Stock market crash now followed by an adequate scandal test?

[goldj]

Rebellion of the giants: US institute badmouths Japanese small cars

The phantom of protectionism has been floating around for quite a while. Apparently it is official now: the renowned US-American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), specialised in crash tests, had three opponents of different middle class brands running each against the smallest of their family members in a frontal crash. The crash tests were carried out at a rate of 40 miles per hour (64 kilometres per hour). What?s really weird is that there was no single US-model among all tested cars.

Japanese manufacturers and here particularly Toyota have been very successful in the US car market in the last few years introducing a lot of compact and small cars. Toyota meanwhile is the market leader in the US. The new trend towards fuel efficient cars seems to boost sales of small cars, also in the US. Should this trend now come to an end? It seems to because of a scandal crash test!

Of course, 40 miles per hour (64 kilometres per hour) does not seem fast. But if two vehicles collide at that rate the impact corresponds in total to a speed of 80 miles per hour (130 kilometres per hour) ? undamped and with full impact. Especially if cars are chosen that differ dramatically in dimensions, e.g. a small car colliding with a medium-class vehicle, the smaller one will almost unavoidably come off badly. The present standardized crash tests of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Euro- and US NCAP as well as the IIHS have the frontal offset crash with 35 to 40 miles per hour (56 kilometres per hour/ 64 kilometres per hour) on a deformable or rigid barrier as the most ambitious crash test configurations. So this current crash test means a doubling of the standard crash speed on the one side, as two vehicles are involved each with a rate of 40 miles per hour (64 kilometres per hour). On the other side it implies an increase of energy potential by up to 100 percent when different-sized vehicle crash. This energy needs to be absorbed by the car, too.

The catch is: This kind of serious accident, chosen by the IIHS, only happens very rarely in reality. According to statistics, it applies to less than 0.05 percent of all accidents in the US (NHTSA 2007). The rest ? the lion?s share - are accidents happening at far lower rates. Besides, frontal crashes with an accommodating car also don?t belong to the kind of accident occurring very often: American statistics name a share of 2.4 percent. Much more frequent are rear end collisions or accidents in which no other party is involved. The number of casualties in the US is, however, still on a terrifyingly high level. Experts give a number of reasons: The percentage of US-passengers using a safety belt has increased a little in the last years, but still isn?t comparable to the level in Japan or Europe. The low rate of driver assistance systems like ESP (Electronic Stability Program) specially compared to Japan and Europe. Last but not least the above average amount of vehicles having simple ladder frame constructions, e.g. the formerly most favourite car of the Americans ? the pickup ? is based on simple truck chassis. Hence in case of an accident they do not collapse at first but the occupants are affected too heavily by the negative acceleration. And this can lead to fatal inner injuries.

By contrast Japanese or European cars: Their elaborate safety concepts ward off many accident-configurations, in case accidents occur at all. For the active safety system is advanced too: That ranges from ABS and ESP to automatic full braking.

An unintentional full braking is, what the US car manufacturers experienced within the official car registrations during the last months. The huge and thirsty cars of the big three Ford, GM and Chrysler found and keep finding less and less buyers, neither in the USA nor elsewhere in the world. Even US drivers have developed a preference for compact and economical vehicles from Japanese and European manufacturers. Even small cars which were an absolute No Go in the US before, celebrate great successes here today.

So what was more obvious than to arrange a spectacular test with two Hondas (Accord vs. Fit) and two Toyotas (Camry vs. Yaris) ? and as the icing on the cake ? a Smart running against a Merc C-Class. Of course with a speed that would ensure the most suitable photos. Protectionism in purest culture ? or how else can it be explained, that no American car was even near the crash hall?

This test is not about facts ? it is about underlining latent prejudices: Bigger has to be better.

[Submariner]

Spam?

[giant_mtb]

Spam?

Why?  It's legitimately automotive related and he's not posting any links to any petitions or anything.

[Northlands]

Spam or one hell of a first post... 

[ChrisV]

Why?  It's legitimately automotive related and he's not posting any links to any petitions or anything.

No intro and just a copy/paste from somewhere else with no personal viewpoint. Probably never see them again.