Ford & Dodge pickups sucked a$$ in NHTSA crash testing, Toyota Tundra comes out on top :)

[SnoopCat]

wutta coincidience, my mom got into an accident today with a toyota tundra (my mom's fault), my mom's corolla hood is all jacked up and one of the front lights is gone, the tundra got away with a little scratch, a scratch so small the guy is not going to ask for repair.

 

[SuperTool]

The point is E=1/2*mv^2 is the energy of 1 vehicle:
The energy of 2 vehicles moving with 1/2 the speed is
2*1/2*m(v/2)^2 = 1/4 mv^2= 1/2E.
So even if both trucks absorb all the energy and don't bounce off, there is less energy to be absorbed.
Am I confused about mechanics? I haven't done any since AP physics in 9th grade, which seems like ages ago.

 

[ElFenix]

its not v^2 for kinetic energy, i think. its been a while and i sold back my textbook, but i think its just 1/2 mv.

 

[SithSolo1]

Does this mean my dad bought me a $30K accordion?

 

[Tiger]

Thanks for the links. I stand corrected. It still seems to me like the engineers are over reacting to a problem and could cause more problems with inadvertant "hood bag" deployments. Oh well, gotta keep those engineers employed whether they're needed or not.

It's been a while since I've done any mechanics also but it seems like common sense that there's a significant difference between the anount of energy transfered, and thus damage caused, between two identical vehicles in an offset crash and an offset crash with a static barrier.

BOOne,
Around here (Iowa), 95% of the people with pickups do use them for work and not as commuters. I also take exception to your sterotypical portrayal of pickup owners. If it was said in jest then fine, but if you really believe that crap I'd suggest you get out and meet some people. Or, I suppose I could cut loose with a few European sterotypes to see how you like it.