New Barina on channel 7 news

[CJB]

sorry troy and matchu, I will go with Mat on this one!


I am sure I read somewhere something about what you're saying, about the impact still producing the same consequences regardless of the size of the car.

The XC has a stronger feel to it. I don't know how to explain it, because a general "feeling" doesnt mean jack, but it just does - I think the design seems sturdier, and the XC is slightly bigger then the SB.

I am told, bigger cars make people feel safer, but they are easier to lose control of, and can cause greater harm in an accident.

[oneightoo]

well a ford f150 isnt a sedan, and what we were comparing was a sedan to a small car..

[CJB]

all the cars though these days are designed to crumple.

when I got rear ended last year, my bumper just popped back out.

The bigger cars are the same, smaller cars are the same - all designed to crumple to absorb impact.

Im not making any sense now. I best stop posting

[MatsHolden]

I was just using Statesman as an example of a large vehicle. Should have just said large vehicle and small vehicle.

[oneightoo]

lol the f150 doesnt look that bad.. imagine the whiplash in the mini tho..

[MatsHolden]

hahaha, not too bad? The occupant has been thrown underneath the dash, and has their legs bent up towards their chest. I think I prefer whiplash. lol

[CJB]

At the end of the day, so long as you and the passengers survive without too much harm, what does it matter?

the thing is, how many accidents have u seen where people just get out and u think to yourself "How did they do that"?

I know my accident the Police said they expected at least one, if not both of us to be hospitalised.

This where I think a little thing called fate steps in.

Cos without sounding harsh, some accidents u think, how could that cause a fatality?

[MatsHolden]

At the end of the day, so long as you and the passengers survive without too much harm, what does it matter?

the thing is, how many accidents have u seen where people just get out and u think to yourself "How did they do that"?

I know my accident the Police said they expected at least one, if not both of us to be hospitalised.

This where I think a little thing called fate steps in.

Cos without sounding harsh, some accidents u think, how could that cause a fatality?

Very true.

[tmov81]

i wont dispute big cars are shyte... bmw x5 would be much better to be in an accident in if you were sitting at traffic lights and someone ran into you while you were stationary... but if you are going around a corner and someone t-bones you you dont wanna be in that because of the high center of gravity.

other thing with those crash tests is the cars are smashed into an immovable object. so the greater the mass of the vehicle the greater damage it will inflict on itself. however if that ford f150 smashed into the mini, the damage would be different. and the structural damage to the interior/exterior of the vehicles would not be as deadly as the extent to which the body is thrown around within the vehicle.

the other thing is the f150 is a pretty primitive piece of equipment... you are comparing an american pick up truck designed before the era of airbags, abs, crumple zones, etc etc to a BMW. Its pretty well known that european standards for crash safety are traditionally higher than that of the americas or asia.

the issue with vehicle size comes back to basic physics... force = mass x acceleration. a bigger vehicle will generally have more room to crumple, decreasing the rate of acceleration and subsequent force... additionally if a heavier object hits a lighter object, the lighter object has less inertia so it is going to bare the brunt of the force...

obviously safety features and design have improved significantly, but if you take a mini and smash it into a bmw 740Li, two cars from the same company and so similar considerations of safety (to a greater extent than you would get comparing it to a US designed pick up truck), you would have to favour being in the 740Li than in the mini... there is just significantly greater capacity of the 740Li to absorb the impact due to the greater distance between the first point of contact (front of vehicle) and the occupants...

[MatsHolden]

Fair points. Don't care what car i'm in, i just don't want to have a crash at 100km/h or more. lol