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Date:         Wed, 2 Oct 1996 10:10:11 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         wabbott@mtest.teradyne.com (William Abbott)
Subject:      Re: Westy safety

The Car Talk guys are well intentioned but I'm not sure I'd take their word on safety. On a purely subjective basis, I'd say I *felt* quite safe in a friend's EV. Safer than in a Caravan or Astrovan, for example. I don't have a reference but I DID see pictures once from a test a Swedish car mag did of a Volvo wagon offset head-on into a Vanagon, at high speed (75-100kmph). I think they thought they were going to show-case the Volvo's qualities and crush zones... instead, the Vangaon went OVER the Volvo's engine compartment and stove-in the windshield and A pilar. Looked very fatal. The vanagon had no significant intrusions into the passenger space- it was not pretty but the doors opened and closed, and there would have been no serious injuries to it's passengers or driver if they'd been belted. VW's converstion of all vehicles to front-wheel-drive and front engine location was in part driven by safety concerns- a vehicle with the engine and a proper crush-zone in front is inherently safer than the rear-engine design many of us drive. All the structure that supports the engine and drive train provides strength.

I DO find the problems and solutions on Car Talk interesting, and believe Tom and Ray M. have good things to say. However, at least half of any of their shows is about problems with cheap assembly and poor design that don't seem to apply to the VW's I've owned. :) On the other hand, they're very good with listeners who are being run-around by untrustworthy mechanics. And they are WAY funny some times.

Just my US$ 0.02.

Bill


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