[Celtic Conservative]

Could it be that the increase in automotive related deaths be attributed to more people owning and driving cars? Naw that's just crazy talk!

CC

[dfwgator]

Spokesman: These days, everyone's talking about the Hyundai, and the Yugo. Both nice cars, if you've got $3,000 or $4,000 to throw around. But, for those of us whose name doesn't happen to be Rockefeller, finally there's some good news - a car with a sticker price of $179. That's right, $179. The name of the car?

Adobe. The sassy new Mexican import that's made out of clay. German engineering and Mexican know-how helped create the first car to break the $200 barrier. At this price, you might not expect more than reliable transportation - but, brother, you get it! Extra features: like the custom contour seats, or the beverage-gripping dash. And the money you save isn't exactly small change!

Jingle:
"Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
The little car that's made out of clay!
We're gonna save you some money
that you can spend in some other way!
Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
Hey, hey, we're Adobe!
Adobe!"

[ show Adobe driver get into a fender-bender. She casually steps out of the vehicle and uses her hands to mold her bumper back into its proper shape, in under six minutes! ]

Spokesman: Adobe. You can buy a cheaper car. But I wouldn't recommend it!

Announcer: Not approved for street use in some states. No warranty either expressed or implied. All sales final.

[ElkGroveDan]

Vehicles destined to stay in Mexico or go south to the rest of Latin America carry a code signifying there’s no need for antilock braking systems, electronic stability control, or more than two air bags,

Oh the humanity. If my first car, a 1974 Chevy that I put 180,000 miles on driving to every corner of the 11 Western states in my teens and twenties hadn't had "antilock braking systems, electronic stability control, or more than two air bags" I wouldn't be alive today to tell ...oh wait. Never mind.

[ObamahatesPACoal]

I remember a deported illegal somewhere in a country south of Mexico was complaining he no longer had discovery channel or nice roads to drive on.

[Blood of Tyrants]

All that safety costs money. Why make a car for Central and South America that most people can’t afford?

[Caipirabob]

I remember walking through the streets of Chicago in winter and running across a Yugo half buried in a snowdrift. It had been abandoned in the street. There was painting in the visible part that read “for Gods sake, don’t buy a Yugo!”

I suppose we’ll need to be able to read that in Spanish in short order....

[doorgunner69]

Mexicans make unsafe cars?

Who knew??

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The funny part is that decades of nanny government in the US have seemingly made cars safer, but the reality is that many are far less safe than they were in the 1950s.

Everything is trade offs. If gasoline prices are low, cars can be heavier, and heaviness equates to more safety. Perhaps the safety innovation that matters the most is seat belts. But from there, the law of diminishing returns hits pretty hard.

Safety glass is probably a good idea, if you can afford it. Air bags? Well, the jury is still out on those. Reducing the amount of steel used really matters.

[autumnraine]

If cars are being made with cheap labor, why are they so dang expensive.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

These cars sound as safe as the ones I grew up riding in...

[count-your-change]

I owned a ‘75 LTD, tons of metal on wheels, and it was a lot safer than several newer little cars I crushed with it.

[RetiredTexasVet]

Well, kind of good for us Nortamericanos....maybe they won’t have so many to export.

[trebb]

... including as many as six to ten air bags, and stability controls that compensate for slippery roads and other road dangers, say engineers...

I find my car handles better (and peppier) when I turn off the traction/stability controls. I wonder how many have lost it due to the controls taking over and prevented other saving actions from being implemented.