[flachsechs]

nearly everything people find 'wrong' with modern cars is done for passenger and pedestrian safety.

even the phone integration and annoyingly bad electronic gadgets and infotainment software are designed to get you to put down your phone when driving, or be more aware of your surroundings.

remember, the alternative is nearly everyone staring at their phones while driving, and the obvious fallout from that (people still do it, of course, hence the physical safety features).

this is the reality that car designers must deal with and a point that is totally lost on the majority of people who complain about 'new cars'. if they could sell you a 1200 pound tin can death-trap with insufficient power and torque, they would, and we'd buy it, because it gets 120mpg and costs $5000.

[Retric]

Actual bumpers are not a safety issue. Car companies simply make more money by selling body panels at high markup after every minor accident.

[flachsechs]

for you to say something like "bumpers aren't a safety issue" pretty much discredits you immediately, but i'll answer anyway, for posterity.

"actual bumpers" are quite likely the single most extensively regulated pedestrian- and collision-related safety part. there's extensive legislation about their design and characteristics.

car companies exist to make money, yes, but they operate within a global framework of strict regulation.

[tyingq]

Probably referring to the disappearance of external bumpers that could be cheaply replaced after an accident, or even a reasonable diy project.

The bumpers today are underneath body panels, so a even a light accident isn't cheap or easy to fix.

My guess is they don't exist anymore for several reasons. Style, aerodynamics, etc.

[Retric]

Feel free to look for an actual regulation that prevents ridged bumpers with shock absorbers. You will not find it and in fact many vehicles are sold that can have a 5MPH collision without significant harm.

The reasons for this is people can walk into solid objects at 5MPH without significant harm.

PS: Feel free to start with: 49 CFR Part 58

[userbinator]

and in fact many vehicles are sold that can have a 5MPH collision without significant harm.

...or at least used to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumper_(car)#Stringency_reduce...

[flachsechs]

i have no idea what you're trying to say, because you keep making typos in critical words.

[dsfyu404ed]

You know what they say about metrics and targets.

The OEMs make you sit deep in every car because that's how you get a 5-star rating. Then a bunch of people back over pedestrians and kids because in the real world more people will be put in a situation like that than will be in a high speed side impact.

Now the .gov mandates back up cameras...

[mikeash]

Implying nobody was backing over kids in older cars?

What you describe sounds like a reasonable iterative process of identifying what’s likely to kill people and making it safer.

[dsfyu404ed]

It was far less common when your typical vehicle had a smaller rear blind spot than a T-72

There's a direct trade-off between safety and visibility.