Posted on 06/11/2009 6:52:45 AM PDT by Red in Blue PA
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Even a fender-bender in a fuel-efficient mini car can lead to thousands of dollars worth of repairs, the insurance industry found in new crash tests.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported Thursday that repairing damage to microcars in low-speed crashes of 3 to 6 miles per hour could cost anywhere from $474 to $3,701.
The Institute conducted low-speed crash tests on the front and back bumpers and the front and rear corners of seven 2009 model year mini cars that have become more widely available with rising fuel costs in recent years.
The Kia Rio racked up the most damage among the tiny cars, $3,701 in repairs to the full front bumper. In the four tests, the Rio averaged $2,705 in damages.
The Smart fortwo had the lowest average bill of $899 among the seven vehicles tested. In one test, damage to the rear corner of the fortwo cost $507. The Chevrolet Aveo had the second-lowest bill, an average of $1,155 in damages for the four tests.
Among the other vehicles tested, the Hyundai Accent averaged $2,123 in damages, the Honda Fit racked up $1,960 in repairs and the Toyota Yaris would have led to an average bill of $1,951. Tests to the bumpers of the Mini Cooper generated average damages of $1,637.
Institute senior vice president Joe Nolan said bumpers should be designed to protect vehicle parts such as grilles and headlights. Damages should cost less than the typical $500 insurance deductible for a collision, he said.
"When you reach $1,000 (in damages) the bumper isn't doing its job, and anything $1,500 or higher is egregious," Nolan said.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
My daughter, in a prior reply, forgot one detail. When I arrived at the scene and saw what was left of the Nissan, I nearly fainted in fear. As she ran crying from the house 30 feet from the road, the tow truck pulled the Nissan from under the Olds.
I couldn’t believe what I saw, and got into the car and started it to pull it OFF the road to clear what was merely a 2 lane road. A cop ran over to stop me, until I pointed out that the ONLY damage to the front of the OLDS was the driver’s edge of the massive front bumper was bent DOWNWARD about three inches. He was, he said, NOT surprised.
I now drive (still) an OLDS station wagon, in safety, comfort and survivability. My gas costs per month is somewhat less than 15 minutes in the hospital costs.
Don’t have a photo but a year or so ago I saw an SUV t-boned by a big rig. Didn’t look much different from that — very unlikely the SUV driver lived.
Also what about his HUGE electric bill for his mansions? His home electric bill is avg $1400 /month The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year.
In total, Gore paid nearly $30,000 in combined electricity and natural gas bills for his Nashville estate in 2006.
So much for the hypocrisy of being the LEADER of the GREEN MOVEMENT!!
There’s just something about seeing a small car under the big rig’s wheel. Something about it being completely hoplessly unfair.
It's better to be big than small in any impact. 70K pounds of big truck versus a dinky car is a loosing match as there is just so much energy adsorption that can be designed in.
Big bumpers? Someone mentioned big bumpers! They are great! On my offroad functional SUV, I've replaced the 10 pound, stamped steel OEM bumper with a 120 pound aftermarket rear bumper. Will be doing the same for the front soon to replace the plastic fascia and underlying steel bumper with another 120 pounds of aftermarket steel. For the sides, I have rock sliders that among other things will add additional protection in a side impact. Another name for all this is armor, for good reason.
Compare and contrast: horsepower to weight ratios of smart cars and motorcycles. Compare and contrast maneuverability.
The main point about riding motorcycles is avoiding the accident, which admittedly, requires vigillance and skill.
Only if some jerk in a cage hits you from behind (where the passengers ride).
My first car was a 1950 Chrysler New Yorker. This would have been about 1963. The brakes failed and I struck the left rear wheel area of a 1955 Chevy.
Damage of about $100 to the Chevy, which was about a months pay as I was in the Air Force at the time.
Damage to the Chrysler: Broken left turn signal plastic lens and the ring around the headlight!
One tough car!
We need govt funded car insurance pronto.
But 45mpg hwy, 39 combined and 36 city and with reg gas now back up to 2.66/gal and climbing, it pays to slow down and simply drive carefully.
But I sure do enjoy climbing into my Ram Hemi every once in a while too! All bets are off when driving that!
Looking at the way that tractor’s front axle is snapped, it’s obvious the little lawnmower put up quite a fight. Not that it did any good...
"The Kia Rio racked up the most damage among the tiny cars, $3,701 in repairs to the full front bumper. In the four tests, the Rio averaged $2,705 in damages.
Among the other vehicles tested, the Hyundai Accent averaged $2,123 in damages, the Honda Fit racked up $1,960 in repairs and the Toyota Yaris would have led to an average bill of $1,951. Tests to the bumpers of the Mini Cooper generated average damages of $1,637. "
Since the Hyundai Accent & KIA RIO 4 Dr sedans are the same car. Just as GM's Camaro, Firebird, and TransAM were years ago. Their hatchbacks (station wagons, might be a little different). The Accent comes as a 3 Dr Hatchback, and the RIO5, is a 5 Dr Hatchback (StaWgn) And are built in the same plant. I should know, I have a 2008 KIA RIO5, that was built at the Hyundai plant in Korea, last year.
If you look at the following two (2) articles, the Hyundai/KIA product line dominates the the top 10, Least Expensive Vehicles to get insurance for, 5 out of 10 (50%). Also there are no US compact cars in that list, only two (2) mid size vehicles, Chrysler's Town & Country (Minivan), and Saturn's Vue (SUV or Crossover). They may be using the same report for their articles.
The most and least expensive 2009 vehicles to insure
By Amy Danise, Insure.com
Last updated May 28, 2009
The Most Expensive Cars to Insure
Posted: Jun. 03, 2009 11:06 a.m.
On the US News Automotive Site
disposable technology.
The new Green is more disasterous than ever.
They don't fool me, it cost no more, maybe even less to fix these childrens toys.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have a derby demolition with one Ford truck against a dozen smart cars?
Lower the speed limit to 2 MPH! It will also save fuel! LOL.
You mean our tax money paid $30,000 in bills for Al Gore.
“LOL! Was your prof. working in Disneyland?”
Model T era cars could indeed do as he said.
Motorcycles are dangerous on the street too. More dangerous than micro cars even. If you want to drive a micro car go ahead. This is supposed to be a free country. Most people on this thread are bashing micro cars because they foresee a day when they will be government mandated, to “protect the environment”.
This country is becoming less free all the time. It's not so hard for us to imagine a day when we will have to get a special permit to buy a pickup truck, and have to pay thousands in carbon tax credits a year just to drive it.By all means drive your micro mini car. More power too you. No one is forcing you to drive a big car.
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