The 10 least safe cars of all time

http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
cuhulin

> wrote in message
...
> http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
> cuhulin

Another ridiculous slap at the Pinto. As usual the person who wrote this
article is repeating a bunch of trial lawyer created hype that was
unreleated to reality. Pinto were not particualry dangerous and in fact
among contemporary small cars had one of the better safety records. The
whole notion that they would burst into flames at the drop of a hat was
totally bogus. Ford made the mistake of fighting a lawsuit related to a
Pinto that caught on fire in an accident and lost big time. This turned on
the trial lawyer hype machine. If you don't know what I mean, look at what
is happening today with regards to Toyota and supposed unintended
acceleration.

I also disagree witht he Corvair being in the list. It may not have been the
safest car ever sold, but I can think of dozens that were far worse.

And for sure the list, does not include one of the most dangerous vehicles
ever sold - the original VW Beetle.

Ed

> wrote in message
...
> http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
> cuhulin

Surprised the Reliant Robin didnt make the top ten.

"hls" > wrote in message
...
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
>> http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
>> cuhulin
>
> Surprised the Reliant Robin didnt make the top ten.

Clearly a list made up of cars sold in the US. The Robin never was.

I think the list ough to be titled, "10 Cars Thought to Be Unsafe By Someone
Who Did Absolutely No Research."

Ed

"C. E. White" > wrote in message
...
>
> "hls" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
>>> cuhulin
>>
>> Surprised the Reliant Robin didnt make the top ten.
>
> Clearly a list made up of cars sold in the US. The Robin never was.
>
> I think the list ough to be titled, "10 Cars Thought to Be Unsafe By
> Someone Who Did Absolutely No Research."
>
> Ed

Nearly all of the earliest cars were virtually
rolling coffins and not one made the list.

"C. E. White" wrote:
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
> > http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
> > cuhulin
>
> Another ridiculous slap at the Pinto. As usual the person who wrote this
> article is repeating a bunch of trial lawyer created hype that was
> unreleated to reality. Pinto were not particualry dangerous and in fact
> among contemporary small cars had one of the better safety records. The
> whole notion that they would burst into flames at the drop of a hat was
> totally bogus. Ford made the mistake of fighting a lawsuit related to a
> Pinto that caught on fire in an accident and lost big time. This turned on
> the trial lawyer hype machine. If you don't know what I mean, look at what
> is happening today with regards to Toyota and supposed unintended
> acceleration.
>
> I also disagree witht he Corvair being in the list. It may not have been the
> safest car ever sold, but I can think of dozens that were far worse.
>
> And for sure the list, does not include one of the most dangerous vehicles
> ever sold - the original VW Beetle.

I think you pretty clearly received the message that GM and Ford were
trying to deliver. GM paid Ralph Nader something like a million dollars
to deliver the message that the basic VW bug design was unsafe at any
speed. In GM's eyes it was money well spent.
Both GM and Ford could have delivered the message that economy cars are
unsafe and shouldn't be allowed on the road through advertising
campaigns but it would have cost a lot more money and wouldn't have been
as convincing.
The idea was brilliant. Build a small car that was a knock off of the
most serious economy car competition and then shoot it down in flames
(literally) and thus by inference destroy the competitions credibility.
Well it worked with some of the population who became thoroughly
convinced they needed big heavy Detroit iron, but it backfired with a
good portion of the population that missed the intended message and just
saw it as Detroit building crummy cars.

