how do you feel about small cars?

[slurp812]

Originally Posted by kamesama980

going with that... psychology takes part in that too. If you keep telling yourself you're going to be in an accident and need a bigger vehicle because of that, you're more likely to be careless enough to be in an accident. sort of like the whole convincing yourself you'll fail a test in school.

and from the other direction, people with big SUVs think "because I have a huge SUV I don't have to be as careful about accident avoidance because I'll come out on top"

heck I spend most of my time on motorcycles. can't get much more exposed or invisible than that.

Very true! I drive in an area with tons of SUV's and many of them drive very aggressive...

[VX_Arky]

I own an SUV (Toyota 4Runner) and a 1992 Honda Civic VX. I love them both. I drive the Civic daily for its fuel efficiency. I drive the 4Runner when I need to haul a lot of stuff or take a very long drive like vacation to Florida. I feel safer in my SUV and I don't drive it any different just because it's bigger. I drive very careful in both vehicles.

I have not been in an accident in 28 years and that was when I t-boned a Chevette with a 1980 Honda Civic. The Chevette crumpled up like a piece of paper and my Civic merely had a rubber piece on the bumper that needed to be replaced ($25).

I loved my Civic then and I love my Civic now. I would not trade or sell my Civic either as I really enjoy driving a manual. I think you should consider how you drive, in what kinds of traffic conditions, and what you feel most comfortable with. Enjoy driving. I just happen to enjoy driving and get the benefits of 52 miles per gallon at the same time!!!

[Ford Man]

I own 5 small cars and 2 intermediates. I'm comfortable with driving smaller cars even though they're probably not as safe. Even in my case with having a bad back a bigger car has very little impact on my comfort during the drive or the aftermath from driving several hundred miles. I just drove about 650 miles yesterday and a total of about 1400 miles since Sunday morning in a Ford Escort, my back is pretty sore today, but I don't have much more soreness in my back than when I drive my mom's '00 Grand Marquis the same distance. I will admit the ride is better in a larger car than in a smaller car, but if it's good roads I'm travelling the gas/money savings is worth it for me.

[VX_Arky]

I've found that on good roads my Civic rides just as nicely as my 4Runner. Not a drop of difference.

[civic94]

Originally Posted by BEEF

I just have a hard time with the scare tactics that some of the people actually use to get people to buy bigger cars. put any car going 100mph vs a stone pillar (a big one). it will be terrible looking. it doesn't matter what car/vehicle is hitting it. small car vs big car...small car loses. it's just physics. suburban vs 18 wheeler (suburban loses)

it wasnt scare tactics, it was a documentary on car safety with a highly repubatable channel (i forgot, it might be bbc or discovery), and it was in the volvo studio. it was not a commercial, and on the documentary they did not mention "buy volvo" so I doubt volvo paid them anything at all. the people there just did all the crashes in all the years and just going from a compact to a midsize helped people not die by 50%, up to 4500 pounds, and after 4500 pounds it becomes more dangerous.

[bzipitidoo]

Safety means more than safety for yourself. Small cars are safer for the other vehicle.

I was in an accident a few years back. A young, inexperience driver with two passengers ran a red light in front of me, and I T-boned him. I also had 2 passengers with me. I saw him come from my left, rolling up to the intersection a bit fast, and I thought he might not be able to stop at the line, so I changed to the right lane to be further away from him. Then instead of stopping as I expected, he accelerated, jumping out right in front of me! I was doing about 50 in a 55 mph speed zone, and might have slowed to 45 before impact. If I'd thought he might run the light, I could have been ready for it. If my foot was hovering over the brake, maybe I could have slowed enough to miss him, or maybe I could have swerved around him. But all I managed to do before impact was take my foot off the gas. My Metro was totaled. He was driving a smallish sports car, also totaled.

Had I been driving a monster SUV, I might have run him over or crushed his car. Might have pushed him into the stopped cars facing the other direction. As it was, they were not pushed clear across the median, and their worst injury was a deep cut that needed stitches. I walked away from the accident. I was bruised, the kind of deep bruising that doesn't show after a few weeks but takes 3 months to fully heal, but no more hurt than that. The worst injury was one of my passengers suffered a broken ankle.

He screwed up, and I'm glad the price was not someone's life. And that may be because I was driving a small, light car, and because I was going a little slower than the maximum legal speed.

[trollbait]

Had I been driving a monster SUV, I might have run him over or crushed his car.

And you might have rolled. Crash testing can't cover all possible scenarios.

...just going from a compact to a midsize helped people not die by 50%...

How much was that a factor of weight, and how much the larger crumple zones?

[VetteOwner]

wow forum is different...anywhoo i find small nimble cars are alot easier to avoid accidents if your driving and scanning the road and watching, expecting people to pull out in front of you. or make a mental escape route thru traffic or shoulder if they do. like my chevette i know its brakes are crap so im better off hitting them hard and steering out of the way (i dont know if the wheels will lock up on dry pavement...) now my s10 if i jab the brakes you better believe the fronts are locked haha.

i will agree tho it is nice to just be in a midsized lazyboy on wheels car for long trips. hence why buicks and whatnot are pretty much owned by old people. but man do they ride nice and have ridiculous power haha

[JanGeo]

Smaller cars are harder to hit, been hit four times in big cars only once only slightly in a small car ... all from behind!

[GR8MPGcrx]

I am 6f6, and i squeezy myself in to a crx.

But I like small cars because of their driving characteristics, and my new favorite reason "smaller auto, less car to hit"