Are cagers too far disconnected?

[Indiana_Jones]

If you get punted upside down by a courier driver yet again running a red light, you'll probably die in the MGB GT.

Well a B I could understand.....but in a GT?

-Indy

[Edbear]

Well a B I could understand.....but in a GT?

-Indy

'Fraid so, even the MX5 offers very little protection and a girl was seriously injured in an accident in a Austin 1300 due to it not having a crumple zone. Crash a Ford Customline into a modern Mercedes and the Customline driver would die and the Merc driver would probably walk away.

The older cars didn't have coolapsible steering columns either so the column would spear the driver through the chest and without crumple zones, all the force of the accident was transferred to the occupants rather than being dispersed through the car body. The Kizashi has 7 airbags, a purpose built safety cell for the occupants and crumple zones front, rear and side to absorb the forces. The steel body is high strength galvanised and the chassis has the best available componentry for suspension and braking including EBS, ABS, ESP and EBA. It is one of the safest vehicles on the road if things turn bad, but it is also great to drive on a twisty hilly road - it handles and performs like a sports car! The brakes and steering, (electric power steer), are fabulous, you can place it accurately in the corners and with the CVT in manual mode, using the paddle shifters you can drive like a true sports car! On the motorway, it cruises like a limosine. With cruise control I can concentrate on traffic rather than the speedo, too.

The designers of modern vehicles examine driving feel and chassis performance to give the best inherent, or passive safety they can then add the electronic assists to help the "average" driver cope with things that would otherwise result in a crash.

It's one thing to bemoan the lack of driving skill, but that doesn't stop people from driving, the plain facts are that without these advances in vehicle safety, we would see far more death and injury on the road.

Having a vehicle from both eras, one without any of the modern stuff except power steer and brakes and one with eveything you can think of, they drive very differently and each is very enjoyable in its own right for different reasons. It is a hard choice to make should I contemplate a long tour through NZ as to which car I'd take!

[Indiana_Jones]

Sounds dangerous.

I believe in my car the engine will go under the car, which is good. No crumple zones of course, nor any head rests..... =/

Nor do I need seatbelts in the back legally lol

Safety first!

-Indy

[jonbuoy]

If you get punted upside down by a courier driver yet again running a red light, you'll probably die in the MGB GT.

Yup its a lot like riding a bike, noisy, involved, not much better protected and people don't see you. -Indy its a 69 chrome bumper, yes it is low, like riding a bike you have to plan ahead a bit more and assume no one has seen you and leave plenty of distance to the vehicle in front so you can stand a chance of seeing around them. To be fair to the gt they did well in crash tests of the day. Later ones like you had before had a saftey steering column.

[slowpoke]

Spend a lot of time driving these cars do you? I do, it's my job. Audi's, BMW's, Merc's. And whilst they all drive far better than any Japanese car, they most certainly do not disconnect you from the driving experience any more than any Japanese vehicle, in fact they accentuate it with far better response and road handling. Maybe it's all just a matter of opinion.

As someone else paraphrased, don't blame the car, blame the driver. Cars don't crash by themselves. People instruct them to crash.

Absolutely on the money OAB. We had a 5 yr old E36 M3 a few years ago back in Oz and it was a gamechanger for us. So much more involving and fun to drive compared to similar priced newer aus/japanese cars we'd previously been looking at.

We've got an old yank-mobile in the shed for occasional use and just picked up another kraut-mobile for daily use. Jaysus, the 8 year old german doesn't half show you how far motoring has come since 1970, and makes anything new for the same money look pretty sad.....except when you talk fuel consumption, which I'd rather not if you don't mind, lol. The septic tank is good for a giggle but so many things distract you from the road unlike the newer car which is all about reducing distraction leaving you free to just concentrate on driving. We got it precisely because of how much fun it is to drive, while still able to tow the empire state building up our steep 350m corrugated gravel driveway. We couldn't find anything else, except a newer version of the same thing, for twice the money that would do the same job and still be as much fun to drive.

We had a E55 AMG for a while. Accelerated like a Hyabusa.

When we went to pick up the new wagon we flew into Auckland and the car salesman came and picked me up in an E55 AMG....faaark'n awesome! Never thought of myself as the merc type until then, and even the sales dude had a grin on his face when he gave it a bit of stick. Go 'round a left hand corner and the r/h side of the seat inflates to support you, haha. Just a sensational car and a bargain these days.

[Big Dave]

I have a Jeep Cherokee Sport now too. It's a great tank!

[Scuba_Steve]

I have a Jeep Cherokee Sport now too. It's a great tank!

if it's a newer model, you won't be saying that after a crash

[pete376403]

My mate's had his E55 AMG for a few years now and loves it! He drives a vehicle as they were intended and doesn't baby it. Mind bending to watch the fuel use when he gives it the berries!

similar no doubt to my friends cars consumption when booted hard - the trip computer was reporting 1 litre per kilometer (Bentley Turbo)

[Big Dave]

if it's a newer model, you won't be saying that after a crash

Nah - Older 'square' one.

http://homepage.mac.com/david_cohen_...ics2/fleet.jpg

[avgas]

Sounds dangerous.

I believe in my car the engine will go under the car, which is good. No crumple zones of course, nor any head rests..... =/

Nor do I need seatbelts in the back legally lol

Safety first!

-Indy

Don't forget that if the accident shoves the engine back in an old brit car is shoves the gear box and all three pedals get shoved into the cavity where you legs used to be.
DAMHIK
New landy's still had this problem up until 2005. Which is why they only got 1/5 Ancap stars

[Indiana_Jones]

Don't forget that if the accident shoves the engine back in an old brit car is shoves the gear box and all three pedals get shoved into the cavity where you legs used to be.
DAMHIK
New landy's still had this problem up until 2005. Which is why they only got 1/5 Ancap stars

Well here's hoping I won't ever have to find out!

-Indy

[Scuba_Steve]

Nah - Older 'square' one.

http://homepage.mac.com/david_cohen_...ics2/fleet.jpg

hope it doesn't stay that colour all the time

[oldrider]

I (most probably like most of you) enjoy driving/riding I don't do it just to get places, I do it becuase I love it.
But it's got me thinking are modern cages too far disconnected from the road???
Sparked by this in the Dom post

"Giannoutsos had only recently bought the car and was having trouble with it, including being unable to work out the speed he was going because the lights on the dashboard were not working"

My 1st thought was "fucking moron even without a speedo it's not hard to tell ya doing over 100", but then I realized, while still a fucking moron, he might not have realized the speed.
Most modern cages (Euros being the 1st) take the road experience away from the user, suspension takes any feeling away, pedals are no longer connected to that which they control, fully sealed, sound deaded & even slightly pressurized cabs remove all perception of speed/moverment, hell even the steering is no longer connected to the wheels.

A modern cage driver is fully seperated from the road they are driving on all in the name of "comfort". I myself cannot stand these modern monstrosities I like to feel connected, I like to be in control, I like to drive!!! I'll continue to stick to 80's & early 90's cages becuase of this, but I do think this "comfort" is starting to have a real detrimental effect on safety.

Maybee thats part the reason why beemers & mercs are such bad drivers??? These 2 manufacturers do lead the way when it comes to "comfort" features, and if your've ever driven a modern one you know how far disconected you are from the road, its sorta like driving a car on the PS2.

True, most modern drivers seem to drive their cars like they drive their TV remote.

When a bad scene confronts them, they just try to change channel and carry on sitting in their comfort!

Yes, I think you are quite right, they are disconnected! .... Entirely!