Automobile Comparisons and Contrasts

I would like to make a post to anyone who has any questions related to Automobiles to please feel free to ask.

Thank you all for taking your time to read my posts.

 

     There are all kinds of vehicles. Luxury vehicle manufacturers like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Lincoln, Infiniti, Volvo, Saab strive for a more personalized and comfortable ride. Tuners like
Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, Pontiac, Honda, Nissan, Kia, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Hyundai, Volkswagon, Scion try to provide the market with a variety of options available to customize your ride, and provides low priced vehicles. There is one class however that stands out the most: Exotics.

            Exotics are defined by their price tags, looks, luxury, and performance. Lamborghini, McLaren, Porsche, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley, and a select few cars from other dealers such as Mercedes-Benz, Dodge, and BMW manufacture exotic cars. These cars not only define someone personality and taste, but also increases their style and increases their ranks among the wealthy and materialistic people of the world.

            Exotics combine performance, comfort, technology, appearance and cost all into one car. For example the 2006 Lamborghini Gallardo tallies in at $175,000 MSRP: a “social status” and “income” barrier. For those select few who can actually afford $175,000 for a car, the Lamborghini Gallardo seats two passengers who are willing to take a ride in a comfortable rocket. A V10 Engine with 512 horsepower launches this beauty 0-60 in a little under 4.0 seconds. With 12 MPG City, and

, you have to have a lot of money to be able to fuel this road raging machine. It is literally a big investment both short term and long term. The Gallardo also has CD/MP3 Player, a TV-Tuner, Racing Steering Wheel, Racing Suspension, Racing Brakes, Aluminum Frame, Leather Interior, Dual Zone Front Automatic Air Conditioning, permanent Four-Wheel-Drive Suspension, low center of gravity, and an even weight distribution.

            The difference in pricing, options, performance, looks and durability are obvious when exotics are compared to other cars on the market. Exotics should only be purchased if you can afford them and have plenty of money left to spend on the car. You do not want to bankrupt yourself buying an exotic. Many wealthy people like to buy exotics because it shows people that not only the fact that they can afford it, but makes known to everyone their social status.

The top 5 cars that are the safest cars out in the automotive market are the 2006 Acura RL, 2006 Ford Five-hundred, and the 2006 Honda Civic. The NHTSA or the National Highway Traffic Safety Association and the IIHS, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety both test and rate all of the cars that come off of the production line. Their ratings consist of 1-5 stars. One star means bad and five stars exhibit excellency. The different rating categories that both the NHTSA and the IIHS perform are Frontal Star Ratings, Side Star Rating and Rollover Rating. In the Frontal Star Ratings, two sub categories based on the risk of head and chest injury on both the driver and passenger sides. Side Star Ratings also contain two sub-categories of both the front seat and rear seating which are also based on the same risk of injury. The Rollover Rating tests the cars handling, traction and weight distribution. There are also two sub categories which consist of 2 wheel drive, or 4 wheel drive. There are five rated categories, but six total because a car cannot be both 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive at the same time: not yet at least.

            The 2006 Acura RL is one of the very few cars to receive 5 Stars in all five of the categories in both the NHTSA and IIHS tests. It’s Rollover Rating was “good” which is the IIHS’s highest rating, and received the same scores for both front and side impact tests. For a little under $54,000 you may afford to buy the safest and technologically advanced cars out on the market.

            The 2006 Ford Five Hundred costs about $34,000. A cheaper car than the Acura RL, but received a lower score than the Acura RL on the Rollover Ratings. The Ford Five Hundred is also loaded with features but nothing really stands out about this car. It’s main purpose: transportation.

            The 2006 Honda Civic is a very affordable car but lacks interior technology, comfort, and looks. Sporting IIHS’s Top Safety Pick award, the Honda Civic is one of the safest smaller cars you may currently purchase that won’t bust your wallet. Honda has developed what they call the ACE. This stands for “Advanced Capability Engineering”. Honda’s new build of the 2006 Civic makes it safer for the smaller cars. The chassis is strong and reinforced which prevents the Civic from getting mauled over by a Hummer or any of those big automobiles. For a little more than $20,000 for the top-of-the-line Civic, I’d say every part of the car is worth buying.

             Overall safety has to go to cars over SUVs and trucks. Cars are lower to the ground and weigh less than SUVs and trucks so therefore they are less prone to rollover. Unfortunately, cars have been destroyed when it comes to high-speed collisions and collisions with bigger automobiles. Honda has modernized and upgraded cars to handle collisions and the wear and tear of long distance driving. It will be interesting to see what other categories cars will be rated in as many car manufacturers receive the “5 in 5” ratings.