Joined
·
1,453 Posts
I have always wondered why SUV manufacturers (except maybe Mercedes) have not given the THE STRENGTH OF THE ROOF STRUCTURE the most important place in the overall safety of the SUV, taking into consideration that the most likely accident in an SUV would be a rollover, considering that an SUV's higher center of gravity could, at the slightest provocation, make it rollover in an infinite number of scenarios (hitting a curb or pothole, tire blowout, side impacts, even sometimes an "angular" impact from the rear etc.). Yet another reason to so importantly emphasize the roof structure strength would be the fact that SUVs are substantially heavier than cars, in general, and their roofs have to bear much more weight and could be crushed even more easily, especially if the vehicle is thrown "with force" onto it's roof!!
I'm extremely impressed with Volvo's approach to safety in this regard. However, with more than likely subpar reliability it would probably not be a choice for me, but I really wish Japanese manufacturers such as Lexus and Acura would take a similar approach!
Here's the link to the impressive article:
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=04621349
On a sidenote, I think there should definitely be some sort of standardized testing of roof structures, especially for SUVs (similar to the IIHS offset), or maybe even a goverment rollover testing of some sort for all SUVs.......wonder why something so important to SUV safety does not already exist??
I'm extremely impressed with Volvo's approach to safety in this regard. However, with more than likely subpar reliability it would probably not be a choice for me, but I really wish Japanese manufacturers such as Lexus and Acura would take a similar approach!
Here's the link to the impressive article:
http://www.autoweek.com/cat_content...=carnews&loc_code=index&content_code=04621349
On a sidenote, I think there should definitely be some sort of standardized testing of roof structures, especially for SUVs (similar to the IIHS offset), or maybe even a goverment rollover testing of some sort for all SUVs.......wonder why something so important to SUV safety does not already exist??