Crash resistance and survivability and the e30

[Rockwool2117]

Car relativly unchanged from 1983-1992. How safe is this car, im already ugly. I dont want to become uglier in a wreck.

This is a 1959 Bel Air and a 2009 Chevy Malibu hitting partially head on...

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=4f0_1372004243

[noid]

E30 is 20+ years newer then the Bel air. FYI they had crumple zones in the 1980's unlike the late 50's.

[Rockwool2117]

Assuming over the years everyone drove like grandma, a few have been introduced into poles and houses. How exactly did your vehicle stand up to any impacts. Was the car wrecked. Bent frames, broken struts, crumpled rears ect.. 4 or 2 door, cabrillo. Cmon man what do you know other than obvious design implements.

[Stanley Rockafella]

My e30 is a great car, but I'm retiring it from dd status partially due to it's lack of crashworthiness. Heck, even in the 80's it wasnt' as good as a (now primitive) volvo 240.

Today's cars are not designed to be rebuilt after accidents. They are designed to crumple and to absorb the impact. E30's were built back when "strong" cars could be easily rebuilt after an accident with a bumper and a fender or two. Just browse this site and you'll hear of several injuries of e30 owners who claim the e30 "did it's job in protecting them" yet they are severly injured (doesnt' sound very safe to me at all!)

These days when someone has a car accident in a newer car, hardly do you ever hear of injuries of broken legs etc. like you did back in the day. These days occupants easily walk away from an accident with maybe a seat belt bruise at most.

I just dont' feel comfortable in a car that can easily harm me in an accident with it's lack of airbags and it's safety cage that's not designed to absorb much impact,rather transfer forces to it's occupants. Where I live, I am always in moving traffic and I just dont' feel safe with many of the other drivers on the road who are texting, and far too busy to actually engage in driving, and paying attention to the road and other drivers.

Thinkin of a late 90's Camry XLE. Call me boring, but I like it's reliability and durability (and v6 tq). Be kinda nice to have a car that has WORKING a'c in stop and go traffic

[mulletman]

I got over crash-worthiness a long time ago. About the same time I started riding motorcycles. I think of it the same way I view rubber bumpers from the 80's, when compared to the nice chrome pieces on British cars from the 60's. Just because it's called a bumper doesn't mean it's for bumping into things.

Don't crash. Drive what you want.

[Kevinl]

I got over crash-worthiness a long time ago. About the same time I started riding motorcycles. I think of it the same way I view rubber bumpers from the 80's, when compared to the nice chrome pieces on British cars from the 60's. Just because it's called a bumper doesn't mean it's for bumping into things.

Don't crash. Drive what you want.

X2

I might as well die in a crash if it means driving a Toyota Camry. An e36 would be a lot safer if you are worried about it. but life is too short to drive something lame to feel better about something that probably won't ever happen

[Rockwool2117]

Original triumph or bsa should be a crime to ride let alone wreck. So sexy... Those para twins are lovely. gotta love a nice set of twins. I also ride a bike, but the thing about driving a cage is the metal between pavement and other cars

[mulletman]

If you're willing to accept the risks of riding, then why not accept the theoretical risk of driving a slightly older car? There are also videos of E30 crash tests. It performs fairly well.

[SmokeE30]

e30s in my opinion are pretty damn good for a small car from the 80's, granted up until 1990 they didn't have airbags but im not a big fan of airbags anyway, ive seen them hurt more people than save them(think of how safe race cars are now, and think why doesn't any racing team use airbags...) ive seen friends DESTROY e30s and walk away. yes there are safer options on the road, but I call bullshit on anybody claiming they are "unsafe".

[z6ne]

"Dont crash"


"something that will never happen"



those are really, really, ignorant things to say.
I drive catered food for a living, and have to deal with horrible drivers daily, you guys must live in small towns.

[Stanley Rockafella]

don't get me wrong, i'm all for taking chances at the expense of risking my life. I also have my bike license, but sold everything recently. I just got tired of constantly having to worry about rain, other drivers, oil slicks, other drivers, and changing into and out of my gear all the time. Oh and did I mention other drivers?

I take risks in other ways now.

