On 9/7/2017 8:09 AM, wrote:
On Wednesday, September 6, 2017 at 5:11:09 PM UTC-7, John B. wrote:

I think that you are confusing reality with your own fantasies. In
years past I have worked with two engineers who had worked in the
automobile industry. They both said the same thing, that the major
effort in the motor industry was to "make it cheaper".

Gee then it must be the government forcing manufacturers to make cars safer since the fatalities per passenger mile have dropped so precipitously.

You assume that the fall in fatalities per passenger mile are due solely
to the addition of various safety equipment. While it is a contributing
factor, there are other major factors. First, more passenger miles are
being driven on limited access freeways where fatality rates per mile
are far lower. Second, increased traffic congestion has reduced average
speeds.

But John's statement is also not quite accurate. While it's true that
the industry has worked to decontent vehicles to save money, at the same
time they've added various safety feature which don't cost much to add
since it's just some inexpensive sensors and software. Traction control
basically costs nothing once a vehicle has wheel speed sensor for ABS.
Collision avoidance, lane departure warning, back up cameras, and TPMS
have a very low added cost. Meanwhile, they've saved a lot by moving to
2.5MPH bumpers from 5MPH bumpers (Reagan's fault), eliminating high cost
items like vent windows, rain gutters, balance shafts, weatherproofing,
and one thing I just noticed, dual horns (high/low). Also really
annoying, on the last two vehicles we bought, was the absences of a way
to prevent the trunk from being opened from inside the vehicle.

The manufacturers have realized that safety sells, so they don't want to
eliminate parts that help them do better in the crash testing, and they
compete for the most airbags.


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