26th Feb 2007, 17:39
I guess it would take a stunt driver to keep an Exploder on it's wheels if someone had to make an abrupt maneuver in it.
26th Feb 2007, 19:34
To a good driver a rollover is TOTALLY PREDICTABLE. If a person doesn't know the handling characteristics of an automobile, they should never be given a license to drive one.
26th Feb 2007, 19:36
Talk about TWISTING FACTS!! Where on Earth did anyone come up with the idea that SUV roofs (solid steel) are more prone to crushing than a CANVAS CONVERTIBLE TOP!!!
27th Feb 2007, 07:49
The Ford Explorer, for example, will crush its own roof when it rolls over, indicating it CANNOT hold its own weight when turned upside down.
Convertibles sold in America must have WINDSHIELDS that hold 2 1/2 times the weight of the car.
27th Feb 2007, 07:55
100% untrue since SUVs have UNPREDICTABLE roll overs that mean the driver is NOT dealing with a vehicle that can be normally controlled.
This is what killed the Corvair - its design caused it to behave in an UNPREDICTABLE manner that killed its occupants.
And with SUVs you get the added benefit of have inadequate safety features!
27th Feb 2007, 08:54
Lets put the argument to rest. There are too many people on the forum who just say things and do not back them up.
Directly from the insurance institute.
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/frontal_test_info.html
While I do not have a small car, I do believe that SUV/trucks pose a big hazard for small cars. A big box frame on a truck with a gross weight of 8600lbs is no contest against any car weighing less. So the argument using a Honda or Toyota is bogus. You could just as easily say a Pontiac or Ford, or whatever car company of your choice.
27th Feb 2007, 12:08
11:10 will have to explain why I saw a Land Cruiser racing a Lexus at over 90 mph on the highway last week.
You will also have to explain why people DO drive their SUVs like sports cars in the REAL WORLD.
27th Feb 2007, 12:48
That's what your point was buddy. That steel structure only does so much when you have the weight of the vehicle coming down on its roof, its not going to hold up and protect you all the time. I'd take the car that'll stay on all four wheels and crumple over flipping my SUV.
27th Feb 2007, 13:47
Sorry, but passenger cars are build DIFFERENTLY than SUVs and don't crumple into a pile of steel if they flip over, unlike SUVs like the Explorer. Cars have to pass STRICTER safety guidelines than SUVs, and you can thank Congress for that.
Just more proof of what these death traps can do.
27th Feb 2007, 15:59
This term "inadequate safety features" just keeps being thrown out regarding SUV's. Just WHAT "inadequate" safety features please??? None of our SUV's is lacking in any feature our cars have.
27th Feb 2007, 16:06
Ha ha, the Master of Obfuscation strikes again! He has clearly lost the "Toyota is safer than an SUV" crash argument, so once again deftly switches tactics to the "but that won't protect you in a rollover" argument. Hilarious! Gotta be practicing for law school, and just likes to argue.
27th Feb 2007, 20:43
Wow all this SUV banter, What does this have anything to do with the car being reviewed? If you are shopping for a SUV go to that review. Talk about beating an irrevelant topic to death spent some wasted time reading all this...
27th Feb 2007, 21:10
I've actually only witnessed one SUV rollover. It was a late 90's Explorer and it veered off an interstate and rolled over twice. The driver was drunk and not wearing his seatbelt. The roof did not cave in and the guy was not hurt at all.
27th Feb 2007, 21:22
Well, if you KNOW your car has a higher center of gravity, and you KNOW that makes it more prone to roll over, I'd have to say that makes it pretty predictable behavior. Just don't put it in situations where the high center of gravity will cause it to roll over. That's obvious.
28th Feb 2007, 09:57
These posts just get funnier!
Now you're saying that roll over is a predictible behavior, meaning the vehicle will always roll over in a set way regardless of the circumstance.
28th Feb 2007, 13:08
Gee whiz 21:10.
I witnessed an Explorer roll over when ALL occupants were wearing their seatbelts and the roof caved in and all three were killed.
Or was that one of the Explorers without the safety option?
28th Feb 2007, 16:31
Yes, I am saying a vehicle will ALWAYS roll over in a particular set of circumstances. According to the laws of physics (which is obviously not an import owner's strong suit) when a mass reaches a certain distance off vertical, gravity and centrifugal force will cause it to continue moving over. That's very basic. If you know your vehicle you will know when that point is about to be reached and avoid tipping over. I've yet to see an SUV just driving down the road that just "decided" to flip over. It takes a nut behind the wheel to accomplish that feat.
1st Mar 2007, 07:43
16:31 obviously has done zero research into this topic and did not see the Frontline special on SUVs.
And he also needs to learn more about physics and how rolls overs are NOT predictable. A driver of an SUV does NOT know how the vehicle will respond in an emergency situation since it is UNPREDICTABLE, unlike a car.
He may also wish to do research into the Corvair and learn why Ralph Nader harped on the car. Again, using the poster's logic the Corvair's "pendulum problem" was predicatable. HMMMM, tell that to Ernie Kovacs.
1st Mar 2007, 18:21
There were pictures on TV last week of an accident where a woman in an early model Explorer ran off the interstate at 70mph and rolled over 7 times. The roof DID NOT cave in (even after SEVEN rolls) and all she got was bumps and bruises. She WAS wearing a seat belt.
2nd Mar 2007, 13:33
Again, the Corvair roll over risk WAS predictable. If the tire pressures were not within a very strict range and a sudden maneuver was attempted, the rear suspension had no limiter to keep the swing axle from acting like a pole vaulter and flipping the car. This was obvious to car entusiasts from the advent of the 1960 Corvair. Sadly, the Corvair was done in by the bad publicity even though the entire rear suspension was redesigned in 1964 and the car became a great handling and sporty compact.
26th Feb 2007, 08:08
17:36 keeps posting the same disinformation on every board, and every time is proven wrong.
Sorry, but when the LAWS OF PHYSICS take over and the HIGH center of gravity causes your vehicle to behave in a NONpredictable manner, I don't care if you're Michel Schumacher you ain't gonna be able to control it.
As for the comment about SUVs being safe in a roll over, try looking at the FACTS. SUVs have WEAKER roofs than even a convertible windshield (which by law must hold 2 1/2 times it weight). So if the roll over itself doesn't kill your occupants the roof crashing in on you will.
These are FACTS from crash statistics.