Topic: First Drive: 2014 Toyota Corolla

[dkaz]

You've sat in a 2014 Mazda 3 already? How did you like it otherwise?

[Waterlooresident]

http://akinokure.blogspot.ca/2013/08/cars-designed-for-limited-visibility-in.html

Read that article; much of what I've been saying is repeated by the others in that article. 
Basically, today's new car designs are just dangerous to drive in due to poor visibility out the windows, that's all.

QUOTE FROM THAT ARTICLE:
"Man, you are so right about this. I have been ready to buy a new car for about two years now, but I'm holding off until this limited visibility thing blows over. I've sat in almost every car at several new car shows hoping to find one where the back windows don't taper into deadly blindspots. The Land Rover L4 is about the only one I'd consider right now, but there are other things about it I find objectionable. Why aren't the tiny windows on modern automobiles something that everybody's talking about? Car reviewers NEVER mention the fact that the auto in question has gun-port windows and enough blind spots to kill every bicyclist from Portland to Brooklyn. Thanks for getting this out there."


"GUN PORT WINDOWS";  that was EXACTLY the idea that come to mind when I sat in the driver's seat of the new 2014 Corolla and tried to adjust the seat to get a good view out ahead of the car.   I thought  "GUN PORT FRONT WINDOW in this car !"

[rrocket]

Basically, today's new car designs are just dangerous to drive in due to poor visibility out the windows, that's all.

That is no validated by statistics.  Traffic fatalities continue to decrease nearly every year.

One would think if the visibility of new cars was so bad, they would be reflected in some meaningful data group.

And that's clearly not the case.

Just sayin'....

[Ex-airbalancer]

http://akinokure.blogspot.ca/2013/08/cars-designed-for-limited-visibility-in.html

Read that article; much of what I've been saying is repeated by the others in that article. 
Basically, today's new car designs are just dangerous to drive in due to poor visibility out the windows, that's all.

QUOTE FROM THAT ARTICLE:
"Man, you are so right about this. I have been ready to buy a new car for about two years now, but I'm holding off until this limited visibility thing blows over. I've sat in almost every car at several new car shows hoping to find one where the back windows don't taper into deadly blindspots. The Land Rover L4 is about the only one I'd consider right now, but there are other things about it I find objectionable. Why aren't the tiny windows on modern automobiles something that everybody's talking about? Car reviewers NEVER mention the fact that the auto in question has gun-port windows and enough blind spots to kill every bicyclist from Portland to Brooklyn. Thanks for getting this out there."

The main reason for the larger pillars is for roll over protection 

[Waterlooresident]

nothing was said in that article about 'LARGER PILLARS',  the were simply talking about how the vertical height of the windows are getting less and less, until now the side windows resemble more like gun slots than windows.   Pillars were not even mentioned here, so what are you talking about?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Links are a bit old, but are a decent primer on pedestrian protection measures.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/protecting-pedestrians-through-vehicle-design.html

http://www.safetyresearch.net/2005/04/01/european-pedestrian/

[Ex-airbalancer]

nothing was said in that article about 'LARGER PILLARS',  the were simply talking about how the vertical height of the windows are getting less and less, until now the side windows resemble more like gun slots than windows.   Pillars were not even mentioned here, so what are you talking about?

Basically, today's new car designs are just dangerous to drive in due to poor visibility out the windows, that's all.

All to do with roll over protection

Besides why do you need to see out the windows , you probably want a rear view mirror 

[tooscoops]

sorry to keep coming back on you here.. but some blogger has about as much credit (if not less) than any poster on this page.

large pillars house the airbags in many cases, hence them getting larger (plus structural integrity)... and to complain of visability but ignore the large a, b and c (and sometimes d) pillars is picking and choosing what visibility matters to you and basing importance on them only... what about other peoples demands? are they less important?

the higher beltlines (i think that seems to be your main issue) are partially for style, and partially, for safety. if drivers are well trained and able to look ahead and see the big picture (and use that spatial capacity i spoke of earlier) the size of windows is really not that important. people might feel more boxed in, but do you really need that bottom two inches of window?... what are you going to see? how close to the line you are? if you really need to look at that, you need to take some drivers training. (i mean "you" as in anyone)... and i don't think many can argue that metal, with impact beams and such inside them are much better in an accident than glass... so more = better.

the only thing dangerous on the roads are the drivers.. cars are safer than they have ever been. anyone who has issues with cars that are available today need to realize the only way they are unsafe is if they are used improperly and/or by untrained drivers.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

nothing was said in that article about 'LARGER PILLARS',  the were simply talking about how the vertical height of the windows are getting less and less, until now the side windows resemble more like gun slots than windows.   Pillars were not even mentioned here, so what are you talking about?

Pillars are wider as AB said for rollover protection. Newer, stronger materials should allow the pillars to get somewhat thinner, but the days of the 1960s pencil thin pillars are long gone.

