Are our Civics really safe? Real world findings...
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Sorry don't mean to impede on one of the few mildy inteligent debates on this board...but I think the collision numbers are higher for the Civic because there are way more Civics out there than Beetles, resulting in more accidents involving Civics.
Raceway Park Track Tech.
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From: Old Bridge, New Jersey, US
Rep Power: 329 Originally posted by CaShMoneyBlng
Sorry don't mean to impede on one of the few mildy inteligent debates on this board...but I think the collision numbers are higher for the Civic because there are way more Civics out there than Beetles, resulting in more accidents involving Civics.
Sorry don't mean to impede on one of the few mildy inteligent debates on this board...but I think the collision numbers are higher for the Civic because there are way more Civics out there than Beetles, resulting in more accidents involving Civics.
imp: 
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From: Redmond, Washington, US
Rep Power: 0 See, instead of numbers, you need percentages. Just like theft rates and lemon rates. Sure Car A has only had 10 of them stolen and 5 of them reported as lemons, BUT they only sold 100 of Car A... so 10% are stolen, and 5% are lemons.... NOW Car B, has 2500 of them stolen, and 1200 reported as lemons, BUT they sold 9,000,000 Units? Which car looks better?
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From: San Diego, Other, ZEBRA
Rep Power: 0 It's time to review the valuable video by Mr Dummy in his wonderful green Civic. You'd be glad your car is called "Civic".
Crash test video
INSTEAD of ....
a Focus
Crash test video
INSTEAD of ....
a Focus
Last edited by CivicSky; Oct 27, 2003 at 02:54 AM.
damn it, Boilermaker1 answered It...
if the new beetles were in similar accidets as a civic than they should be less damaged cause of all the extra structure.
who cares how we drive our cars, how they drive their cars...the beetle is built stronger, heavier.
If i knew this before i bought my car i wouldve thought about it for 3 to 5 seconds then bought my civic.
if the new beetles were in similar accidets as a civic than they should be less damaged cause of all the extra structure.
who cares how we drive our cars, how they drive their cars...the beetle is built stronger, heavier.
If i knew this before i bought my car i wouldve thought about it for 3 to 5 seconds then bought my civic.
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From: NH
Rep Power: 0 Originally posted by CaShMoneyBlng
Sorry don't mean to impede on one of the few mildy inteligent debates on this board...but I think the collision numbers are higher for the Civic because there are way more Civics out there than Beetles, resulting in more accidents involving Civics.
Sorry don't mean to impede on one of the few mildy inteligent debates on this board...but I think the collision numbers are higher for the Civic because there are way more Civics out there than Beetles, resulting in more accidents involving Civics.
The IIHS ratings are actual crash results, and are weighted against sales.
"Injury losses indicate the relative frequencies of injury claims per insured vehicle year"
This means that they divide by the number of injuries those models incurred in a year by the total number insured:
1,367 injuries / 120,000 2001 Civics insured = 1.1% injury rate
202 injuries / 26,000 2001 Beetles insured = 0.78% injury rate
They perform these calculations for all models in a particular class (like 2 door coupes), find the average injury rate, and assign that a score of 100. Deviations above and below that are calculated and assigned a score.
These results are often quite different from the NHTSA crash tests (frontal & side impact tests).
The NHTSA tests predict how well you will fare when you get into an accident.
The IIHS reports the results of real-world accidents.
Why would the Civic, being such a safe car (as NHTSA reports), result in higher than average injuries? Because Civics and their drivers are:
- Younger than average (young drivers have much higher accident rates)
- Riskier drivers
- Small cars (small cars always fare worse in multi-car accidents)
How many Beetle drivers do you see driving like an a$$? Hardly any - it's mostly a chick car, and they typically drive fairly sanely. Therefore, if you drive sanely, you are less likely to get in accidents, therefore less likely to sustain an injury. It doesn't mean that the Beetle is any "safer" than a Civic - it just means they get into fewer accidents per 1,000 cars sold.
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From: Between the woods and mountains
Rep Power: 0 Originally posted by white2K2EX
YOU GUYS ARE ALL MISSING THE REASON...
Civics are for young guys and old ladies.
Beetles are for gay guys, ditzy girls, ditzy women, and did I mention gay guys?
YOU GUYS ARE ALL MISSING THE REASON...
Civics are for young guys and old ladies.
Beetles are for gay guys, ditzy girls, ditzy women, and did I mention gay guys?
It is the arch shape that makes the beetle rigid in collisions. In Antient Rome the arches were used to support aquaducts. Do I believe that this applies to automotive technology is another question.
but instead they would crash into a decent one, like a fixed up civic 
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From: Edmonton
Rep Power: 0 VWs do use thicker steel than Civics do, having owned a '97 Golf I can vouch for that. But I don't think that fully accounts for impact protection. The first race cars were essentially long, solid steel tubes, you could run one into a wall and the thing would stay perfectly intact.
Thing is the drive wouldn't survive.
Unless you have something to absorb all that energy, your car is going to decelerate so fast when you hit something head on that your brain is going to slam into the front of your skull so hard that a concusion would be the least of your worries.
Everyone who has a story about how their given car survived a given crash with no injury can't be taken at face value, as each individual crash is unique. Its more just a matter of probabilities. So even though your (example) Mustang survived a head on collision at 100km/h, statistically that might be anomalous and most other Mustangs may not be so fortunate.
