Comments on: EU 2020 CO2 Reduction Standards Will Save Drivers Big Money

By: Tom G.

Tom G. — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 14:30:00 +0000

DK:

As the old saying goes; it is not the speed that kills but the sudden stop. If you look at the human body and the G forces that occur when you run into an object; you are probably NOT going to survive most accidents if your speed is above about 40-50 mph. Here is a website where you can plug in different data that will show what happens as you apply more vehicle weight, more speed, more crush zone and etc. Enjoy.

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/carcr.html#cc1

By: Matthew Todd Peffly

Matthew Todd Peffly — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:07:00 +0000

DK, you need to do a little research on design. Yes it take effort to make a car safer. But mass does not by definition equal safe, it does equal more damage to thing you hit. In the US truck are get to skip many safely rule on cars. They weight more, but if you look at the data are much less safe. Compare a car build in 1940 with one build in 2010, the 1940 car would weight a lot more, do you really think it would be safer.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 08:28:00 +0000

There is a new steel processing that is being used which makes steel very much stronger. That means that less can be used (a weight saver) while maintaining or even increasing crash resistance.

I’ve forgotten the process but I think it has to do with rapidly cooling the steel rather than letting it cool off ‘naturally’.

That’s one of the ways weight can be cut without increasing danger to occupants.

Another approach is to use aluminum for door exteriors, hoods and trunks. These play little to no role in passenger safety so weight reductions do not place occupants at more risk.

By: Ronald Brakels

Ronald Brakels — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 02:28:00 +0000

How did the decline in the mass of US cars after the oil shocks of the 70s work out for you? Any surge in autodeaths as a result? I don’t know what it’s like in the US, but in Australia big heavy vehicles such as the Mitsubishi Express, Mahindra Pik-up, Holden Colarado, Nissan Navara, and Nissan Patrol are all in our top ten least safe vehicles with the Misubishi Express and Mahindra Pik-up being the worst.

By: Russell

Russell — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 01:03:00 +0000

Yes, making cars more efficient sure has to be one of the better “cheaper than free” environmental initiatives. As far as I am aware, new car buyers don’t take lifetime running costs into consideration properly, meaning a “market failure” where everyone loses. For a given country its the new car buyers that entirely decide what cars come in, the second hand buyers just buy whats already there. If someone with a lot of spare cash buys a SUV, all the future owners waste money driving it as well.

Where there is irrationality there is also opportunity however, and even without standards, some kind of green finance scheme should work. i.e. you find a new car buyer who has the opportunity to spend $3K upfront to save $10K fuel cost over the lifetime of the vehicle but is not going to, and you offer them the extra $3K in return for some of their fuel savings. The scheme would make money, the owner would save some, everyone should win. It would of course be practically difficult as the cost saving payment arrangement would have to be sold with the car when the first owner upgraded.

By: Russell

Russell — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 00:55:00 +0000

OK but as has been pointed out, if cars have to meet safety standards, then surely that is the end of the story, they are safe. You don’t need to understand how they meet the standard, the whole point of a standard is that if it is met then you can trust it.

By: jburt56

jburt56 — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 21:12:00 +0000

They had the technology to do 100 mpg in the 1940s.

By: Marshall Harris

Marshall Harris — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 20:42:00 +0000

In the book “Reinventing Fire”, the author goes into detail about carbon fiber materials. I am not very proficient on the subject but basically, more weight does not equal more safety. These lightweight materials have actually been found to be even stronger than the heavy stuff.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:53:00 +0000

Lighter weight materials do not necessarily mean less safe vehicles. All vehicles will still have to meet safety requirements.

We used to build very heavy cars. And they were not very safe at all. Those metal dashboards with sharp edges. No crumple zones. No side impact barriers.

The trick is to find strong materials which weigh less. That and good design will insure safety.

By: DK

DK — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:42:00 +0000

Before deleting my comment, how about letting your readers answer a couple of simple questions?

1) Do you think automakers will use more lightweight materials in autos in order to improve fuel efficiency? Why or why not?

2) If so, does this make autos less safe? Why or why not?

Let’s have an open and honest discussion.

By: DK

DK — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:36:00 +0000

Unfortunately, one of the ways automakers will improve gas mileage is by using lighter weight materials. This will make cars less safe in case of a crash. I wonder how many lives will be lost because of this.