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Crash by chaim zvi

There’s an article running on CNN right now about how Geo Metros are making a comeback. From the article:

The 1996 Metro’s average of 40 miles per gallon nears that of the hybrid 2008 Toyota Prius — priced at $21,000 for the cheapest model — and bests most current cars by a long shot, according to government ratings. Older models of the Geo Metro, specifically cars from 1991 and the XFi edition, have the same average as the hybrid.

40 miles per gallon. Woo!

Wait a second. There’s a bit of a problem here. I distinctly remember when I was growing up that my father had a very little 1980 Toyota Starlet. Not the sexiest transportation but it got us around most of the eastern half of the United States and most of the midwest during our mammoth summer trips. I happen to remember, very very clearly, getting 50 miles per gallon on some of those trips. A small light car with a tiny engine is the key.

And we’re not the first to notice this either. There’s this great post on windingroad about the Honda CRX hitting 57mpg over 20 years ago. Their assertion: it’s safety engineering. Cars weren’t built as strong and were much lighter.

I’d be interested in hearing if the advances we’ve made since then (crumple zones, new materials, a less brute force approach to energy absorption during accidents) might be able to create small light cars that still meet modern safety requirements. I’m not an expert in these matters, but it would be interesting to know if anyone has ever done safety to weight studies.