re: #517 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Where are these people coming from?

They’re idiots.

There’s a reason “they don’t make ‘em like that anymore”…

The concept now is “crumple on impact” (to absorb kinetic energy) and “protect the passengers, not the car” (by enclosing the passengers in a crumple-proof cage with airbags and soft, forgiving surfaces). This is why a small impact now usually produces major damage to the non-cage part of the vehicle; that’s exactly what’s intended. … Read MorePeople complain because “fender benders” are so expensive to fix these days. In the old days, cars were built like tanks to protect themselves. Now, thanks to modern engineering, they’re built to protect us. I’d rather total a car and walk away than end up in a wheelchair with a car that can be repaired.

As you can see, the old cars protected neither themselves nor us.

In the old car, the steering wheel/column collapses the “driver’s” chest. That is one dead crash-test dummy. In the new one, maybe a couple of broken ribs and a sore face.

I believe every single kind of car has improved with the new school of engineering. In fact, I bet even the “Smart Car” that everybody loves to laugh at (myself included) would do better than that old Chevy.

But some people can’t let go of their fantasies about the “good old days”.