where is the rustang?

 

They base their judgment on the fact that it is "little", not actual crash results.

 

No side airbags = unsafe

I guess that's the new way of looking at things. More airbags = safer!

 

This will be the 9th year of production of this car and the only one without side Air bag in the Honda line up. Accords had side bags back in the 98-2002 generation. Even Fit and 06+ Civics had airbags.

Contrary to what you may think, it doesn't take that much $$ to add side airbags into an existing model, especially since the majority of the hardware can be built into the seat itself.

This further perpetuates the point that Honda ignores significant continuous improvement to its sports car. Same as the case for the NSX. No side air bag when it was discontinued in 2005.

You bet the next generation S2000 will not only have side but also curtain air bags built in.

As for the question on who has died in an S2000...anyone that flips their car risks serious injury or death. Owners have broke their verterbrae after flipping their car simply because the roll bars are inadequately too short. Get with the program Honda, what the hell happend to "Safety for everyone"?

 

Although there is some truth to what you say your view is one sided...

- Side airbags would require a completely new seat, new harnesses and sensors for the side impact system, along with sensors in the doors to detect whether for example, someone has their hand slung over the door (as people typically do) so that the airbag doesn't blow your hand off.

- The S2000 has TWIN IMPACT DOOR BEAMS in the doors, in addition to energy absorbing foam blocks. Most cars only have one impact door beam.

- The High Side sills of the X-bone frame along with its high structural rigidity allow a lot of the crash forces in a side impact to be absorbed and distributed by the frame without much if any intrusion into the cabin.

Anyone can look at facts on paper and say that one paper "looks" safer than the other. But I can guarantee you that you'd be hard pressed to find a safer roadster than the S2000. The strength of its frame and its attention to detail when it comes to safety makes it one safe roadster. I'd venture to say that only the 987 Boxster is as or more of a crashworthy vehicle due in part to its POSIP system that allows the car to have curtain airbags, a worthy addition to a roadster.

Look at a Solstice on paper. Side airbags are an option - yet the damn thing can even protect the driver in a rollover, and instead its A-pillar snaps like a toothpick.

 

I have personally seen a couple BADLY crashed S2ks (one of them being S2000GT's car). I have been very impressed with how safe the S2000 is, especially for its size. The people who wrote this article must be morons to not put the Solstice near the top of the list. What good are side curtain airbags when the car rolls, the A-pillars snap and there's no roll bar. I've worked on a couple of them, but never had the nerve to ask the drivers why they chose a car that has absolutely no roll-over protection.

 

Not everyone drives the S like how we do!

Given, there are people out there that do not care much for how they drive it, and they often drive it like they stole it.

 

Very sad indeed, however, and this is a HUGE however, there are DOZENS of members on this site that were saved by this car. Some would not be here today if it was another car.

Now, as to forbes, they are a bunch (and I dont use this word often) f%$ktards. First of all, what would a side airbag do on a convertible? Nothing. They are a waste.

Here is my accident from last year...took a 30mph hit SMACK IN THE MIDDLE of the side impact airbag sweetspot.....





Walked away without so much as a headache. Side impact airbags are there to stop you from slapping your head against the roof pillar, which we dont have. The car has excellent shoulder bolsters, AND, almost no room for your shoulder to gain momentum and hit the inside door with any real force. Those morons at Forbes need to get an engineering degree before they talk out of their a$$.

Id rather fall off a cliff in an s2000, than in a Hummer H2, and no, Im not kidding. Ive seen how these cars handle bad crashes.

 

Quote from article: "Furthermore, the most recent available federal data, interpreted by make and model by the IIHS, covers 2001 to 2004 model years in calendar years 2002 to 2005. Many models have had significant changes in safety equipment or complete redesigns since then."

It commonly known, here at least, that the AP1 is much less forgiving to driver mistakes. Ap2s are more forgiving cars, especially 06 and 07.

It's funny when 19yo newbes come on here and ask which S2000 they should get; we all tell them MY03, when really they should learn to drive before getting into a car like that. An 07 at least would keep them out of throttle oversteer issues. Until of course we tell them to turn vsa off.

 

People have survived for quite a long time without side airbags, and airbags in general, they do help in crash protection, but not having them hardly makes a vehicle dangerous. I can tell you right I'd feel a lot safer in an accident driving my S2k than some POS car that does have side airbags.