Want to feel old?

[JST]

Inside Line tests a modern car against a hoary old classic, reveling in many of the period details that have been lost to history...

...and the classic was built in 1998. :ack:

http://www.insideline.com/features/1998-acura-integra-type-r-vs-2010-honda-civic-si.html

EDIT: The cars are the vaunted Integra Type R and the Civic Si.

[RMR]

Inside Line tests a modern car against a hoary old classic, reveling in many of the period details that have been lost to history...

...and the classic was built in 1998. :ack:

http://www.insideline.com/features/1998-acura-integra-type-r-vs-2010-honda-civic-si.html

EDIT: The cars are the vaunted Integra Type R and the Civic Si.

Wow it does make me feel old. Really shows you how bloated cars have become.

1998 was a big car year for me. My best friend and roomate bought a new 1998 Integra GSR. Back then I was 23 and bought my first car which was a new '98 Ford Contour SE manual trans for $17,500. He bought the GSR for $22,000 and I thought that was alot of money. That Acura was amazing to drive weighing only 2600 some pounds. It put the Contour to shame....tho the Contour SE was nice for the price and handled relatively well. It was just built like shit.

[lupinsea]

Wow it does make me feel old. Really shows you how bloated cars have become.

And not just in pure weight, either, but also from the design side. I've really come to dislike the chunky, bloated look of a lot of modern cars. The high-belt lights make for small windows lending a lot of modern cars a cave-like feel on the interior. And all the pillars have gotten really thick and chunky, too.

It makes me appreciate getting into one of these older cars where the dash is lower, the window sills are lower, and you have a much better, nicer feeling of openness and light in the cockpit.

[JST]

And not just in pure weight, either, but also from the design side. I've really come to dislike the chunky, bloated look of a lot of modern cars. The high-belt lights make for small windows lending a lot of modern cars a cave-like feel on the interior. And all the pillars have gotten really thick and chunky, too.

It makes me appreciate getting into one of these older cars where the dash is lower, the window sills are lower, and you have a much better, nicer feeling of openness and light in the cockpit.

Until you get into an accident, or roll over. :)

[Nick M3]

The high side issue is the fault of the EU's annoying obsession with pedestrian safety.

[rumatt]

:ack:

[John V]

Until you get into an accident, or roll over. :)

The older cars were safe enough for me back then, so they're safe enough for me now.

[RMR]

The older cars were safe enough for me back then, so they're safe enough for me now.

I agree.

The new designs have engineered safety factors built into them to cover the worst denominator of failure. The auto structure and safety designs of the 90s were very safe compared to 12 years prior in 1986. How significantly have we improved on the 1998 designs 12 years later now in 2010 I'm just not sure.

I'm glad the new safety is in our cars today but IMO most of the electronic safety control is overkill. (watching the Toyota hearings today sort of proves this point).

But I guess anyone can argue if it saves 100 lives it's all for the better. Who knows.....

[Jeff_DML]

nice read, type-r sounds like it aged well.

was watching a bmw 2002 at my recent auto-x, now that has low beltline/good visibility

[JST]

The older cars were safe enough for me back then, so they're safe enough for me now.

That's because you weren't in a fatal accident in a car built in 1998.

[John V]

But I guess anyone can argue if it saves 100 lives it's all for the better. Who knows.....

Unfortunately our government has chosen to make the decisions for us to protect us from ourselves, so our cars will (with some exception) continue to get safer and most likely heavier.

Thank goodness for motorcycles.

[FC]

Thank goodness for motorcycles.

...while they last. They'll probably get banned in the future.

[John V]

That's because you weren't in a fatal accident in a car built in 1998.

Yeah. We should probably all drive around in tanks. That way nobody would ever die in car wrecks.

[lemming]

Yeah. We should probably all drive around in tanks. That way nobody would ever die in car wrecks.

it's too bad, too.

more living without consequences Part II.

SUVs unlimited was Part I.

[JST]

Yeah. We should probably all drive around in tanks. That way nobody would ever die in car wrecks.

I'm not making a value judgment one way or the other about safety policies; I'm just pointing out that the people for whom cars built in 1998 weren't safe enough aren't around anymore to tell us about it. It's the same thing as the "my parents didn't use a car seat and I'm not dead" thing--yes, true, but we won't ever hear from the people that ARE dead, so it's not really useful logic.

[John V]

I'm not making a value judgment one way or the other about safety policies; I'm just pointing out that the people for whom cars built in 1998 weren't safe enough aren't around anymore to tell us about it. It's the same thing as the "my parents didn't use a car seat and I'm not dead" thing--yes, true, but we won't ever hear from the people that ARE dead, so it's not really useful logic.

As a parent, you probably have the view of "cars can never be too safe."

As an engineer and car enthusiast, I have the view of "cars reached the point of 'safe enough' some time ago."

I'm not trying to make light of the fact that people die in car wrecks every year.

[JST]

As a parent, you probably have the view of "cars can never be too safe."

As an engineer and car enthusiast, I have the view of "cars reached the point of 'safe enough' some time ago."

I'm not trying to make light of the fact that people die in car wrecks every year.

I don't, really--I mean, I drive my daughter around in a Mini Cooper every day. Or a 400 hp BMW. And I'd take her with me in the Porsche, too, if certain other interested parties were more comfortable with it. It's not like I went out and bought a minivan/Volvo or similar.

I'm really not disagreeing with you on policy (though as materials and technology change, things can always be improved, and that applies to safety, too).