[z6ne]

Oh and did I mention other drivers?

I can't get over how bad the drivers are in Atlanta. I firmly believe there needs to be a more comprehensive test to get a license nationwide. And when I see people texting on the highway in a convertible, I just let the Darwin affect take over.

[SmokeE30]

I can't get over how bad the drivers are in Atlanta. I firmly believe there needs to be a more comprehensive test to get a license nationwide. And when I see people texting on the highway in a convertible, I just let the Darwin affect take over.

drivers are bad everywhere, well at least in this county. I love riding my bike but when I get into traffic im terrified most of the time. its easy to deal with people being distracted or just plain incompetent behind the wheel when I have diving boards to battle them with, but once its my body vs their minivan I turn into a waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles and look for an escape route.

[mulletman]

"Dont crash"


"something that will never happen"



those are really, really, ignorant things to say.
I drive catered food for a living, and have to deal with horrible drivers daily, you guys must live in small towns.

Nope, I live in a pretty dang big city. A few years back, I also had a job where I drove a lot. I put over 70,000 miles on a truck in one year.

I did say "Don't crash." It was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. I never said anything remotely close to "something that will never happen." My current job is to fly airplanes for a fairly well known airline. Guess what? "Don't crash" still applies. By the time you've bent metal... the accident chain is already massively long, and could have been broken at one of likely many opportunities. Crash avoidance will always be a better strategy than crash survival.

In aviation, we spend a ton of time delving into risk assessment, risk mitigation, accident analysis, and a HUGE emphasis on threat/error management. There's an really useful so-called 'swiss cheese' model of this that is used to identify threats, errors, a theoretical "Undesired Aircraft State" and the potential event of "High-Risk Consequences Occur." Even with other drivers being awful, the roads being awful, the weather being awful... whatever... the reality is that if a driver is mentally alert and aware of the tools they have, it's possible to consistently reduce your level of risk to have repeatably safe results. I would call this training my best safety device, honestly. It's more effective than any driver/rider skill (or lack thereof, ha) that I might possess, and more versatile than any manufactured safety device.

I'd rather do laps naked on a superbike than try to operate a motor vehicle without threat and error management training.


My whole point was that if I have to choose between a fun vehicle and a safe vehicle, I'm going to pick the fun one, and I'll still be confident that I can be safe. If someone else needs 4000 lbs of steel and 38 airbags to feel safe, that's their decision. They can give up on life and go buy a Crown Vic if they want to...

[z6ne]

Nope, I live in a pretty dang big city. A few years back, I also had a job where I drove a lot. I put over 70,000 miles on a truck in one year.

I did say "Don't crash." It was meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. I never said anything remotely close to "something that will never happen." My current job is to fly airplanes for a fairly well known airline. Guess what? "Don't crash" still applies. By the time you've bent metal... the accident chain is already massively long, and could have been broken at one of likely many opportunities. Crash avoidance will always be a better strategy than crash survival.

In aviation, we spend a ton of time delving into risk assessment, risk mitigation, accident analysis, and a HUGE emphasis on threat/error management. There's an really useful so-called 'swiss cheese' model of this that is used to identify threats, errors, a theoretical "Undesired Aircraft State" and the potential event of "High-Risk Consequences Occur." Even with other drivers being awful, the roads being awful, the weather being awful... whatever... the reality is that if a driver is mentally alert and aware of the tools they have, it's possible to consistently reduce your level of risk to have repeatably safe results. I would call this training my best safety device, honestly. It's more effective than any driver/rider skill (or lack thereof, ha) that I might possess, and more versatile than any manufactured safety device.

I'd rather do laps naked on a superbike than try to operate a motor vehicle without threat and error management training.


My whole point was that if I have to choose between a fun vehicle and a safe vehicle, I'm going to pick the fun one, and I'll still be confident that I can be safe. If someone else needs 4000 lbs of steel and 38 airbags to feel safe, that's their decision. They can give up on life and go buy a Crown Vic if they want to...

that's cool, threat and error management training. The DMVs need that haha. What kinda planes you fly dude?

oh and you didnt say 'will never happen' , someone else did. idk how to multiquote