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Date:         Wed, 29 Apr 1998 15:26:28 -0400
Reply-To:     Patrick Dooley <pdooley@GTE.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Patrick Dooley <pdooley@GTE.NET>
Subject:      Re: Vanagon Crashworthiness
Comments: To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Don't want to write a book about CR, but let me just say everyone has their opinion. Sure CR's opinion should be superior because of their "testing", but I would bet most of the people on this list are smarter than anyone at CR. Draw your own conclusions, don't let someone else do it for you.

-----Original Message----- From: Sam Scholten <vwvanagon@YAHOO.COM> To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM> Date: Wednesday, April 29, 1998 9:13 AM Subject: Re: Vanagon Crashworthiness

>Jan, > >The American consumer-advocate magazine Consumer Reports, in its first >minivan road tests in '84, made some interesting observations about >minivan saftey, as the publication was not yet familiar with it. In >the introductory page, they stated that a CR staffer, driving a >Vanagon a few years prior to that issue, missed getting severe >injuries by being high enough off the ground to avoid them. The other >driver was severely injured. > >The review of the Vanagon in that issue was so incredibly amusing. >Aside from their complaints about the Vanagon's slowness, which is >warranted, the rest of the time they were bitching about the effects >of the cockpit being mounted over the front wheels. It seems the >problem wasn't the van more than the fact that they couldn't hang. We >ALL know that driving a VW bus is a different discipline than driving >a car. They didn't. As a result, they concluded that the Vanagon was >an incredibly unsafe, scary vehicle. > >That issue makes for some interesting reading, so check it out next >time you head for the library. > >My $0.02, >Sam > > > > >---"J.W.Brier" <Jan@HRPS.DEMON.NL> wrote: >> >> > The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash >> > tested one of our beloved bricks at 35 mph head-on into a fixed >barrier. >> >> Actually that's not a very good test. You will find that there are >very few fixed barriers getting in your way. Most accidents happen >when other - moving - vehicles get in your way (or you get in theirs). >That's what is being tested more recently and leads to side airbags >etc. It also accounts for the difference in test results and >statistical data. >> >> Although often the driver of a VW bus is the first person to arrive >at the scene of the accident the statistics do not show the bus to be >overly dangerous. Having said that, all cars can be dangerous and >should be used occordingly. The VW bus is no acception, but as speed >is one of the major contributors to the severity of an accident and >our buses are generally not that fast I think it is relatively safe to >the occupants. Because they are heavy they could be harmful to other >parties involved. >> >> Also, we do care for our vehicles and have a relaxed way of life so, >as a consequence, we are the better drivers .................?! >> >> >> Jan Willem Briër (mr), >> High Rise Professional Services, The Netherlands. >> >_______________________________________________________________________ >> E-mail: jan@hrps.demon.nl -- Tel. +31 (318) 548857 -- fax +31 (318) >548101 >> >__________________________________________________________________________ >> Personal web : http://www.hrps.demon.nl >> VW-bus page : http://www.hrps.demon.nl/jwbus.htm >> VW-bookstore: http://www.hrps.demon.nl/vw-boeken.htm >> > >_________________________________________________________ >DO YOU YAHOO!? >Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com


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