then.

Smart man. That is a good thing to have.

 

[rocketeer]

I asked on another car related forum why so many women drive todays BIG cars such as BMW X5s, Range Rovers, Audi Q7 VW Tuareg for example. The majority of answers were that they made them feel safer especially if the children were with them if they were to have an accident. By that reasoning if everyone bought these road giants the next step would be for the women to buy small trucks.
Many (but not all)drivers of these large vehicles also try to 'bully' smaller car drivers and also motorcyclists as if to say "I have big expensive car, get out of MY way" I have had this many times especially on my motorbike, and mainly by women trying to prevent me from passing.
The picture of the Mini hit by a truck will always be relevant as the truck is an over large mass and would probably result in a similar accident were it a fair sized car , even the previous mentioned BMW X5 for example. But were it to have a head on with another truck, would a similar result be like two cars colliding in a similar manner? If a conventional truck hit a cabover, different results again.
I have seen a couple of photo's where the transmission, or gearbox to us lot, has ended up in the passenger compartment from head ons with other vehicles, most modern cars, my Peugeot for example is a big car with a transverse engine, the main downside to me is it is harder to work on than a conventional engined car.
The usual comment on other 'old stuff' forums though is by and large. "What a shame to smash up a 1959 Chevrolet"

 

[J.W.]

*ironyon* It's good to know the mothers feel safer in those big cars. *ironyoff* I hope they are REALLY careful while driving and that they NEVER hit a child or any other living being with those street monsters.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The usual comment on other 'old stuff' forums though is by and large. "What a shame to smash up a 1959 Chevrolet"

Well, that goes without saying here. I'm no fan of fifties cars, but what these people did really is wasteful and philistinish: they didn't paint up a junker, they went out and paid over $8000 for a well-maintained, perfectly driveable fifty-year-old car which they destroyed for no genuinely useful purpose: the whole thing was a cheap promotional stunt, no more and no less. It's about the same level of sense as those MIT kids who think it's cute to throw a grand piano off a roof and thus "prove Newton's law of gravitation."

 

[Stanley Doble]

They have been doing crash tests since the fifties anyway. The oldest pictures I have seen were of 1955 and 1956 models. So they already have the data on all the old models. You are right, it was a publicity stunt. And, there are lots of ways to gimmick a test like that and make it show what you want to, and the public will never know the difference.

 

[J.W.]

I wonder how the Malibu would hold up against a Q7...

 

[Cobden]

I think we'd all agree that a heavier car, with all the modern safety facets including crumple zones, side impact bars, twin and side airbags, collapsing sterring columns, the works would be safer then a lighter car with the same gubbins in an accident between the two of them - it's simple physics, afterall. However, if every car was heavier, then the advantage of weight is lost. All other things being equal, two light cars of equal weight crashing into each other at is going to cause less damage to the occupants then two heavy cars of equal weight crash into one another at the same speed - again, it's physics. That's before factoring in the improved breaking of lighter cars, which of course means that accidents are more avoidable

 

[rocketeer]

Aww c'mon Lizzie, it was only a four door, not even a pillarless hartop.
I have had some of these old cars, and am a fan as well, but I can also see the improvements over the years.
My favourite question.
Is your car a classic? or is it just an old car?
OK thats two questions but what makes it a classic, what are its redeeming features? Let me guess, Errrm its 25 years old, nothing special just 25 years old. Yeehaaaa! that means my Peugeot 406 Estate will qualify in 2027, or will it just be an old car.

 

[Feraud]

I found an interesting Flickr set from the Boston Public Library on auto smack-ups.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/sets/72157626646768526/

 

[LizzieMaine]

Aww c'mon Lizzie, it was only a four door, not even a pillarless hartop.

Wouldn't matter to me if it was a kiddie car -- destroying something usable just for the sake of destroying it seems completely pointless to me -- there's really no new, worthwhile data to be gained from the demonstration. It's no more commendable than a little kid blowing up army men with firecrackers, or those Yoo Toob morons who cackle like halfwits as they blow up TV sets. Cheap thrills, and nothing more.

