vishnus11

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=33878

What a heap of junk. GM designs that Kappa platform from the ground up and doesn't bother to add any form of passive rollover protection despite the fact that its nearest competitor and indeed most modern worthy roadsters have some form of rollover protection.

I don't think domestic manufacturers will ever learn...

einsatz

Wow... they all seem to be praising the car, but the way the top got flattened doesn't seem like good design. You'd think the A pillar would be reinforced so it doesn't collapse?

DelawareCLS

Didn't the guy walk away unhurt??

Paclark01

From reading some of the posts... I think He is actually a She and she had some minor bruises on her arm that was pinned between the door and the dirt.

The members on that forum seem to know each other pretty well since there is a lot of first name use.

Regardless, glad the driver walked away. But that A-pillar should have held up better than it did.

She picked up a new GXP model soon after, so I guess she feels safe with car, and is happy with her purchase.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Between that and the fact that everyone was praising how the car handles accidents it seems to me like GM did build some safety protection into the Solstice although it looks like that A-pillar could use some extra support...

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

Women drivers...

Deity711

Shocked someone walked away from that.

charliemike

She knew exactly how it happened so I'm guessing she's not your average woman driver ...

danny25

"These cars are just amazing in how well they are designed to save us from injury."

I don't consider that being designed to save anyone from injury when the area where my head would be completely collapses.

F23A4

It does seem that the Solstice rates well per the NHTSA.

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

Yeah, I know. It looks like she was one of the founders of that Solstice forum, so I'm guessing she's really into cars. It was just the obligatory "women drivers" comment.

bigman

We really don't know th circumstances, but in any event, that pillar looks crushed.

vishnus11

Where's Darwin when you need him... That car has absolutely NO rollover protection whatsoever. No roll hoops in the back, and no strengthened A-pillar, as evidenced by the fact that its A-pillar crushed like a toothpick after merely flopping over.

SSMTL01

That pillar pancaked.. i wonder if the way the humps are raised behind the seats is what saved her?

After hearing about so many incidents on the dragon I am kind of nervous to go

fsttyms1

Ive seen strengthened pillars collapse like that as well. It all depends on how it impacts. Ive seen Full roofs collapse like that as well. There is only so much strength you can add. The fact he/she didnt get hurt is amazing none the less.

TheMirror

Its a convertible folks, not sure what everyone expects here. A-pillars will only stand up to so much pressure before they bend, regardless of the car they're attached to. Roll hoops wouldn't have done jack on a dirt rollover, they'd just dig themselves into the dirt. Even a full rollbar would likely have done something similar.

You just don't want to roll any car, and definitely not a convertible. Get up out of your armchairs, as none of us know anything about the actual impact force this car went through, how the A-pillar was engineered, etc. etc.

Moog-Type-S

She must have been a very short woman.

vishnus11

Any convertible that has passive rollover safety has 2 main components:
- A strengthened A-pillar that can support the ENTIRE weight of the car.
- A set of roll-hoops in the rear that again can support the ENTIRE weight of the vehicle.

These two systems work together to give a convertible its rollover safety. Vehicles that exhibit such passive safety in this class are the Porsche Boxster and the Honda S2000, for example.

Let's take the S2000 as an example - the car was rolled in house by Honda to test its passive safety systems, and the car was built to comply with federal rollover standards for CLOSED roof vehicles. In other words, an S2000 will fair as good or better than your average sports coupe. In reality the super stiff frame of the S2000 might actually fair better than your average sports coupe in a rollover. One can expect the same standard of safety in a Boxster.

The Solstice has absolutely none of this safety designed into it, and hence its A-pillar crushed like a toothpick.

vishnus11

I don't think I can find a single instance of when a properly strengthed A-pillar has crushed to the height of the dashboard. And I've seen my fair share of S2000s for example, the have been launched of embankments and what not. Only the worst of the worst have the A-pillar bend a fair amount and even then they bend to half their height which is still approx. the height of the seat.

Just search around for pics of Saab, Volvo, Porsche, Mercedes convertibles that have been rolled to get an idea of how a strengthned A-pillar is supposed to hold.

DelawareCLS

Do you know this for a fact? Do you know the exact circumstances of the crash in question?

I find it extremely hard to believe that the largest car company in the world would launch a car that is completely unsafe in a rollover, or be allowed to launch said car.

danny25

^ did you see the pics? That looked completely unsafe for anyone over 6'.

johnny--2k

I cant believe those guys were praising how "safe" it was.....I will never get into one of those cars.......ever, after seeing those pictures.....

DelawareCLS

Of course I saw it...just saying that I doubt GM would put a car on the road that is that unsafe. That would be like Coke knowingly selling cases of soda with antifreeze in it.

Just think people are quick to bash things.

Ken1997TL

Do you really give GM that much credit?

DelawareCLS

Bah, I've said my fill - feels like arguing with the gf

Besides, those solstics owners were real preachy.

fsttyms1

I know how they are supposed to hold. Because ive seen them in the auto body and worked on them myself. There is only so much it will handle before it crushes. There are just some impacts that they will bend.

Black Tire

I think combination of her short size and the land concavity of the ground saved her head.

danny25

That car was on the road... that car was that unsafe.

TheMirror

Jaguar XK8
Ferrari 355
Mercedes SLK
Porsche Boxster
Porsche 968

The point here is that any impact can bend any A-pillar if it has enough force. Considering how none of us knows the actual energy involved in the Solstice impact, its a big rush to judgement to say it was badly designed.
Just my 2 cents.
-Mirror

rmpage

Internet racers ITT.

DelawareCLS

But those cars are all made in Europe. The Solstice is made here in Newport, DE so it must be poorly designed, or poorly made.

TheMirror

Those are made in Newport? I didn't know that. Interesting.
-Mirror

EuRTSX

Totally Off-Topic, but the Solistice in Transformers was

DelawareCLS

Both the Solstice and Sky come off the same line at the Boxwood Road plant - was interesting seeing these cars on the road around here waaaaay back before they hit dealerships.

laidback93

It's funny reading this thread with a black Solstice in the ad at the top of the page.

nicholbr

Thats an interesting statement considering the Crown Victoria issue Ford had not all that long ago.

bottom line is if she was taller and had turned over on a concrete and not concave dirt surface she would probably be a dead woman.