Another Sube takes a bullet for its owner

[Viss1]

Got rear-ended by a fullsize Chevy cargo van this morning. I was stopped, and he was going about 15-20MPH. The impact pushed me into the SUV in front of me. The Sube ended up being quite the tank - if you saw the damage to the front of the van, you'd think my car should look a heck of a lot worse than it does. At first glance the car looks minimally damaged. Unfortunately there is some unibody damage though - one of the quarter panels is bowed out slightly. And the rear bumper structure will have to be replaced. Of course the bumper covers and maybe 1-2 pieces of the side cladding will need to be replaced too (although nothing broke - it looks like it could all be reused if visuals weren't a concern). Car drives fine with an occasional rattle from the impacted area. Initial once-over looks like there won't be any paintwork necessary - just a quick pull on the rack, an alignment, some new plastic, and it should be good to go.

 

The driver's seat functioned as designed - I keep my headrest at the proper level, and I imagine the whiplash mitigation device functioned properly, although of course I didn't notice it at the time. Went to the doc and seem fine now but of course any problems will take a day or two to become evident.

 

I'm someone who usually puts safety ratings and whatnot a few places down the list of priorities. But I certainly benefited from those factors today. And I'm extremely glad I wasn't driving my NA Miata!

[rao]

Glad you are OK.

[joeblow]

I'm someone who usually puts safety ratings and whatnot a few places down the list of priorities. But I certainly benefited from those factors today. And I'm extremely glad I wasn't driving my NA Miata!

 

I think a lot of people put safety on the back burner when buying a car until they've been in a serious accident. About a year and a half ago, my brother was driving my dad's Honda CRV and hit a patch of black ice at 30 mph or so and slid sideways into the rear quarter of a truck stopped just ahead of us. He tagged it with the passenger rear quarter (the side I was sitting on) at 25 or 30 and if it wasn't for the side curtain airbags, my head probably would have gone through the window or I would have had a pretty nasty concussion. Final tally was over $10k in damage, so it was pretty serious. We wrote a nice letter to Honda thanking them for the safety features and whatnot.

 

So when I went looking for a car at the end of last summer, the LGT's safety ratings were definitely a factor in the purchase. Although I never plan on being in an accident, its nice to know that my car will keep me as safe as possible if it happens.

[airborne200208]

I was in the same boat while looking to replace my 08 Fit. Safety has always been a huge concern for me. I slid into a stopped bus while doing 50 in the Fit. No airbag deployment because the sensors didn't feel they were warranted. I slammed sideways into a moving truck then spun into oncoming traffic. I was able to maneuver out of the way of several cars thanks to the airbag not deploying. I walked away with out even a sore muscle. Very impressed with the safety of that car.