I guess this explains why some European countries now have bright yellow ambulances with purple graphics on them. I tried to find a photo, but no luck. Anyway, they are very hard to look at for any length of time!
In my line of work, we call those vehicles Ford Explosions
)Side curtain airbags are available in every vehicle that Chrysler and Dodge make including the Neon.
I know we’ve discussed this before but you are definitely not correct about this.If you do some research into initial quality ratings and frequency of repair records you find that Chrysler and Dodge vehicles are of far better quality than most of those offered by GM or Ford.
I am sorry Siena but your opinion of American cars may have been true 10 or 15 years ago but it certainly is not today. The American manufacturers (especially Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep) are turning out some of the best products available and the Japanese manufacturers are definitely having their share of problems. Lucky for them they are still benefitting from their past record of reliability and not their more recent one.Cargo,
I would disagree. Abby dosn’t have the money to keep up an American car. Go with a Honda Civic, or Accord if you can afford it. They get great gas mileage, and have few repair needs. They also have an excellent safety record, and an incredible resale value. (If you find the need for a mini-van in later years).
I love American cars, unfortunetly, anything other than a “classic” looses way too much value once it is driven off the lot, and are known for design flaws and poor gas mileage.
You are quite correct. The NHTSA did a study on accident survivability back in the 90’s and determined that the single most important factor in surviving an accident was not airbags or even seatbelt use, it was the size of the vehicle you are riding in.
Well I will be sure to look up that stat for my husband, then, who thinks I’m being a tad overreactive to think we need a “big” car.
He’s never been in an accident, though.
I can understand why you came to that decision as a Consumer Reports subscriber. Their ratings are bogus and very biased in favor of Japanese vehicles. The best example I can cite is the fact that they gave the Dodge Dakota pickup (which had won awards for “Best ownership experience” almost every year in production partly due to it’s reliability) their worst reliability rating while giving the new Toyota Takoma pickup their best rating in spite of the fact that the new 190HP V6 had a serious design flaw that had owners buying head gaskets by the case.
This is true but your insurance agent can give you great information on safety. They are a really good source for accident survivability (of passengers and the vehicle itself) information since they are the ones who pay when something happens.
Somewhere around here I have a magazine with that report in it. I will try to find it and let you know where to get the information. I also have some real world experience in this area. While I was working at a dealership we had a customer who was not paying attention run a new Dodge Ram 1500 into the back of Ford Explorer at a light. The Explorer was totalled and pushed into a Saturn Vue that was very nearly totalled. The Ram only needed a new bumper and grill. It’s headlights were not even broken.Well I will be sure to look up that stat for my husband, then, who thinks I’m being a tad overreactive to think we need a “big” car.
Thanks. I actually just called him at work and I got a big, long sigh with an “Abigaaaaaaaaaaaaail” in response to “bigger is better.”
However, it might have had something to do with me telling him I also want him to consider trading in his car and going bigger, as well as purchasing a bigger family car…