Today's cars as tall as those in '48

Turner Classic Movies is showing the old cinema serial, "Superman". It was
produced in 1948 in 15 chapters. Starred Kirk Alyn and Noel Neil. Very
entertaining and I recommend it.

What's remarkable are the old sedans. You'll see a gangster Lincoln in many
scenes and what looks like a Dodge? coupe whenever Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen
goes anywhere. The actors often stand along side these vehicles, which
tower over most of them. Cars were very tall in those days.

All through the 50's, 60's, and 70's passenger vehicles got longer and
lower. It was highly advertised in those days that long and low was an
improvement, not only in style, but also in performance (as in
maneuvering). So what do we see in most of today's models, particularly
SUV and crossovers? Very tall cars, not one iota better than those late
40's cars mentioned.

The elevated cars today are definitely a throwback. They're retrograde.
They're stupid. The public knows they're stupid and unsafe because tall
cars, especially since most are more narrow than those 40's cars are less
stable than than those 40's models. Taller means more prone to rolling
over on their sides and tops and killing their occupants dead. The fact
that most newer cars are being equipped with optional electronic stability
features is indicitive of there being something intrisically wrong with
them. A proper car does not need stability control because it is naturally
stable. You won't find stability control in a Humvee because it's stable
even though its tall, but very wide to compensate. You won't find stability
control in an Impala because its stable naturally because its low. But,
all those tip over prone sport utility vehicles are being pushed with
stability control because they're naturally unstable because they're tall
and narrow and need all the help they can get to stay upright. Trouble is
stability control cannot defeat the laws of nature and is nothing more than
a Mickey Mouse setup. Don't buy any car that has stability control because
those cars are death traps. If you buy one, your're stupid, stupid,
stupid.

If everybody would get smart and stop buying these stupid SUVs, crossovers
and pickup trucks unless your business absolutely requires that type for
one reason or another, the makers would wise up and build good, safe cars
like they used to, low and wide. If you forget what I tell you, you will
recall it when you are laying in your hospital bed racked with pain,
bankrupt from the bill, after your stupid SUV flips.

 

Today's vehicles are vastly superior to 1940s cars, particularly in safety.

Many upscale sports sedans have some form of stability control and there's
no safer cars on the road.

Safety has many factors, rollover is only one of them. Minivans have low
accident rates, in spite of being tall. Why? The way they are driven.

 

Count me in. My new car has stability control. It also handles better on
curving roads than most others I've had. While the stability control has
not kicked in, it may some day make the difference between avoiding another
car (such as a rolling over SUV) or ending up in an accident.

Yes, for rmost people SUVs are dumb, but modern technology is good for any
model.

 

You must be a journalist .. or practicing to be one...

Since you have a point ot make, and dont bother researching it..

Are you sure about that? I think you ought to try sitting in one befroe
you make such statements.

Have you ever DRIVEN one of those old cars? The reason they were safer
is that they FELT like they were about to roll over on any sharp curve.


And those sixties cars handled like shit, too

 

I don't like the new tall cars either. The new G-6 is almost a foot and a half
higher than my 92 Grand Am. IMO, they are unstable compared to cars of a few
years ago.
It would be hard to roll my old G/A but the G-6's I've recently rented felt just
the opposite.

 

<...snip more of the same...>

If you are so discontented, why not just go buy yourself a '62 Lincoln and
sit in the garage all day and admire it. Your rants are tiresome.

 

They are readily available too. A place here in town, (Putnam, CT)
specializes in restoring old Lincolns. If you happen to need a convertible
with suicide doors, he has them. http://www.bakersauto.com/

 

Raising the center of gravity of a vehicle by and inch or two will not make
it 'prone' to rollover. In fact NO vehicle is 'prone' to rollover, but
rather is prone to fall back upon it wheels if tipped. Watch what happens
in motion pictures when vehicles, cars or SUVs, turn too quickly. They spin
our but do not rollover. To make a vehicle roll over the stunt people must
run then up a ramp that is at least four feet high. If indeed a higher
center of gravity was what cause a vehicle to rollover more easily, one
should expect to see six wheelers being rolled along then highways daily.




mike hunt

 

Did you ever think that the actors are short people?

Comparing todays SUV's to cars of the 40's, is like comparing intelligence
to you. No comparision

Then ride a bicycle, don't forget your helmet.

