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Re: I think this is an insane question- so don't flame me.
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Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Wed, 16 Nov 2005 05:10:31 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: I think this is an insane question- so don't flame me., andre, Tue, 15 Nov 2005 21:30:14
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Retrofitting an old car would be an incredibly expensive proposition. Things like side airbags aren't just bolt-on devices - they must be engineered into the body when the body is being designed. They have to have the right structure behind, the right material between them and the passenger, etc. And the sensing system has to be integrated into the car structure. And the manufacturer would need to verify operation by crash-testing. So the cost to design one in after the fact would be much, much more expensive than designing it in from the beginning. Add in that there is a limited number of used cars out there - an expensive initial investment for a very small audience. And how far back to go? Do you need to bring every car up to today's standards? Can you imagine what it would take to install full airbags, side doorbeams, upgraded frame rails, roll-over protection, etc, in a 1976 Chevette?

The price of retrofitting would exceed the price of a new car, believe it or not. Replacing an airbag for a car that it was designed for runs over $1500 or so. And that's just the airbag. Imagine the cost of the airbag sensors, controller, harness, and amortizing the engineering over only a few thousand cars. Easily well over $10K. So why not buy a new car? And there will be a bunch of cars out there that really can't be retrofit - safety features aren't add-ons, they are built in. Active head restraint would require new seats.

Lastly, things like side airbags and active head restraints are minor improvements on an already very safe car. Saabs have been designed to be hit for a long, long time. Is a side airbag in a Saab better than a Saab without one? Yes, for a small number of situations. Do I feel unsafe in my '92 because it doesn't have side airbags (or a front passenger airbag)? No, not in the least. Remember, airbags are supplementary systems - it's the seatbelts that do most of the work. And the high seatback on my '92 gives me substantial head and neck protection.

If I compare a '92 Honda to a '92 Saab, (Hey no flames here either - I've seen older Hondas in crashes), I can see wanting side airbags. So for some cars, those features are major improvements.

I consider Saabs to be very safe. I wear my seatbelts and feel safer in my '92 9K than I do in my '01 Jetta (with side airbags). But you can't add these features cheaply. The cheapest retrofit involves four screws - unblot your license plate, remove car, install newer car, re-install plate and screws.



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