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We are shopping for a car my daughter will eventually go to college with. My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved

We are shopping for a car my daughter will eventually go to college with. My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved driving when I was in college But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Probably a CRV though maybe we can try and make electric car work in our budget but we will see. The irony is that we would have gotten a more efficient car, except for the weight disadvantage and safety concerns because we are now pitted against electric cars that weigh so much.

hattar 3y ago
Right thought, but I suspect wrong reason. You’ve been competing with “light” trucks on the roads for a couple decades that weigh the same or more than your average Tesla. Factor in that they have worse driver visibility, higher bumper height, and make up about 20% of the vehicles on the road and you have a much more concerning threat.
kylebenzle 3y ago
Have you seen the spiked lug nuts truckers are using on their wheels now? I love that Americans are going full Mad Max on their vehicles choices and it won't be long until we all have these projecting spikes, front end people crushers and heavy as possible vehicles. This winter I started driving around with a 1/4 ton of gravel in the back of my F150 just to help counter other larger trucks. Reduces handling a little but if I do get in a crash the other f150 or smaller vehicle will be toast :)
WarOnPrivacy 3y ago
> My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved driving when I was in college...But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, I can't judge. It's mostly on me that my son's first car was a 1989 Cadillac Brougham. His daily driver now is a 1963 Dart but he's looking for another Brougham.
- nytesky 3y ago
  Haha, my mom got me a 1983 Cadillac brougham for my first car. The land yacht did 0-60 in TWELVE SECONDS. Obv I never tried passing.
shafyy 3y ago
As a Western European, it's crazy to me that the public transportation and road systems are so fucked up in the US that 1) Kids need a car to go college 2) When buying a car, an important criteria is how heavy it is so that if it's in crash, hopefully the other person dies and not you. Of course, no matter what will happen to cyclists or pedestrian when hit by your fuck ton killing machine
- pclmulqdq 3y ago
  Weight of the car is not as big of a factor as people think. Per the IIHS, the size of crumple zones actually may have more impact than the weight: https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight That might suggest that a car like a Tesla which is very heavy but can't crush very much thanks to the battery has an unclear safety benefit, but a truck does. Realistically, practically nobody is going to get into a fatal crash anyway, though, so if you honestly attempt to price the difference in safety, you may come out to a few dollars. Certainly not enough to justify buying an SUV over a civic.
  - nytesky 3y ago
    Literally the first line: A bigger, heavier vehicle provides better crash protection than a smaller, lighter one, assuming no other differences between them Sure we want a car with crumble zones and airbags, but physics really comes into play: when a car weighs 3x as much as yours, in a collision you will be suddenly accelerating backwards. Brain injury at the very least is highly possible. A Tesla X weighs as much as a Chevy Tahoe - and while large SUVs are fairly common they usually smaller like highlanders and the like. It’s fine to price the probability low, but when you are dealing with extremely high consequences to your children, it’s hard to have a dispassionate view of the probabilities.
  - shafyy 3y ago
    Be that as it may, looking at the comments here, this is clearly not how people make purchasing decisions.
- tzs 3y ago
icegreentea2 3y ago
What does your daughter think? She's the one whos going to need to gas up and park the thing. What about the extra 5-7k the CRV would cost? Do you think she'd prefer to spend that cash another way?
- Symbiote 3y ago
  $5000 is a long trip to Europe and/or one to Central America (adjust to taste). Or, not needing a weekend job while studying.
delecti 3y ago
All modern cars do a very good job protecting the driver, at the car's expense, so I'm not sure any of that really makes all that much sense.
scythe 3y ago
>But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Part of the problem is that liability coverage hasn't risen appropriately with medical costs and the danger created by personal trucks. https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/18/why-car-insurance-in-america-is-actually-too-cheap https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/18/why-car-i...
latchkey 3y ago
> then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Sounds like an arms race. They have bigger guns, so we need EVEN BIGGERER GUNS.

hattar 3y ago

Right thought, but I suspect wrong reason. You’ve been competing with “light” trucks on the roads for a couple decades that weigh the same or more than your average Tesla. Factor in that they have worse driver visibility, higher bumper height, and make up about 20% of the vehicles on the road and you have a much more concerning threat.

kylebenzle 3y ago

Have you seen the spiked lug nuts truckers are using on their wheels now? I love that Americans are going full Mad Max on their vehicles choices and it won't be long until we all have these projecting spikes, front end people crushers and heavy as possible vehicles. This winter I started driving around with a 1/4 ton of gravel in the back of my F150 just to help counter other larger trucks. Reduces handling a little but if I do get in a crash the other f150 or smaller vehicle will be toast :)

WarOnPrivacy 3y ago

> My first instinct was to get a Honda Civic which was nicely in our budget and I loved driving when I was in college...But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, I can't judge. It's mostly on me that my son's first car was a 1989 Cadillac Brougham. His daily driver now is a 1963 Dart but he's looking for another Brougham.

nytesky 3y ago
Haha, my mom got me a 1983 Cadillac brougham for my first car. The land yacht did 0-60 in TWELVE SECONDS. Obv I never tried passing.

shafyy 3y ago

As a Western European, it's crazy to me that the public transportation and road systems are so fucked up in the US that 1) Kids need a car to go college 2) When buying a car, an important criteria is how heavy it is so that if it's in crash, hopefully the other person dies and not you. Of course, no matter what will happen to cyclists or pedestrian when hit by your fuck ton killing machine

pclmulqdq 3y ago
Weight of the car is not as big of a factor as people think. Per the IIHS, the size of crumple zones actually may have more impact than the weight: https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight https://www.iihs.org/topics/vehicle-size-and-weight That might suggest that a car like a Tesla which is very heavy but can't crush very much thanks to the battery has an unclear safety benefit, but a truck does. Realistically, practically nobody is going to get into a fatal crash anyway, though, so if you honestly attempt to price the difference in safety, you may come out to a few dollars. Certainly not enough to justify buying an SUV over a civic.
- nytesky 3y ago
  Literally the first line: A bigger, heavier vehicle provides better crash protection than a smaller, lighter one, assuming no other differences between them Sure we want a car with crumble zones and airbags, but physics really comes into play: when a car weighs 3x as much as yours, in a collision you will be suddenly accelerating backwards. Brain injury at the very least is highly possible. A Tesla X weighs as much as a Chevy Tahoe - and while large SUVs are fairly common they usually smaller like highlanders and the like. It’s fine to price the probability low, but when you are dealing with extremely high consequences to your children, it’s hard to have a dispassionate view of the probabilities.
- shafyy 3y ago
  Be that as it may, looking at the comments here, this is clearly not how people make purchasing decisions.
tzs 3y ago

icegreentea2 3y ago

What does your daughter think? She's the one whos going to need to gas up and park the thing. What about the extra 5-7k the CRV would cost? Do you think she'd prefer to spend that cash another way?

Symbiote 3y ago
$5000 is a long trip to Europe and/or one to Central America (adjust to taste). Or, not needing a weekend job while studying.

delecti 3y ago

All modern cars do a very good job protecting the driver, at the car's expense, so I'm not sure any of that really makes all that much sense.

scythe 3y ago

>But then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Part of the problem is that liability coverage hasn't risen appropriately with medical costs and the danger created by personal trucks. https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/18/why-car-insurance-in-america-is-actually-too-cheap https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/18/why-car-i...

latchkey 3y ago

> then I realized how much heavier cars have gotten, and how much of a disadvantage they are in a collision so we will be getting a heavier car. Sounds like an arms race. They have bigger guns, so we need EVEN BIGGERER GUNS.