Jerry P. Hirshberg, Nissan’s retired president of North American design, once stated that when “Europeans think about safety, they think about a light, agile car” — much like the one pictured on the left. However, the “American image of safety is put a tank around me, get as much mass as possible and let Isaac Newton work his magic” (Bradsher, 2002; p. 107).
Of course, not all Americans think that way. But those of us who gravitate toward a European sensibility are at a potentially fatal disadvantage if our delightfully agile small car fails to avoid a collision with a large truck or SUV.
Also see ‘Will history repeat itself by punishing automakers for their big SUV binge?‘
RE:SOURCES
- Bradsher, Keith; 2002. High and Mighty: SUVs — The World’s Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got that Way. Public Affairs, New York, NY.
l’ve owned an ’84 Delta 88 and a ’12 Scion tc for about 3 years each. Liked them both. If l had to choose one to live with for the rest of my life, it would be the Olds.
But most of my cars were in the “middle” size-wise. Ford Granada, AMC Hornet, Chevy Lumina,3 Monte Carlos, ’97 Buick Century, ’00 Regal and a “daily-driver” ’64 Studebaker Commander.
The ’07 Monte Carlo (3500 V6) was one of my 2 favourites (the other was the ’84 Delta 88). It handled very well, got great gas mileage, (especially hiway) decent performance when needed, comfortable, attractive looks with “new” ’06/’07 nose.
ANYWAY, l don’t want an NSU Prinz, but l don’t want a ’58 Lincoln either. My ideal “car” considering EVERYTHING, would be a V6 Nissan Frontier if they still have the V6. Sorta likely. Maybe.
That makes sense. I don’t see this as a one-size-fits-all situation. My general tendency has been to own smaller cars, but for a while a van fit my needs better. My Prius V is a size larger than my Kia Rio because it’s a more useful camping vehicle. All that said, it is interesting how European driving habits can be so different than here in the United States.
I personally am in the agile category of preference and always have been.
Yet, I think the European vs American sentiment needs to be further examined. My take is that the Europeans went through 2 World Wars that decimated their economies and their infrastructures. Pre-WWII there were large size European cars of the same level as the Americans from multiple countries. Post WWII these all but vanished as most countries imposed engine limits by taxation along with high gasoline taxes. These acts further skewed the market for those that could afford such extravagence.
The question is to what extent did these impositions by the European countries change what the general public would have desired? As their economic circumstances improved would they have been much more in line with the American sizing?
I’ll spitball a quick answer to your question: I suspect that Europe would still have tilted toward smaller and more agile cars for a handful of reasons, such as considerably greater investments in mass transit than in the US, a greater political willingness to tax fuels at much higher levels, and much larger portions of their urban centers that were developed before the automobile (so are less compatible with big cars).
I also get the impression that at least some European countries have much more extensive driver-training programs, which arguably encourages active rather than passive safety. For example, in France driving lessons are required to run from 13 to 20 hours — and reportedly will more typically take up to 25 hours. Experienced American drivers have expressed surprise at the difficulty of the training.
No matter what, and I’ve said this many times to many people, idiot drivers think that all the safety features in the world will protect them from the laws of physics… Yep, sure ‘nuf.
CJ, l’d be satisfied if the safety features are useful, in real-world circumstances, to protect me and my family from the idiots.
As for their own stupidity – well…”survival of the fittest”.
I want an agile vehicle, but I know some drivers are more dangerous in a nimble car as they “over-react”. My wife, on the otherhand, preferred tanks (albeit Freightliners !)h