 

[rocketeer]

If we kept everything usable and kept fixing it we would probably still be in a similar situation we are in now. Our industries would be wound down as we did not need new things. No one would want new TV, washing machine or fridge. All our furniture would be old fashioned and all our cars would be too. The only people who thought the cars of 1959, or 1958 or even 1938 for that matter were WoW, were those who couldn't wait for the latest new trend to come out. Most women from the Golden era were waiting to get the latest fashions just as they are today, I doubt any young women in the 1930s wanted to dress like the 1920s
As many have said in this thread and the other similar topic on obsolescence progress moves things forward.
Do you know anyone who has lived in these era's that would gladly live them again or would they cherry pick all the best bits and leave the bad stuff(Great depression, WWI, WWII, Mccarthy era, Racism, poverty) behind. And we had it bad in England as well.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Sigh. And people wonder why I don't want to live to be 100.

 

[MisterCairo]

... progress moves things forward.
QUOTE]

But not always for the better. Not every change is an improvement.

 

[Justin B]

... progress moves things forward.

But not always for the better. Not every change is an improvement.

Also, saying that industry would be wound down is perhaps true, however the skilled labor needed to make repairs would be most likely offsetting, not to mention impossible to outsource to another country.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Faith in progress is a religion, plain and simple -- this generation's god is the belief that somehow if they just keep buying shiny trinkets, everything will get better.

As for industry winding down, it's interesting to look at the auto industry. The American auto industry didn't begin its long, grotesque decline until the days of planned obsolesence began in the mid-1950s. When style was emphasized over quality, when every year's model was radically different from the one before, people rebelled against the idea of chrome festoonery as a substitute for reliability and substance. There's a reason why the unchanging Volkswagen became a gigantic success thru the sixties -- it wasn't just hippies who were buying them. A lot of ordinary Americans looked at what the Boys from Marketing were putting in front of them and said "nuts to this."

 

[rocketeer]

Sigh. And people wonder why I don't want to live to be 100.

No Lizzie I would not like to live that long unless I can still do most of the things I can do today, well at least feed and look after myself.

... progress moves things forward.
QUOTE]

But not always for the better. Not every change is an improvement.

No I agree with that, though without progress what would the world be like?
A few of things that bug me about the past:
You could be sentenced to death under circumstantial evidence ie being in the wrong place at the wrong time and no alibi.
You could have your daughter committed to a psychiatric hospital because she was not married, consented to sex and became pregnant.
You could beat your wife for refusing sex.
You could be sacked from your job if your boss didnt like you.

A few things that bug me about the present:
People seeking asylum in the UK have priority for housing over those on a waiting list especially if they have children.
The above can also claim benefits for their dependants in their home countries.
Health and safety laws often overrule common sense
Not so serious now.
Shopping malls are slowly destroying the independent traders.
Fast food tastes the same from the same store in any country. Why cant a McDonalds bought in Spain taste different to that bought in...... Basildon.
Why do we use so many abbreviations? Uni, LA, HR(instead of personnel)
Computers are out of date the day you buy your new one.

 

[LizzieMaine]

You could be sacked from your job if your boss didnt like you.

You think they can't do that now? Ever hear of employment-at-will?

 

[MisterCairo]

You think they can't do that now? Ever hear of employment-at-will?

Not allowed in Canada or the UK. You can be fired at will, but if there is no just cause, you must be given certain minimum notice or, in Canada at least, pay in lieu of notice.

Sorry, I'm a former employment and labour lawyer....

Back on track - old cars are gorgeous to look at, fun to drive, and absolute garbage from a safety standpoint.

 

[sheeplady]

I don't understand why industry would wind down anymore than today. In fact, having quality products would probably mean that industry would have to stay in developed nations or pay people in developing nations better in order to maintain a semi-skilled workforce. Tradesmen/women who do repairs would be skilled and run their businesses locally (like mechanics). And overall, if there wasn't such a drive to consume more stuff (or the need to) it would cost less to live, keeping wages lower and quality of life better. More money would stay local and there would be a plethora of repair jobs.

I seriously can't imagine that a "waste not, want not" attitude would result in more of a rust belt situation. The "more, more, more" society is what has caused people to want cheaper goods (that need to be made by near-slave labor to keep costs down and profits up) and more and more of them. It's started a vicious cycle we can't get out of.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Not allowed in Canada or the UK. You can be fired at will, but if there is no just cause, you must be given certain minimum notice or, in Canada at least, pay in lieu of notice.

Lucky you. Here in the States, unless you belong to a union or have an individual employment contract, you can be fired for cause or no cause, at any time and for any reason. Yay progress.

Back on track - old cars are gorgeous to look at, fun to drive, and absolute garbage from a safety standpoint.

So does that mean modern cars are repulsive to look at, a horror to drive, and will keep you alive thru anything short of a meteor impact? Where's the joy in that?

Bah. I'm sticking to my bicycle.