RE: The Dodge Dakota rated ``poor''

From: David Brown (dbrown@mh1.mcis.uchicago.edu)
Date: Wed May 13 1998 - 14:25:55 EDT


Small Pickups Do Poorly in Tests
.....
I learned a long time ago that to get a decent vehicle, you go the
opposite of what Consumer Distorts says, this applies to anything else
they report on. In my opinion,this is the opening shots in the war to
get rid of these terrible SUVs, and light trucks that are terrorizing
the people who drive Civics and the like. The facts that exist do not
fit their agenda, so they have to make ones.

2. Where is the statistical data, ie. repeteat tests? It would seem that
the Insurance Industry tests only sample one of each vehicle. A
scientific testing methodology does not make conclusions based on a
single test. What if the dummy was defective, not securely fastened,
sensors were improperly placed, the vehicle used had a structural
defect,... Multiple tests are typically used to rule out such anomolies
----------
I couldn't agree more.

I watched the whole program on the tests. They started by building up concern
over the fact that these trucks use a FRAME and not unibody construction. !!
They continued to point out that cars aren't built this way. Well, not any more.
They continued to bring this up, sort of like if you tell a lie so many times it
becomes accepted as truth.

Testing one vehicle and drawing conclusions, I think, is very unscientific and
misleading. The first vehicle tested appeared to cause the most injury, yet it
was rated the best. ?? The wheel hitting the solid cement dissappeared into the
cabin! Not so on the Dak.

The whole program seemed to be a push for allowance in hiking truck insurance
rates, and pushing the insurance industries agenda in terms of the recent
"problem" with trucks causing more damage to cars than car to car collisions.

What about pitting the trucks against what they claim to be the safest cars?
I'll take my BODY ON FRAME vehicles in a collision rather than any unibody car
any day.

-- 
David Brown          Mailto:dbrown@mh1.mcis.uchicago.edu



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:08:47 EDT