17th Mar 2007, 11:25
Acura's are great cars; ALL with 5 star safety ratings, and it doesn't matter whether the truck she hit was a domestic or not.
Did she rear end the truck? How fast was she going? What are the circumstances of the accident? No offense meant to anyone lost in an accident, but it's not the fault of the Acura she was driving. Cars don't wreck themselves, the driver has control; and an Acura has every necessary safety feature, and then some.
What other car of the same size do you think would have made the outcome any different? Probably none. Smashing the front end of any smaller car into a truck means that the impact will be at frame height, or from behind, right into the hitch, bumper, and probably right into the differential. Any car will lose that one.
17th Mar 2007, 18:31
"I was lucky enough to test drive one of the last available ones in my town"
You considering driving a Honda fit lucky? Imagine the day you drive your first BMW or Lincoln or anything larger than a box for that matter.
18th Mar 2007, 10:02
Yet another poster who has never driven or probably even seen a Fit yet thinks he knows it all when it comes to how 'inferior" the Fit is.
Sorry, but the Fit easily outhandles ANY Lincoln and can hold its own with a BMW. I know, I've owned numerous BMWs and test drove the Fit. Yeah, it's front wheel drive, but it's a blast to drive.
18th Mar 2007, 18:04
"showed that a Honda Civic was much safer than a full size SUV/pickup in deaths/injuries per mile."
You fail to take into account that many more full size pickups and SUV's are sold than Honda civics.
18th Mar 2007, 18:49
Totally irrelevant. Statistic was based on the INDIVIDUAL vehicle types involved, NOT the amount of vehicles on the road.
19th Mar 2007, 01:01
To 08:31:
I don't understand why you are getting so defensive.
I merely stated that one would be better off, in terms of security, with a bigger vehicle. I didn't have a H2 in mind.
Just saying for the price of a new Fit you could get a used Civic/Cobalt or even 4-banger Fusion.
And those 3 cars might not get as good a gas mileage, but still darn good enough.
I've been driven around in many of these tiny cars like the fit and it's scary. You don't want to be in an accident with one, period.
Just think what would happen to the passengers in a Scion xB
, "that has more room than a 7 series BMW", when it got hit front-side by a BMW 7 @ 65 mph.
Take an empty soda can, put some worms in it, and step your foot on it to find out.
19th Mar 2007, 11:39
Comment 18:49 has NOTHING TO DO with collisions BETWEEN small cars and SUV's. In those circumstances small cars = DEAD.
19th Mar 2007, 13:01
What, contradicting yourself again? A while ago you were saying how Ford was so terrible because the old Mustangs were death traps that would explode. Now you say that old Mustangs are safer than a new SUV? Too bad you have no proof to back up anything you say.
19th Mar 2007, 17:19
To comment 11:25, I have to agree that NO small car is safe in the type of collision I was referring to, but I was trying to point out that all the import hype about safety and "crumple zones" is pretty much irrelevant when talking about small vehicles hitting big vehicles.
In the accident I refer to our friend was driving in a blinding rainstorm and either hydroplaned or became disoriented and struck a Ford F-150 that had pulled over onto the service lane. The impact knocked the F-150 about 20 feet. Its driver was unhurt. In most such cases the smaller, low car will push underneath the truck and deflect the rear of the truck upward, driving underneath it.
I've seen two rather hilarious accidents where a Chevy Silverado ended up ON TOP of a nearly new Corvette, hurting no one and doing little damage, and another one where a Ranger ended up on top of a Firebird (likewise, little damage). In our friend's case (I am told, I did not see the cars after the accident) there was a low bar-type trailer hitch on the F-150 which caught the front of the car and literally pushed it back into the passenger compartment. The highway patrolman investigating the accident said the car "crumpled like an egg". It was estimated that she was going at 50-60mph at the time of impact.
Ironically, my wife had been in a very similar accident in 1999 where her 1998 Ford Explorer had been rear-ended (and knocked 30 feet) by a full-size GMC pickup. In that accident the much heavier, more rigid pickup's driver and passenger were unhurt. My wife's Explorer sustained so little damage that she was able to continue on to her intended destination in it after the police had investigated the accident. I have not the slightest doubt that had the man and his child in the GMC truck been driving a small car, they would have been killed.
20th Mar 2007, 08:41
Yes, just ignore real-world statistics as long as your wife was unhurt in her Ford Explorer, the KNOWN most unsafe vehicle on American roads today.
20th Mar 2007, 16:57
Just bought the last Road @ Track; they compared the Fit, Yaris sedan, and Versa. Here's what they came up with about the Fit:...
"you want to drive it because it looks neat. Then, after utilizing its fantastically thought out interior, you respect it for its usability. But in the end, it's the driving that wins you over, with sharp handling, an excellent gearbox, proper heel/toe pedal placement and a top notch interior. It's also the most fun to drive...
The Fit's rear "magic seat" is pure engineering genius...
You get in it and say, "yep, it's a Honda, all right"...
In real world handling, the Fit is the only one that elicits a desire to throw it at a highway entrance ramp with semi-reckless abandon...
(after comparing),...
We kept going back to the Fit...materials, fit and finish are a notch above the others."
Now, here's what surprised me; EPA mileage ratings put the Fit at 33/38, but the Fit tested gave an average of 28.5 mpg. Now, they admitted to running the hell out of it during testing, and it's not broken in, but still that surprised me. EPA puts the Yaris at 34/40, they averaged 32.3, and EPA puts the Versa at 30/34, they got 32.5 (best mileage of the group, and the Versa is technically a class in size above the other two, and has a 1.8, and not a 1.5 as the others do). Overall, they gave the Fit 1st place honors.
17th Mar 2007, 09:09
Proof please. Cite statistics rather than "my friend died" stories.
Research cited in BusinessWeek in Sept 2002 (a LONG time ago) showed that a Honda Civic was much safer than a full size SUV/pickup in deaths/injuries per mile.
And around here there is a big trial involving an old Mustang that hit a Ford Explorer. The Explorer rolled, its roof crashed in, and all occupants were killed. Driver of the Mustang escaped without injury.