European cars vs US

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So, i have been looking for a nice new car for a while now, and i have found that pretty much all of the small cars in the US get approximately 30mpg unless they are a hybrid or are an older car. While cars in Europe are getting 45-75 Mpg non hybrid cars.
As far as i can tell, the reason for this is that US car manafacturers and imports brought to the US are all required to meet ridiculous safety and emission standards.

You would think that in times where gas prices are on everyones mind that the Gov would ease the restrictions on safety so that people could get much better MPG, but no instead we are stuck with gas guzzlers since all of those safety features add a lot of weight to the car.

For example,
The Ford Ka - a wonderful american designed car which gets a combined 48 Mpg will not be sold in the USA because they dont think that enough people will buy them. Also to bring it over they would need to bring it up to US code which would reduce its awe inspiring MPG. This is not a hybrid - its just a regular gas engine getting just as good mpg as those expensive japanese cars.

I just dont understand the US gov, i mean honestly - so what if a car does not meet safety standards. All that should be required is a big disclaimer saying that the car is as safe as driving a motorcycle; after all Motorcycles would never meet those standards either but they are on the roads here.

 

I guess as a people we have decided we would like to survive an accident.

 

immoral

Perhaps so, its rather inconvenient for the minority of people who like me cannot afford a japanese hybrid.
But the rather silly thing about the whole crash testing is that it doesnt really matter if a crash test shows the car is good, because it all depends on the mass of vehicle A vs the mass of vehicle B with their relative speeds.
So if you got hit in a hybrid by a truck or equivalently sized vehicle then you would not likely survive the accident if the collision was at 65 mph.

That being said, i wonder....are there any auto modding enthusiasts who would be able to point me to a forum which would have more of the actual know-how to do some serious modding?
I was thinking that i could buy a junk car of the geo metro or smaller variety and install an engine/trans from one of those Ford Kas or other vehicles so that i could get the mpg into a US car.

 

The Ka is produced in my town, Cologne, and roaming Germany's streets, safely, and we don't even have the harsh speed limits the US have. We certainly do have high technical and emission standards. Point is, it would not roll here if if was unsafe. The Ka is reasonably popular. The point is not survival. Don't be afraid, Snook

My hunch is that people who drive small cars in the US either can't afford larger ones, or drive them as matter of style - and then it is something like a Mini, or a Beetle. Probably Americans just like bigger cars ... because they always have, and because, just to use that stale old adage, in America, bigger is better.

My brother is driving a 55hp Opel Corsa, not a diesel, and he takes some pride in only burning some ~4,2 - 4,7l/100km, which roughly would be ~ 50 mpg. He says it's mostly due to his driving style.

 

The problem with the Ka (certainly the older ones anyway) is that the safety ratings for them aren't very high. However, they seem much better now.

Personally, I would always go for a Vauxall or a Peugeot. I've had a Vaux Astra and a Zafira and both have gotten good MPG with great handling and good safety ratings. The Pug that I had was an old 106xn that had the gear box twiddled so that as soon as you hit 5th gear it went like stink! Also very good on the MPG as I used to drive about 110 miles a week and only had to fill the tank once a month.

Driving style is always going to be a factor as well though. If you can keep in a high gear, you don't burn the gas as quickly. If you're going to do a lot of town driving then don't get anything bigger than a 1.6, it would also be worth getting an automatic.

Keep away from the higher octane fuels (super unleaded etc) as these will go through a car too quickly (unless you have it tuned up to run on the equvilent of Avgas ).

One of the major problems I've noticed when driving American cars is the handling. There doesn't seem to be a demand for tight handling over in the US so you can have something that corners like it has sails! Go for a European import, German is probably best, to get a good compromise of handling, efficiency and safety. I'd say to stay away from Mercs though, they tend to be packed out with electronics and the manufacturers hide some of them so that they are dealer only fixes. It could be a problem if you aren't near a dealer.

 

Are the safety requirements that much higher than the European ones? That seems strange. I always understood Americans didn't like small cars, maybe they just don't think they'll sell?

 

It's the law of gross tonnage. People have a greater probability to survive a bad crash if they have more metal to protect them. This is of course a generalization and some lightweight vehicles have a better "crash cage" than the large vehicles do, but those are generally expensive vehicles. In every study I've seen over the past ~30 years, the bigger vehicle wins a ridiculously large percentage of the time (which translates to fewer injuries and deaths for the larger vehicle).

If the law of gross tonnage were not enough the difference in ground clearance is another big factor. In a collision between a car and an SUV, the person in the car will have their face about equal to the grill of the SUV. The high strike zone of the SUV will totally negate the structural support under the car which provide crush zones to protect the passengers. Basically the SUV drives into the passenger compartment of the car.

The biggest factor for survival of the SUV driver is the seat belt. In a low speed roll over, the SUV driver has a high probability of escaping minimal injury if they are wearing a seat belt.

The safety in a accident of the SUV or pick-up is not a myth. The safety of the SUV or pick-up in a high speed chase (many police are shifting to SUV's) is quite questionable -- they become unstable at high speeds and rolling over at 70 plus mph will cause you to barrel roll many times. A person's internal organs can't handle those stresses even if there is no direct trauma.

 

Amen to that. While working in the claims department of an insurance company, most fatality claims I took involved persons in an SUV. Smaller cars are made to protect their interiors in collisions. Hence, the car is totaled, but the people inside are more likely to be able to recover.
Now, that\'s just personal experience, and certainly not a scientific study but still, I'll never buy an SUV. I do drive a light truck, but that's because we need someone in the family to have one for hauling purposes, and since I was the one that had to get a new vehicle.... well, I own a truck now.

 

So and they tested a Landrover and is was less safe than an average middle class car. Ouch, there goes the myth. A smart scored the maximun of 5 stars.

I drive an Aygo. 1 liter petrol for 21 KM. 4 euro road tax a month. It scores 4 stars at Euroncap. (2 for pedestrians.)

 

...until the Smart was tested in an actual collision with a mid-sized car. It didn't do so well. The problem with the crash ratings is they are very controlled (very specific speeds and angles of impact) and hence can be 'gamed' by the manufacturers.

A five star rating is the first thing you should look for, but it's not the entire story.

 

I drives minis, a 1959 antique that weighs in at an astounding 960 pounds and a 2008
Mini Cooper Clubman S. It behoves me to drive super defencseily . Most people aren't aware of what the underside of an 18 wheeler looks like. Sometimes I feel like an automotive proctologist when I'm driving on the interstate in traffic. I'm always looking for a safe outlet to stay away from trouble.

 

First off, what exactly is it the US cars need to have that the Europeans don't? I must say that I am also suprised that there should be any differences and if so that the difference would be tighter regulations in the US. Heck, I live in the mother of all nanny states where *everything* is tightly regulated. Always been under the impression that the US is much more "loose and easy".

As for car, I just bought a Honda Civic and from what I can understand Japanese or Korean cars are great. Good mileage, great quality, cheap service and excellent reliability.

 

I love German cars and especially Volkswagen, they're my favourite.

I met a guy who called his Smart a "suppository for trucks" it was a fitting description for his car.