-jim

"jim" <"sjedgingN0Sp"@m@mwt,net> wrote in message
.. .
>
>
> "C. E. White" wrote:
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
>> > cuhulin
>>
>> Another ridiculous slap at the Pinto. As usual the person who wrote this
>> article is repeating a bunch of trial lawyer created hype that was
>> unreleated to reality. Pinto were not particualry dangerous and in fact
>> among contemporary small cars had one of the better safety records. The
>> whole notion that they would burst into flames at the drop of a hat was
>> totally bogus. Ford made the mistake of fighting a lawsuit related to a
>> Pinto that caught on fire in an accident and lost big time. This turned
>> on
>> the trial lawyer hype machine. If you don't know what I mean, look at
>> what
>> is happening today with regards to Toyota and supposed unintended
>> acceleration.
>>
>> I also disagree witht he Corvair being in the list. It may not have been
>> the
>> safest car ever sold, but I can think of dozens that were far worse.
>>
>> And for sure the list, does not include one of the most dangerous
>> vehicles
>> ever sold - the original VW Beetle.
>
> I think you pretty clearly received the message that GM and Ford were
> trying to deliver. GM paid Ralph Nader something like a million dollars
> to deliver the message that the basic VW bug design was unsafe at any
> speed. In GM's eyes it was money well spent ...

> -jim

Ahh, no, that isn't remotely close to an assessment of Ralph Nader's
involvement. Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the
American Automobile by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book
detailing resistance by car manufacturers to the introduction of safety
features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money
on improving safety. It was a pioneering work of attack journalism.

"Portnoy" > wrote in message
...
>
> "jim" <"sjedgingN0Sp"@m@mwt,net> wrote in message
> .. .
>>
>>
>> "C. E. White" wrote:
>>>
>>> > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>> > http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
>>> > cuhulin
>>>
>>> Another ridiculous slap at the Pinto. As usual the person who wrote this
>>> article is repeating a bunch of trial lawyer created hype that was
>>> unreleated to reality. Pinto were not particualry dangerous and in fact
>>> among contemporary small cars had one of the better safety records. The
>>> whole notion that they would burst into flames at the drop of a hat was
>>> totally bogus. Ford made the mistake of fighting a lawsuit related to a
>>> Pinto that caught on fire in an accident and lost big time. This turned
>>> on
>>> the trial lawyer hype machine. If you don't know what I mean, look at
>>> what
>>> is happening today with regards to Toyota and supposed unintended
>>> acceleration.
>>>
>>> I also disagree witht he Corvair being in the list. It may not have been
>>> the
>>> safest car ever sold, but I can think of dozens that were far worse.
>>>
>>> And for sure the list, does not include one of the most dangerous
>>> vehicles
>>> ever sold - the original VW Beetle.
>>
>> I think you pretty clearly received the message that GM and Ford were
>> trying to deliver. GM paid Ralph Nader something like a million dollars
>> to deliver the message that the basic VW bug design was unsafe at any
>> speed. In GM's eyes it was money well spent ...
>
>> -jim
>
> Ahh, no, that isn't remotely close to an assessment of Ralph Nader's
> involvement. Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the
> American Automobile by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book
> detailing resistance by car manufacturers to the introduction of safety
> features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money
> on improving safety. It was a pioneering work of attack journalism.

Correction: While is IS an assessment, I of course should have said
that it is not an accurate one and bears no resemblance whatsoever
to the actual facts of the matter..

"jim" <"sjedgingN0Sp"@m@mwt,net> wrote in message
.. .
>
>
> "C. E. White" wrote:
>>
>> > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
>> > cuhulin
>>
>> Another ridiculous slap at the Pinto. As usual the person who wrote this
>> article is repeating a bunch of trial lawyer created hype that was
>> unreleated to reality. Pinto were not particualry dangerous and in fact
>> among contemporary small cars had one of the better safety records. The
>> whole notion that they would burst into flames at the drop of a hat was
>> totally bogus. Ford made the mistake of fighting a lawsuit related to a
>> Pinto that caught on fire in an accident and lost big time. This turned
>> on
>> the trial lawyer hype machine. If you don't know what I mean, look at
>> what
>> is happening today with regards to Toyota and supposed unintended
>> acceleration.
>>
>> I also disagree witht he Corvair being in the list. It may not have been
>> the
>> safest car ever sold, but I can think of dozens that were far worse.
>>
>> And for sure the list, does not include one of the most dangerous
>> vehicles
>> ever sold - the original VW Beetle.
>
> I think you pretty clearly received the message that GM and Ford were
> trying to deliver. GM paid Ralph Nader something like a million dollars
> to deliver the message that the basic VW bug design was unsafe at any
> speed. In GM's eyes it was money well spent.

