-
We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.
Surprise, surprise . . . SUV not safer . . . merely more polluting
Page 4 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
Well I'm on my 2nd Acura (2003 TL-S) and it was a great purchase. If you really feel unsafe in your TL maybe you need a driving course. Admittedly, you aren't the first person I've heard complain about the TL. Then again, you did buy a vehicle in its first year after a redesign . . . kinda asking for it 'eh?
It's great your wife is pleased with her vehicle (according to JD Power most people are) . . . then again nobody in their right mind would drive even an AWD Pacifica the same way they would a TL6spd.
When it comes to overall safety ratings, there's scarcely a hair's worth of difference (NHTSA) between the Acura TL, Chrysler Pacifica, and Acura TSX. Which is pretty impressive considering the Pacifica(FWD) has 1000lbs on the TL and 1300 lbs on the TSX.
The takehome is that vehicles can be engineered to maximize certain characteristics: safety (all conditions), fuel economy, speed, maneuverability, curb appeal, avoidance of CAFE. It's up to consumers to make informed decisions BEFORE they purchase but industry should be held responsible for false and misleading claims.
Volvo chooses to maximize the safety of their vehicles in every class and under all conditions. Honda/Acura isn't quite in Volvo's class . . . then again nobody is when it comes to improving overall safety (passenger, other vehicles, and pedestrians).
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
This sort of selfishness I have at least some sympathy for - it's the ridiculous 'I need an SUV because I want a safe vehicle' crowd that gets me, when there is ample proof that if they really needed a safe vehicle, they would not be buying something built on a truck frame. Period.
Corn
Diamond Member
BBD, how is a driving course going to correct a persistant vibration that has been so bad as to require wheel bearings and shocks at 29,000 miles? This is the unsafe driving condition to which I refer. My car is a POS and Acura's response has been "its a normal characteristic of this car". Many people have asked me about my car, inquiring because they were considering purchase as well. I've done my part to warn them off.
BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
Dude, you got the lemon. Even excellent car models have an occasional dud come off the line. It's a shame Acura hasn't been a better merchant. I've owned at least one Acura for over a decade. The vehicles have been uniformly great and the service has been outstanding (except for one bad service rep but she's gone now).
I went from a lightly modified GSR, to a ridiculously modified Subaru WRX (400hp/AWD), to a highly modified TL-S. The 3rd gen TL is a smooth ride in comparison to these vehicles, although the A-Spec rides a touch rougher. Sounds like you need to report them to the BBB.
Starbuck1975
Lifer
Because liberals and Democrats don't drive SUVs :roll: I encounter just as many SUVs with Kerry/Edwards stickers as I do Bush/Cheney stickers, and this is over a year after the 2004 election.
Monster truck SUVs are not a Republican or conservative exclusive preference...it is an example of America's gluttonous, status symbol culture...ten years ago, the modest minivan served the role of the giant Suburban in the American family household.
I hate giant sized SUVs...anything above the size of say a Honda CR-V or Nissan XTerra is overkill, unless you have a legitimate need for such power in your line of work or the environment in which you live...there is no justification for H2s in McMansionland.
Zebo
Elite Member
Car Spam - problem is SUV don't hit stationary brick walls but other cars. Get's pretty nasty for the car usually due to mass differences..most of you have had physics should'nt be too hard to do the math of a inelastic collision between 6500 lbs and 3000 lbs head on at 50.
I did it for my truck which is 8K - the truck will continue at 40 while car is doing - 40 after collision. i.e. truck hit a virtual brick wall at 10MPH. Car hit one at 90MPH. Which you rather be in?
I did it for my truck which is 8K - the truck will continue at 40 while car is doing - 40 after collision. i.e. truck hit a virtual brick wall at 10MPH. Car hit one at 90MPH. Which you rather be in?
Yadda, Yadda, Yadda......
I'll own and drive what I want thank-you very much! We have a '04 Denali, a '04 Camary and a '00 Civic as well as a '97 Ford 1/2 ton pkup. Out of all of them I love driving the Denali and the pkup the most. Common sense leaves me driving the Camary to/from work because of fuel costs, but, when I have to take the whole family, like over the holidays or to an outing or to the lake with the boat, we take the Denali. It drives like a dream, rides like a dream, keeps the kids occupied in the back with DVD's, has traction control and of course the option for full AWD and no matter what those supposed studies found, there is NO way I feel safer in the Camary or Civic! It does not sit "high", has front, back and side curtain air bags and is not cramped for 5 people or more to ride in!
