Are SUV's safe? What is a safe vehicle?

[DCW]

A

friend of mine was in a smash up, she was hit from behind (a very common accordance in Houston) by some dick in a

pickup truck (another common accordance in Houston).
She is now wondering what to buy, since she kinda road shy

now because of the accident.



DCW

[Pancho1188]

Volvos are some of the safest

vehicles. You could probably drive off a cliff and still walk away unscathed...the things are tanks. They have the

strongest construction hands down because of the materials they use. However, you pay for safety and they aren't

known for their style (or other things I'm sure people would criticize).

SUVs are safe but both expensive and

fuel hungry. With gasoline prices...it adds up.

If you want your car stolen, get a Honda Civic or a Toyota...I

can't remember the type but they're among the top stolen vehicles every year.

Since my uncle worked for GM for

35 years, I guess I have to plug American cars. I always liked the Cavalier. Safe, sensible, and gets you from A

to B effectively. The Tracker is also a nice combination of size, style, and safety. Actually, I miss my

Tracker... :)

Ford...despited the Explorer debacle a while ago, is known for its durability. The 'built Ford

tough' slogan might have been a big plug for that, though.


Other than that, I'm not a big car buff. All I

know is that if I get a new car, it's going to be a GM one because I believe I get a big discount. :)

[belgareth]

I am driving my second Ford

Explorer and love it. Nice and heavy, a good solid feel on the road, even on ice. A friend drives a Taurus and my

Explorer weighs about 800 pounds more.

About four years ago a woman in a Mercedes pulled out in front of me in

the rain. I hit the right rear quarter panel. It destroyed the quarter panel and the trunk lid, ripped the rear

bumper completely off the car. Total repair bill for the Mercedes was over $6,000! You had to look close to see the

damage to my right front bumper. Total repair cost was about $1,600.

The Explorer is built on the same frame as

the Ranger pick up. Twin I-beams run the entire length of it, from bumper to bumper. Some SUV's are built on car

frames: Lexus, Cadillac etc. and really aren't any stronger than a car. My Explorer also has 4 wheel anti-lock disc

brakes that were designed for stopping while pulling a 2,000 pound trailer. It stops real good!

You do have the

question of roll-over but that is just how you drive it. It has a high center of gravity so don't expect it to

corner like a sports car.

[HK45Mark23]

I am

driving my second Ford Explorer and love it. Nice and heavy, a good solid feel on the road, even on ice. A friend

drives a Taurus and my Explorer weighs about 800 pounds more.

About four years ago a woman in a Mercedes pulled

out in front of me in the rain. I hit the right rear quarter panel. It destroyed the quarter panel and the trunk

lid, ripped the rear bumper completely off the car. Total repair bill for the Mercedes was over $6,000! You had to

look close to see the damage to my right front bumper. Total repair cost was about $1,600.

The Explorer is built

on the same frame as the Ranger pick up. Twin I-beams run the entire length of it, from bumper to bumper. Some

SUV's are built on car frames: Lexus, Cadillac etc. and really aren't any stronger than a car. My Explorer also

has 4 wheel anti-lock disc brakes that were designed for stopping while pulling a 2,000 pound trailer. It stops real

good!

You do have the question of roll-over but that is just how you drive it. It has a high center of gravity

so don't expect it to corner like a sports car.
1 Poncho is correct about

Volvo. I sold them a few years ago. I saw the videos from the factory where people got caught under big rigs and

drug for several miles with no harm to the occupants. I also saw a woman who works at Volvo who she and her family

was skiing in Austria and got hit by a train and only had miner scrapes and a bruises. Very safe cars. As for the

Cadillac info that was stated above it is totally incorrect. I also worked at a Cadillac dealer and Cadillac is

made on the same frames as the GMC/Chevy Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Denali, etc. Also one based on the Chevy

Avalanche. These are true SUV’s. The only difference for the Cadillac SUV verses the Chevy/GMC base vehicle is

magna ride, full time variable all wheel drive, electronic variable magnetic ride, and a few trim enhancements. The

Denali is almost a Cadillac it is missing a few trim options and some of the ride enhancements. Hope this helps.





On thing is for

sure. Go with a SUV that is a real SUV on a Truck frame. This is a safer way to transport and is more stable on

Ice due to the extra weight and traction. No car or truck can stop better on ice they all have 4 wheel brakes but

it helps to get going if you have a 4 wheel drive. The way to determine stopping power in this case is lb. per. sq.

ft/” Or the weight of the vehicle and the tier contact patch. Most farm trucks have skinnier tires to focus the

weight over a small aria to cut through the mud or snow where wide tires like on a corvette mixed with its light

3200 lb weight make it slippery on ice and snow. Until we get to the duellies (I think I misspelled it) which have

four tires in the rear to maximize on traction with heavy loads. Any way.



HK45Mark23

[belgareth]

Sorry about the mis-info on the

caddie, it came from a source I should have questioned.

[DCW]

I keep hearing about SUV's rolling

in accidents. I saw on on it's side on a on ramp.
I guess the driver thought he was driving in Daytona when he

too the turn.



DCW

[HK45Mark23]

SUVs are like at truck or a van. Maybe a van is worse as far as rollovers. It does not take but 12

degrees to rollover a car I think, I can hardly remember. But anyway the real risk is long vans full of passengers.

If you have to swerve on the highway abruptly, (but not what you would thank of as recklessly) there chassis twists

changing the stability of the platform, also the weight shifts and the pendulum effect comes into play magnifying

any steering input. Then when you compensate for the reaction caused by the necessary aggressive input in order to

avoid a collision, the high volume passenger van will over correct causing a chain reaction that they say it is an

unbreakable formula. A bunch of church folk from my aria died in just such an accident. Granted, they were not young

and I believe a trained professional may have a chance to control the van. When you look at the info vans are highly

unsafe. Jeeps, Suburbans and full size vans have always been at higher risk for rollover. The reason SUVs are being

put on car frames now is to give a false since of security, both economical and physical. Better economy and higher

safety due to the more care like height, ride and handling characteristics. I believe (MHO) that this is a fraud. A

mass in the air causes more leverage and higher center of gravity. This is why Lamborghinis Ferraris and Corvettes

sit on the ground and have a centrally located engine and transmission/ transaxle. If you want to take a cloverleaf

ramp at 95 – 106 you can (and I have). Basically any car can flip and do every day. A car that is really a 4x4

station wagon riding high will turn over easier and things like suburbans are at much higher risk even yet but don’t

ride in a full loaded passenger van on the highway.



HK45Mark23

[DCW]

She was thinking of a pickup truck

because of extended rear, but a car is easier to maneuver around acidents.
I think a Toyota Camary is a good

choice because it's a good car and it's bigger than the Corrola and other small cars, plus I'm told that they

have some good safety features.


DCW

[HK45Mark23]

The Toyota is a good and

reliable car with good safty
ratings low

maintenance.



HK45Mark23

[real_wiseman]

I have only one word for

you:


HUMMER...

If I ever get rich I want one too...

// w

[DCW]

She now tells me that she is

considering the Honda CRV.

[belgareth]

Suggest she look at Subaru.

Well built, great handling and reasonably priced. I owned one once and a couple of my friends do now. They are nice

cars.