5 ms·

That's a direct benefit for your own safety, though. Thicker pillars means better structural integrity during crashes, particularly the roof during rollovers.

• deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
• mikepurvis 7y ago
  Isn't that the usual automaker tradeoff, though? Safety improvements for the occupants of a vehicle, even at the expense of additional hazards for those outside it. There are obvious market reasons for it to be this way, but it seems like a failure of regulations that it is. And given this reality, it's not surprising that pedestrian fatalities are way up per TFA.
• nucleardog 7y ago
  Thicker pillars are a cheap way to solve the problem. You can also use different, stronger materials. But those are generally more expensive. Subaru solves it with better engineering and using higher strength steels (and reinforcing the B-pillar with a boron reinforcement bar). Making the pillars thick is just cost saving.
  • argonaut 7y ago
    But that's also a consumer benefit! Lower prices! Consumer are absolutely highly sensitive to the prices of cars.
    • naravara 7y ago
      The Impreza is one of the more affordable cars in its class though.
• pcl 7y ago
  > That's a direct benefit for your own safety, though. Only given a crash. Better visibility improves your own safety by reducing the likelihood of a crash. Ideally, we would analyze the whole solution and only increase the pillar sizes to the point at which more increases caused net-greater morbidity and mortality rates, both for the driver and passengers, and for others outside the car.