Each vehicle has it's use and place just as my pkup does when we go out to our family farm to hunt/fish but don't be hypocritcal and try to tell me what ican/should drive or shouldn't because I'll damn well drive what I please!
I'll own and drive what I want thank-you very much! We have a '04 Denali, a '04 Camary and a '00 Civic as well as a '97 Ford 1/2 ton pkup. Out of all of them I love driving the Denali and the pkup the most. Common sense leaves me driving the Camary to/from work because of fuel costs, but, when I have to take the whole family, like over the holidays or to an outing or to the lake with the boat, we take the Denali. It drives like a dream, rides like a dream, keeps the kids occupied in the back with DVD's, has traction control and of course the option for full AWD and no matter what those supposed studies found, there is NO way I feel safer in the Camary or Civic! It does not sit "high", has front, back and side curtain air bags and is not cramped for 5 people or more to ride in!
Each vehicle has it's use and place just as my pkup does when we go out to our family farm to hunt/fish but don't be hypocritcal and try to tell me what ican/should drive or shouldn't because I'll damn well drive what I please!
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
How safe you feel, and how safe you are, are not the same thing.
If the vehicle makes you feel safer, then good for you - it probably is safer than a civic, though I doubt it's safer than a Camry.
3chordcharlie
Diamond Member
It's also a rather inefficient vehicle and contributes to an unsustainable dependency on oil, but that's for another thread😛
BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
If the car beside you at an intersection rolls backwards you FEEL like you are rolling forwards. Perception is NOT reality.
Only a fool would put their child in a Denali or pickup truck instead of a safe passenger car. Obviously, if you want to go on a family outing and need to tow a boat, bikes, or jet skis . . . yeah you need something other than an Accord or Camry. If your towing needs are mild, then the best vehicles (safe and adequate towing) are in the class of the Chrysler Pacifica. If you run a lawncare business you "might" need a Silverado. If you need some dirt for your terrace, you probably need a Ridgeline.
There are exceptions though. I've already mentioned Volvo but IIRC Land Rover was the first SUV company to produce vehicles that met the same safety standards (side impact/roof strength) as cars.
In general, many of the newer SUVs and crossover vehicles have just as many safety features or are at least in the ballpark of cars. But most of the pre-2000 vehicles (SUV) sux . . . plain and simple.
Obviously, people should be free to buy whatever they want but it's only a matter of time before insurance companies start whacking people that make irresponsible (costly) choices.
Only a fool would put their child in a Denali or pickup truck instead of a safe passenger car. Obviously, if you want to go on a family outing and need to tow a boat, bikes, or jet skis . . . yeah you need something other than an Accord or Camry. If your towing needs are mild, then the best vehicles (safe and adequate towing) are in the class of the Chrysler Pacifica. If you run a lawncare business you "might" need a Silverado. If you need some dirt for your terrace, you probably need a Ridgeline.
There are exceptions though. I've already mentioned Volvo but IIRC Land Rover was the first SUV company to produce vehicles that met the same safety standards (side impact/roof strength) as cars.
In general, many of the newer SUVs and crossover vehicles have just as many safety features or are at least in the ballpark of cars. But most of the pre-2000 vehicles (SUV) sux . . . plain and simple.
Obviously, people should be free to buy whatever they want but it's only a matter of time before insurance companies start whacking people that make irresponsible (costly) choices.
LumbergTech
Diamond Member
here lies the irony of the smoking ban..why don't we increase the research of the effects that car exhaust has on the health of the public
BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
Ground level ozone (from both auto and industrial pollution) is REALLY bad for people with asthma. It's probably not all that great for typical people, either.
BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
Not really . . . there are indeed some weather phenomena that cause stratospheric ozone (the good place for it) to migrate downwards . . . but most of the ground level ozone in the industrialized world comes from industrial and vehicle emissions. It's kinda complicated but technically if there was no sunlight, we wouldn't have ground level ozone b/c it's formation is photochemically driven. But the nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from vehicles and industry create the substrate from which most ground level ozone is created.
TRENDING THREADS
-
Discussion Zen 5 Speculation (EPYC Turin and Strix Point/Granite Ridge - Ryzen 9000)- Started by DisEnchantment
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel Meteor, Arrow, Lunar & Panther Lakes + WCL Discussion Threads
- Started by Tigerick
- Replies: 25K
-
Discussion Intel current and future Lakes & Rapids thread- Started by TheF34RChannel
- Replies: 24K
-
-