Thing is the drive wouldn't survive.
Unless you have something to absorb all that energy, your car is going to decelerate so fast when you hit something head on that your brain is going to slam into the front of your skull so hard that a concusion would be the least of your worries.
Everyone who has a story about how their given car survived a given crash with no injury can't be taken at face value, as each individual crash is unique. Its more just a matter of probabilities. So even though your (example) Mustang survived a head on collision at 100km/h, statistically that might be anomalous and most other Mustangs may not be so fortunate.
I went to prison a boy and came out a man with a sore ass!
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Originally Posted by sharper
the sound or a door closing or how it feels doesnt mean its more safe. the beetle might have more insulation to block out noise but doesnt mean its stronger.
way to bring back a totally dead thread and not contribute useful info 
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Originally Posted by Boilermaker1
It has nothing to do with how much the door actually weighs, its more the fact that the sheetmetal that makes it up is about 3 times as thick as a Civic door. Volkswagens are pigs in the weight department... mostly because of internal re-inforcements around the passenger compartment. You can run a beetle into a wall at 100 mph and live (they've got a big picture of it in my local VW dealer.
The thing that that test really doesn't sort out is how many bad accidents were included. If you think about how many ricers flip or total Civics and how many Coffee house wienies do the same to Jettas and Beetles, sure the VW number will be lower. I do agree that most of these numbers are crap... but I still say that VWs are better built cars and that is gonna help a bit.
The thing that that test really doesn't sort out is how many bad accidents were included. If you think about how many ricers flip or total Civics and how many Coffee house wienies do the same to Jettas and Beetles, sure the VW number will be lower. I do agree that most of these numbers are crap... but I still say that VWs are better built cars and that is gonna help a bit.
If you check the IIHS Frontal Offset Crash Test, the Civic is better rated than the golf in terms of safety. The category that puts it ahead is specifically Structure/ safety cage.
Golf
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/re...IP&tab=4&sub=0
Civic
http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/Sp...IP&tab=2&sub=0
I dont know what im talking about
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Originally Posted by Boilermaker1
Go shut the door on a Volkswagen. Then go shut the door on your Civic... I think you'll have your answer on that one.
yeah listen to that a little closer it sounds like your window
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Originally Posted by S2000man01
jesus how do you people even FIND these damn threads? do you really do a search for a thread from over 2 years ago? lol
I'm guessing with the "related threads" on the bottom. They click on it, and think its active.
I spend way too much time on this website
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From: Poughkeepsie, NY
Rep Power: 0 i knew a kid who was going about 125+ in his BMW M3 racing his brother ...then he lost control and ended up going off into a wooded area off the side of the road.... his girlfriend was ejected from the car and found 50 feet from the accident still in her seat... and he was decapitated by his stearing wheel.. and it took another 3 days to find all of the girl who was sitting in the back seat beacuase she didn't use a seat belt...oh yeah and the lagest part of the car found was one of the wheels in a tree 40 feet up
i told you guys these story because it doesnt matter how safe your car allegedly is.. its how you drive.. use common sence and dont road race its just stupid... so unless your car has a full welded in roll cage and 5 point seat belt and you wear a helmet dont expect that you will walk away any accident you have
i told you guys these story because it doesnt matter how safe your car allegedly is.. its how you drive.. use common sence and dont road race its just stupid... so unless your car has a full welded in roll cage and 5 point seat belt and you wear a helmet dont expect that you will walk away any accident you have
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Originally Posted by LowSky
i knew a kid who was going about 125+ in his BMW M3 racing his brother ...then he lost control and ended up going off into a wooded area off the side of the road.... his girlfriend was ejected from the car and found 50 feet from the accident still in her seat... and he was decapitated by his stearing wheel.. and it took another 3 days to find all of the girl who was sitting in the back seat beacuase she didn't use a seat belt...oh yeah and the lagest part of the car found was one of the wheels in a tree 40 feet up
i told you guys these story because it doesnt matter how safe your car allegedly is.. its how you drive.. use common sence and dont road race its just stupid... so unless your car has a full welded in roll cage and 5 point seat belt and you wear a helmet dont expect that you will walk away any accident you have
i told you guys these story because it doesnt matter how safe your car allegedly is.. its how you drive.. use common sence and dont road race its just stupid... so unless your car has a full welded in roll cage and 5 point seat belt and you wear a helmet dont expect that you will walk away any accident you have
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From: Upper Michigan
Rep Power: 0 I was going 140 in my civic and i had a head on collision with a semi hauling a huge dump druck on it for a mine that had 10 tons of steel in the back of it ... ... driver of semi died and i walked away w/ only a few scratches and a slight headache! i love my civic ... only thing wrong w/ my car is a bent fender and a small crack in radiator .... i love my civic
k that didnt happen but just drive safe ... your life isnt worth driving that fast ... play it safe and u wont need to find out how your car does in a crash
k that didnt happen but just drive safe ... your life isnt worth driving that fast ... play it safe and u wont need to find out how your car does in a crash
I let my friend drive my civic and we hit a fence head on at around 35mph. I walked away with only a jammed finger, nothing to my friend. The car's engine and tranny wasn't even damaged and once fixed, the car has been running flawlessly since. I trust my civic to keep me alive.
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