3 ms·

yeah, the fact of the matter is that vehicles evolved into heavy, feature-laden apartments-on-wheels. however, they also evolved much higher quality safety sta

by noodle 18y ago

yeah, the fact of the matter is that vehicles evolved into heavy, feature-laden apartments-on-wheels. however, they also evolved much higher quality safety standards. the more stuff you put into a vehicle, the heavier it will become, and the more gas it will take to make it go. you can buy an old civic and get 50 to 60 MPG, but you won't have power anything, and if you get hit by a driving-their-SUV-going-90-while-cell-phone-texting sorority girl, you're going to be dead. just commenting on the price of progress, not making a judgment in either direction.

LogicHoleFlaw 18y ago
My old 1990 Geo Metro got about 50 MPG. I could fill up the tank for about $10 and drive for a month. Of course, there were no power windows, no power steering, no power brakes, and no crash survivability. And I had to turn off the A/C to reach highway speed. And the car was tossed about in a stiff breeze. (Literally! Driving in windy areas could be quite harrowing.) Still, it got 50 MPG. And it had 4 doors! That was quite the feature. I was surprised to hear that the 175,000 mile Metro went for $3000 on eBay... I counted myself lucky to retire mine to the junkyard at 180,000 miles without paying a towing fee.
geebee 18y ago
I'm not sure what safety standards you're referring to... certainly, cars evolved higher safety standards, but SUV's threw most of that out the window. Many (but not all) SUV's are pretty much shells bolted on to a light truck frame. They are very top-heavy, and prone to rolling, and they don't have the structural integrity of minivans and sedans - furthermore, they are built into a very stiff frame that doesn't have much give. The net result is a car that is considerably more likely to inflict severe injury or death toward pedestrians and drivers outside the car, yet remarkably enough also reduces the safety of the people inside the car. SUVs may make people feel safe - in this sense, they are "the triumph of marketing over engineering". If you're interested in protection, a heavy, single frame car that stays lower to the ground is probably your best bet (though you will risk some injury when and SUV hits you up high and circumvents some of your buffering, a heavy frame and a vastly lower probability of rolling will offset this for a net gain in safety). It's also preferable when your increase in safety doesn't come at the expense of people outside your car (though, like I said earlier, SUVs don't really increase safety for their occupants).

by noodle 18y ago

LogicHoleFlaw 18y ago

My old 1990 Geo Metro got about 50 MPG. I could fill up the tank for about $10 and drive for a month. Of course, there were no power windows, no power steering, no power brakes, and no crash survivability. And I had to turn off the A/C to reach highway speed. And the car was tossed about in a stiff breeze. (Literally! Driving in windy areas could be quite harrowing.) Still, it got 50 MPG. And it had 4 doors! That was quite the feature. I was surprised to hear that the 175,000 mile Metro went for $3000 on eBay... I counted myself lucky to retire mine to the junkyard at 180,000 miles without paying a towing fee.

geebee 18y ago

I'm not sure what safety standards you're referring to... certainly, cars evolved higher safety standards, but SUV's threw most of that out the window. Many (but not all) SUV's are pretty much shells bolted on to a light truck frame. They are very top-heavy, and prone to rolling, and they don't have the structural integrity of minivans and sedans - furthermore, they are built into a very stiff frame that doesn't have much give. The net result is a car that is considerably more likely to inflict severe injury or death toward pedestrians and drivers outside the car, yet remarkably enough also reduces the safety of the people inside the car. SUVs may make people feel safe - in this sense, they are "the triumph of marketing over engineering". If you're interested in protection, a heavy, single frame car that stays lower to the ground is probably your best bet (though you will risk some injury when and SUV hits you up high and circumvents some of your buffering, a heavy frame and a vastly lower probability of rolling will offset this for a net gain in safety). It's also preferable when your increase in safety doesn't come at the expense of people outside your car (though, like I said earlier, SUVs don't really increase safety for their occupants).