Anything bad you can say about the Corvair applied to the VW Bug as well in
spades. I once saw a guy roll a Bug just doing circle in a parking lot.

Answer this - in 1972 would you have rather been a collision riding in a VW
Bug or in a Pinto? My choice would have been a Pinto. More stable, better
structure, more reliable.

Ed



> Both GM and Ford could have delivered the message that economy cars are
> unsafe and shouldn't be allowed on the road through advertising
> campaigns but it would have cost a lot more money and wouldn't have been
> as convincing.
> The idea was brilliant. Build a small car that was a knock off of the
> most serious economy car competition and then shoot it down in flames
> (literally) and thus by inference destroy the competitions credibility.
> Well it worked with some of the population who became thoroughly
> convinced they needed big heavy Detroit iron, but it backfired with a
> good portion of the population that missed the intended message and just
> saw it as Detroit building crummy cars.
>
> -jim

Portnoy wrote:
>
> "Portnoy" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "jim" <"sjedgingN0Sp"@m@mwt,net> wrote in message
> > .. .
> >>
> >>
> >> "C. E. White" wrote:
> >>>
> >>> > wrote in message
> >>> ...
> >>> > http://www.autoshippers.org/blog/201...rs-of-all-time
> >>> > cuhulin
> >>>
> >>> Another ridiculous slap at the Pinto. As usual the person who wrote this
> >>> article is repeating a bunch of trial lawyer created hype that was
> >>> unreleated to reality. Pinto were not particualry dangerous and in fact
> >>> among contemporary small cars had one of the better safety records. The
> >>> whole notion that they would burst into flames at the drop of a hat was
> >>> totally bogus. Ford made the mistake of fighting a lawsuit related to a
> >>> Pinto that caught on fire in an accident and lost big time. This turned
> >>> on
> >>> the trial lawyer hype machine. If you don't know what I mean, look at
> >>> what
> >>> is happening today with regards to Toyota and supposed unintended
> >>> acceleration.
> >>>
> >>> I also disagree witht he Corvair being in the list. It may not have been
> >>> the
> >>> safest car ever sold, but I can think of dozens that were far worse.
> >>>
> >>> And for sure the list, does not include one of the most dangerous
> >>> vehicles
> >>> ever sold - the original VW Beetle.
> >>
> >> I think you pretty clearly received the message that GM and Ford were
> >> trying to deliver. GM paid Ralph Nader something like a million dollars
> >> to deliver the message that the basic VW bug design was unsafe at any
> >> speed. In GM's eyes it was money well spent ...
> >
> >> -jim
> >
> > Ahh, no, that isn't remotely close to an assessment of Ralph Nader's
> > involvement. Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the
> > American Automobile by Ralph Nader, published in 1965, is a book
> > detailing resistance by car manufacturers to the introduction of safety
> > features, like seat belts, and their general reluctance to spend money
> > on improving safety. It was a pioneering work of attack journalism.
>
> Correction: While is IS an assessment, I of course should have said
> that it is not an accurate one and bears no resemblance whatsoever
> to the actual facts of the matter..

Are you saying the conclusions that Ed expressed don't exist? Or what
facts are you claiming I got wrong? I never claimed Nader intended for
Ed to draw the conclusions he did. What I am saying is it is pretty
clearly a fact that both GM and Ford benefited from the conclusions that
many Americans arrived at - that small economy cars were unsafe to
drive.

Besides GM and Ford are more than happy to manufacture and sell safety
features to the car purchasing public. The problem was getting the
public to be generally inclined to purchase safety features. Caddilac
and Lincoln buyers were willing to pay but not the rest. And yes Nader
had a lot to do with getting the public to pay for those features one
way or the other.