Smaller windows make it easier to secure occupants with airbags in the event of a side impact.

[Ice]

http://akinokure.blogspot.ca/2013/08/cars-designed-for-limited-visibility-in.html

Read that article; much of what I've been saying is repeated by the others in that article. 
Basically, today's new car designs are just dangerous to drive in due to poor visibility out the windows, that's all.

QUOTE FROM THAT ARTICLE:
"Man, you are so right about this. I have been ready to buy a new car for about two years now, but I'm holding off until this limited visibility thing blows over. I've sat in almost every car at several new car shows hoping to find one where the back windows don't taper into deadly blindspots. The Land Rover L4 is about the only one I'd consider right now, but there are other things about it I find objectionable. Why aren't the tiny windows on modern automobiles something that everybody's talking about? Car reviewers NEVER mention the fact that the auto in question has gun-port windows and enough blind spots to kill every bicyclist from Portland to Brooklyn. Thanks for getting this out there."


"GUN PORT WINDOWS";  that was EXACTLY the idea that come to mind when I sat in the driver's seat of the new 2014 Corolla and tried to adjust the seat to get a good view out ahead of the car.   I thought  "GUN PORT FRONT WINDOW in this car !"

Although I do agree to some extent... the examples used in this article are terrible. Comparing F-150 from a few decades ago and one today is nuts because the size has grown. I was looking at what was probably 15 years difference the other day with two F-150s parked next to each other and the new one is a lot larger. The windows are actually larger... but they haven't proportionally grown with the rest of the vehicle. The GTI examples are another where the old GTI was TINY in comparison to the fairly comfortably sized one today.

I don't have any trouble seeing out of my Corolla and the windows are similarly sized to the new generation model. The A pillars are thick but not badly so. I'm taller so maybe I get to see over more than other people?

[Waterlooresident]

Here's another article that talks about the current safety problems caused by small windows / and-or high dashboards  in today's new cars.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/01/ask-the-best-and-brightest-what-happened-to-visibility/

Quote from the article: 
"So, to the designers and engineers in the house we ask: how important is reducing the amount of glass in a vehicle improve safety test performance? To what extent does this issue drive design? And to the consumers we ask: are you really asking for ever-tightening greenhouses in the name of fashion? Can you identify a point at which introducing more glass to a design makes a car look dorky but creating a tighter greenhouse hurts usability (and possibly even active safety)?"

----  ----

"I bought a 2010 Evo X four months ago,  and the lack of visibility is my biggest gripe with the car.  It was actually impacting my ability to drive the car comfortably and safely.
I resorted to sitting on a cushion and plan to raise the driver’s seat (seat height is not adjustable).
Two thumbs down on this squished greenhouse nonsense."

[rrocket]

"I bought a 2010 Evo X four months ago, and the lack of visibility is my biggest gripe with the car.  It was actually impacting my ability to drive the car comfortably and safely.
I resorted to sitting on a cushion and plan to raise the driver’s seat (seat height is not adjustable).
Two thumbs down on this squished greenhouse nonsense."

And they couldn't have determined that during a test drive??  DUUUHHHHH!!

Again....this isn't proved out in data.  Traffic fatalities continue to decrease every year.  If car's were increasingly dangerous to drive, especially in a key area like visibility, wouldn't this be reflected in data?

[Sir Osis of Liver]

The fatality rate has been declining for a long time, so it suggests that window designs haven't had a significant effect on safety.

[rrocket]

^^Thanks.  That's what I was after.

Some safety-nic might even save the larger pillars have actually increased safety......in a vehicular/structural type of argument.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

How would you make out driving one of these? Almost 6' of hood and the top of the dash is about chest high on an average sized man. No vertical adjustment on seats in those days.

[rrocket]

^^This would happen

[HeliDriver]

Maybe Waterlooguy should try a 500L? I don't know how true it is, but I've read it's supposed to have a bit of that old-school, lots-of-glass, airy-greenhouse feeling.

And I'm not afraid to say that I kind of miss it, too. Might have to get me a 2002 one of these days...

[johngenx]

And I'm not afraid to say that I kind of miss it, too. Might have to get me a 2002 one of these days...

I had a 74 2002tii.  What a cool car.  Mine was stolen...   

[Sir Osis of Liver]

And I'm not afraid to say that I kind of miss it, too. Might have to get me a 2002 one of these days...

Oh, I miss it too. But if you really want great visibility these days, you're pretty much going to have to get a classic, or a motorcycle.

[Ice]

"I bought a 2010 Evo X four months ago,  and the lack of visibility is my biggest gripe with the car.  It was actually impacting my ability to drive the car comfortably and safely.
I resorted to sitting on a cushion and plan to raise the driver’s seat (seat height is not adjustable).
Two thumbs down on this squished greenhouse nonsense."

Sounds like he was short and the sport seats were not to his liking. The Lancer haf pretty decent visibility when I drove one.