How bad new car visibility has gotten: E30 vs F30 edition

[Philipangoo]

I daily drove a F30 M 335i M Sport for like 4 years. Its visibility was still decent but it was about 5x safer then my E30 and that was very obvious on the high way where most my driving is done 70 mph+. To me, my E30 was alot more fun to drive even though it had less than half the power and considerably less mods, but as a daily I would pick the F30 hands down.

[nando]

You mean a Tesla?

Ironically, the visibility out of a Tesla is actually really good.

[varg]

Living is dangerous, the fatality rate is 100%

[lukeADE335i]

Sad but true - mobility will be owned by giant mega-corporations. Tesla has already said that once they perfect autonomous driving they will stop selling cars to the public as it won't be worth their while. All that will be available will be corporately owned robo-taxis. This will be welcomed by governments as a safety measure, and what do you know - we'll have Lucas' Revenge of the Sith. Question is: is Elon Anakin Skywalker or Obe-Wan Kenobi?!

[rturbo 930]

Eventually, we’ll all be in rolling electric-powered coffins that drive themselves because “human drivers are too dangerous to be on the road”.

You mean a Tesla?

[ZeKahr]

Will the government and car manufacturers ever realize that part of safety is being able to see your surroundings without having to hear a beep or see an LED light up on your side mirrors?

Not gonna happen. If anything, governments (especially Western ones) will pass more insane safety regulations over the next several decades. Car manufacturers will grudgingly comply while putting on a fake smile welcoming these new draconian measures. Eventually, we’ll all be in rolling electric-powered coffins that drive themselves because “human drivers are too dangerous to be on the road”.

[ZeKahr]

People who drive 2002's might say the same things about E30's. They had toothpick A & B pillars and taller side glass.

I’ll give you the B pillar; much thicker on the E30. It does create a slight blind spot when you’re trying to make a right lane change and want to quickly check for a car out the passenger side windows. From my experience, the E30’s A pillar isn’t thick enough and the windows aren’t short enough to drastically hinder visibility in regular driving compared to the 02.

[lukeADE335i]

The e30 is pretty safe for the most part - series 2s have side intrusion bars, they have crumple zones etc. although a side impact is where I'd be most worried. Certainly better than daily driving something from the 70s.

I got T boned in my e92 coupe - walked away although still needed a year of physio due to back & shoulder injuries. You can see the giant side intrusion bar on the e92 did it's job - the car is relatively undamaged given the hit it took and the passenger compartment didn't deform at all. The commodore that hit me weighted about 1800kg (4000lbs). In my e30 it would have been nasty.



The e92 got repaired no problem on insurance, the e30 would have been written off for sure.

[MrBurgundy]

You got lucky, if i had my choice in which car I would want to be in any kind of accident it would not be the E30. Not that its bad, its just not even comparable to a modern car.

I am

And I 100% agree. I got T boned in my Genesis Coupe at 40 mph and if that was an e30 I would not have walked away from that accident unscathed, for the most part.

The one thing I hate about newer cars is when I roll the window down and rest my elbow on the door, it's right by my head..

[Aleman]

The test was totally biased. If I recall correctly, they compared a SAAB 900 series from the 80s to an e30.
I guess it was an attempt to show how innovative SAAB was compared to the competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9fw9nou_G8

[Stanley Rockafella]

Oh, you may be right.


There's no question, new cars do save lives with all of their safety features.

The test was totally biased. If I recall correctly, they compared a SAAB 900 series from the 80s to an e30.
I guess it was an attempt to show how innovative SAAB was compared to the competition.

[DEV0 E30]

IIRC that was a SAAB

Oh, you may be right.


There's no question, new cars do save lives with all of their safety features.

[Staszek]

I rolled an e30 like 6 times down a 300ft cliff and walked away

You got lucky, if i had my choice in which car I would want to be in any kind of accident it would not be the E30. Not that its bad, its just not even comparable to a modern car.

[MrBurgundy]

Now let’s compare rollover protection....was that even a test when the E30 was designed? Lol

I rolled an e30 like 6 times down a 300ft cliff and walked away

[Stanley Rockafella]

This. I still remember the Top Gear episode when they dropped a Volvo body at the same height as another car. Obviously the pillars didn't completely flatten like the other car.

IIRC that was a SAAB