Okay I have seen some interesting articles about crash safety and one thread on this site had a post that got me thinking.... what car is designed to crash better?

So here is the idea.

You are given a choice of 2 cars, a 2005 Corvette or a 2005 Hummer H2. You have to drive the car of your choice up to 50 mph on a 3 lane highway in the left lane, then the highway will begin a left turn. At the begining of the turn you do not turn but allow the vehicle to drive into the outside wall. At an angle that is not exactly hitting the wall flush (not t-boning the wall) but hitting it hard as hell with the right side of the front bumper (pretty much what happened to Dale Ernhardt, the crash that killed him).

So basically your going 50mph and are crashing into a wall (concrete, this hypothetical wall will not give). What car are you going to get into?

 

Hmmmmmmmmm......I hate american cars, but this is for fun so I say the H2 on 24inch dubs and a phat system in the trunk.

 

I voted for the Vette because I experienced a simular situation in an F-body and escaped without a scratch. The H2 with its higher center of gravity might lead to going over the wall or glancing off it then rolling.

JeffA

 

I think I agree. The H2 is just waaaaay heavyer and what ever it does, it's going to do far more dramatic.

As far as internal inertia is concerned it should be the same in either car. Your body is moving at 50mph is both cases, and will come to a sudden stop in a similar manner regardless of the car. But the car it's self will stop in a completly different way. There's nothing wrong with crashing in a smaller car, so long as the passenger compartment holds up. The commong assumption is that a bigger car is going to hold up better in a crash, but like they say, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. The H2 is big, but the front will have to stop 8000lbs of doom, while a Mini, for example, will only have to stop 2600lbs or so. And since you already said the wall will not give, all the force will have to be dissipated by the vehicle it's self.

In this case, I'll take the Corvett.

 

I picked the corvette cuz if I was to die, I'd rather die in a sports car then an SUV. I also agree with the others though. The H2 is more likely to flip when hitting a freeway barrier like that. Plus as someone mentioned weight isn't an advantage against a wall with no give.

 

I picked corvette, in the thinking that it is better designed to "explode" in a crash. Yes the H2 has crumple zones and what not, but the corvette is built for speed and with speed comes consequences. I would assume the car is designed to break apart at a higher speed crash, at least more so than a hummer.
I mean some of the (even the littlest bit) racing technology reguarding saftey makes it into the street vette.

 

Definitely the Vette under these circumstances. Less weight, larger crush zones, lower center of gravity.

 

I chose the corvette because, as stated, the H2 has a few negatives in its column...it's way heavier, which means there's a lot more energy to dissipate in general. Second, it's higher, and would be more susceptible to rolling or jumping the wall entirely. Third, the structure of the corvette is more compact and much stiffer, which would absorb a lot of energy before collapsing, while the H2 chassis is a suburban's which isn't exactly a model of structural rigidity. ever seen an H2 rock-crawling? the chassis noticible deflects when the suspension reaches the limits of extension.

Quick2k

 

the Vette, for the same reasons as posted above. low center of gravity, crumple zones, won't go OVER the barrier...

you know, this sounds like something from an episode of Fear Factor..

 

not to get off topic but if you were going head on which one would you pick now? if you still pick the vette, you're going to get run over like a pancake...