Quote:
Originally Posted by stovt001
OK, I read most of this thread, but 11 pages in one day makes it difficult to read every post thoroughly.
Now, potentially this is an isolated incident on one car. Maybe it wasn't caused by aerodynamic forces (speed+headwind). Maybe it was bashed or otherwise mishandled. Maybe this one piece just had a manufacturing glitch. Those are all possibilities.
On the other hand, aerodynamic forces ripping this thing apart is also a very real possibility. Notice we have mountains of evidence showing that if any other consideration conflicted with design, design won. That's why we have bad visibility, a goofy oversized steering wheel, a shift knob that was designed by someone who never once saw a human hand grasp a knob, and a front fascia that has some properties that are by nature not aerodynamic. A wide, open, inset grill with an overhang is just asking for drag issues. Surprisingly the Camaro's cd is pretty nice, but you have to imagine there are downsides to that design.
And if this is a problem, what will the fix be? If they don't ignore it and let it be just another known quality problem, they will probably make a beefier front fascia which equals even more weight. As if this thing wasn't already grossly overweight. When I complained about the weight, I had so many people here tell me that the weight was so high because this car was engineered to handle all the power and speed it would encounter. Er, well, I guess we can scratch that explanation. So any other reasons why it is so overweight?
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to everything except the weight issue, which has been discussed many times, and the answer has to do with safety issues.
GM is aiming for 5-star crash test rating, and will settle for nothing less.
All the added weight is from things like airbags, seatbelts, and electronic things to keep your car from loosing control and to keep you and your family safe in case of an accident.