Car geeks

Nothing in that report I’m too worried about. Safety is great, and might be a good tie-breaker if I’m torn between two vehicles. But if I’m shopping for a muscle car or a pony car, I’m probably not walking into the dealer and asking for the safest car on the lot. One could just as easily argue that I shouldn’t buy a Challenger because there are more fuel efficient vehicles. Yes, there are, but that isn’t the point.

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I’m not sure “you might die as a result of this choice as opposed to not dying” is really on the same level of “but the gas mileage”.

But, your decision. :slight_smile:

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Saying that one car’s safety cage is not as good as another’s is not the same as saying that it’s a death trap, or that I might die as a result of choosing this car. I’ve driven death traps before. This is all subjective, comparing one model to another. That’s how it’s similar to fuel efficiency.

And that article isn’t all bad news for the Challenger. It did well in certain categories.

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I disagree that it’s subjective. That’s why we have folks like the IIHS and NHTSA and their processes, this is how it becomes objective.

Whether or not these tests and results are subjective or objective doesn’t matter when you don’t care about your car’s safety anyway, though. So rock on

I have also driven death traps. Fortunately I wasn’t in any major accidents while doing so.

It’s subjective in that the standards change as cars improve. Safety standards are higher now than they once were. A car that was considered safe in 1970 wouldn’t be considered safe today, with it’s rigid frame, lap belts, and lack of air bags. (Just like a car with reasonable fuel efficiency in 1970 would be considered a gas guzzler today.)

Perhaps Challengers haven’t kept pace with safety standards. I’m just not all that worried about it.

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Just for fun…

The very first sentence in this thread…

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Believe you me, at 16 years old and 20 years old, with 500 horse power of Chevy 454 under the hood, a 12 pack of Bud and Brenda H. in the passengers seat “caring about safety” wasn’t really on the radar. And we all survived it just fine.

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But also, car accidents are literally the #1 killer of Americans in that age bracket.

This is a great lesson in “not everybody thinks logically”. We often wonder why people refuse to own guns even though “we know” they would be safer than relying on calling 911 and waiting. It’s because they aren’t deciding on logic or safety, the same way we aren’t deciding on logic or safety.

Decisions made based on emotion can only be swayed to other conclusions using emotion. We need to keep that in mind sometimes when speaking to people who don’t like or want guns.

If only everybody could leave it at “I’m making this decision regardless of safety” and not “I’m also going to use the government to force the same decision on you” that the gun control advocates resort to

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Ironically in many states it is illegal to have roll bars and roll cage installed in a car to be driven on the street. This was the issue with the 2018 Dodge Demon. In order to do an under 10 second quarter mile pass on a drag strip one needs a roll cage per NHRA rules, however in many states it is illegal to have a roll cage installed in a car meant for the street. Hence the Dodge ad that the Demon is so quick in the quarter mile the NHRA has banned it.

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That’s a strange one. I see them all of the time. Think any cops know of this rule? Seems unlikely. They can’t even keep their own cars in their own lanes.

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My understanding over the years is two different ‘reasons’ for that law…one being a general dislike of having race cars driven on the street, the other being that roll bars are intended to be paired with multiple point safety harnesses and appropriately rated helmets (to avoid occupant heads hitting the roll bar), and the way a lot of people out there would d o it a roll bar or roll cage could actually be less safe due to not wearing a belt at all (people do that), only wearing a regular seat belt that doesn’t hold them in place well enough, not wearing a helmet, not being fitted to the car property, not having the cage fitted properly, all of the above, etc, and now a minor accident otherwise has them splitting their head open on the steel tube

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Good think I’m not in that age bracket. I just have to make sure I don’t have a heart attack while driving. :wink:

To circle back, you raise good points about safety, and none of us should completely disregard it. It’s just not a top concern of mine if I’m looking for a fun car to drive. If it were, I wouldn’t be looking for “fun” cars, I’d be looking for “safe” cars. I don’t mean to sound so dismissive, because you’re right to consider safety.

I’m not a reckless driver or a race car driver. If I were, I might be more concerned about what happens to my car when I roll it. But since I’m staying in my lane and driving with the flow of traffic, I don’t expect any reasonably well made- and maintained- car to just suddenly explode or crush me. Otherwise, I’d just drive an up-armored truck.

And yes, I do have a safety on my EDC. I don’t think that makes me a hypocrite, but maybe it does.

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I believe there are only 2 states were roll cages are legal. There are exceptions for convertibles and vehicles like Jeep Wranglers in all 50 states.

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Thanks. I was worried about my Wrangler. I was afraid to ask. :laughing:

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The Police used to make a bigger deal about equipment violations. I had a low restriction mufflers on a car in college, got pulled over driving down a street with my burbling exhaust in a 1970 Delta 88 2 door and the officer actually looked underneath the car when I politely said, “yes officer, it has mufflers, isn’t it illegal to go without?” He looked, said to go on my way. What I truly hate are the amplified thumper bass speakers. Had a guy yesterday that was behind me playing them. Load exhaust is one thing, but overly loud rap music is despicable at best. I do not care what others listen to at all, I just shouldn’t have to listen to it. Wishing I had headers and a resonator delete, would have been louder than that crud he was polluting the air with.

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I agree, and it isn’t just rap, it’s anything.
The guys in those cars seem to think we’ll all be so impressed at how loud their stereo is. They don’t seem to understand how awful it sounds to everyone else. I can’t even hear their music, all I hear are the windows rattling.

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Around here, I think they leave their license plate frames loose so you can hear them vibrating.

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The Pickup truck was a piece of junk as well. bad paint and bad bodywork, it was a POS.

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He put all his money into subwoofers, so he couldn’t afford to fix the rest of the car. :rofl:

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The old $1,000 car, $2,500 set of wheels and tires game. He probably had the audio turned up so as not to hear rod knock or other distracting noises.

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