The makers do build safe cars, even for fuckwits like yourself

 

Do you have any snow on the roads yet? If so, take your car out to
an empty parking lot and start throwing it around....you'll get the
stability control to come on. Since I road test cars with stab control
pretty much every day, I get a chance to see how they react. Very
dummy proof for the most part.

Ian

 

George, your rant was going so well until you got to this:

Stupid, stupid, stupid. If you type that, you're ... Well, you know.

I agree that SUV's and people who buy them are stupid, but let's not make
ourselves look stupid by adding idiotic non-facts and lies into such a
lovely rant. You need some practice in 1940's cars.

Thanks for crossposting!

 

I'm looking forward to trying it. Serious snow is 4 to 6 weeks away. We
have plenty of open space in the parking lot at our warehouse at work.

 

Minivans also have a much lower center of gravity than do body-on-frame
SUVs and are much less prone to roll-over. Rollover propensity is
particularly bad when you combine high center of gravity, short
wheelbase and big high-aspect ratio tires. See Ford Explorer for an
example. Minivans do not have these characteristics and are much more
difficult to roll. It isn't just the drivers.

I personally know two people who have rolled their Explorers, and they
are both conservative driving mature people. In both cases a small
problem became a big problem when the vehicle flipped itself over by
pivoting on the front wheel. In one case it was contact with a curb at
about 30 MPH in the rain and in the other case a wheel got caught in a
ditch in the rain. In neither case would a sedan or a minivan have
flipped over. The Chevy Tahoe shares similar dynamics and the little
frame type SUVs like Trackers, etc. are even worse.

John

 

So true, we get a chance to observe this every winter driving to our ski
hills.
I've never seen a Van rolled, but some of them aren't the greatest at
cornering so slide into the ditch.
Mostly large SUVs and some pickups often slide to our huge ditches and
flip over on the roof.
Some like the Bronco swap ends when braking; too short a wheel base.

We just chug by in our mid sized car which is extremely stable in
slippery conditions.
Seldom is a mid sized or larger car in the ditch and if they do slide
there they are still on their wheels sitting on the ditch slope.

It will be interesting to see how the new cross overs fare.

 

I don't believe what you say completely, but I do believe it is true to a
point. It is though, just an underscore of the point that it's more about
the driver than the vehicle. Likely you - as a driver who just "chugs
along", would have no more problems in any of the vehicles mentioned than
you do in your mid-sized car.

 

Those old cars had some charm, but they were pigs to drive for the most
part, didnt last long, and
rolled and swayed in the corners. Accidents were much more likely to cause
fatalities than just about
anything we are likely to drive today.

I am not a fan of SUVs because many tend to be gas guzzlers, and they are in
general more prone to
rollovers. At least, so the statistics say.....

I drive a full size Dodge conversion van, and I give it a due amount of
respect, because I know it doesnt
handle like a sports car. It was pretty bad when I first got it, but a set
of Bilsteins, good tires, and a rear
sway bar helped tame the ride. It gets decent mileage for such a large
vehicle (about 18 mpg), but I no
longer need a vehicle with the features that the Dodge provided so amply.
When gasoline once again
surges to over US$3 per gallon, the van with its 30 gallon tank becomes a
burden.

My next car will be much more fuel miserly, lower roll center, and able to
gobble up highway miles with
creature comforts and little or no 'jitter' at turnpike speed. I havent
made the choice yet, but am still leaning
toward an Avalon or something similar.

I just heard this morning that the Chinese are pulling away from the
American market for a few years.
Their vehicles are not quite right for this market, either in safety or
quality, and they will observe the Korean
and Japanese products for a while. They are active in Russia and to some
extent in Europe, where small
cars are the rule, largely due to gasoline prices.

 

Actually the center of gravity is near the centerline of the drive train.
The difference is in only inches among all types of cars and light trucks.
Six wheelers on the other hand have a centerline six or more inches higher
than can cars or light trucks. Why does one not see them rolled over on a
daily basis? LOL




mike

 

They do roll if driven too fast on corners when heavily loaded, a common
occurrence here.

 

Have you ever owned a car from the '40's? I have had 3: a 48
Plymouth, 49 Windsor, and currently a 40 Royal, all great cars,
dependable, easy to work on, and gets relatively good mileage from
their flathead 6. They ride better than our new PT Cruiser
Convertible!

 

Ya right


mike