| RE: Smart Car
NBC covered another insurance institute crash-a-thon last night, in which they did a side impact test on a C240, versus several other "midsize" cars. Their impact mule is supposed to represent the height and mass of an SUV rather than a car. The c240 did not do that well, as the side rails and B pillar caved in fairly far, getting only a marginally acceptable rating; this is considered a more difficult test than the USGov side test.
One thing I remember about the '78 280E I used to have was that you could hit the B pillar with a hammer and it sounded like you were tapping on a steel beam; if I did the same thing to my '79 Accord, it sounded like you were tapping on a coffee can. I wonder if the passenger cage on current C class is not as strong as similar cages on more vintage products. What do you think? Does anyone have solid data on the gages and types of steel used before and now? Are we no longer getting the safety we "pay" for?
Ed Gardner |