JRStern > wrote in
:

>
> I was actually just going to post about the late unlamented Accord V6
> hybrid from a couple years back, how about just keeping up with the
> Jones's with an Accord hybrid I4 - AND KNOCK 500 POUNDS OFF IT.


That's exactly the point. Modern "safety" regulations -- especially the
newer side-impact regs -- make it difficult to impossible to build a light
car of any size.

Everything these days is 400-500 lbs heavier than the same size was 20
years ago, and all of that has gone into the structure, airbags, ABS, etc.

Take a look at the roof pillars, window sizes, and beltlines on a new car
and compare them against a 1992 model. The new cars have tree-trunks for
pillars, gun slits for windows, and beltlines up to your nose. Visibility
sucks.

You can have "safety", and you can have lightness, but you can't have both
unless you start using materials and processes that would put the price out
of reach of the average consumer.


--
Tegger