In an effort to fight the ever-increasing congestion on the worlds roads, Japanse manufacturers have taken downsizing to the extreme and made ‘Kei’ cars. While they may be ideal for nipping in and out of traffic, their small size hinders them in other areas.
Most of these Kei cars are tall and narrow, treading on equally narrow tires. Considering that the weren’t envisioned for out-of-town journeys, their suspension systems don’t need to be sophisticated, and thus, they are not stable. As you can see in the video, a seemingly innocent mistake by another driver forces the ultra-compact Suzuki driver to make a sudden maneuver (at a relatively low speed) which destabilizes the entire car which ends up crashing into an oncoming car - one with a dash-mounted camera.
While the accident was not particularly serious, it is very eloquent in showing that cars should be designed as all-rounders rather than having one car meet one specific need and that’s it - drivers’ needs vary considerably and more thought should go into the design and philosophy of small cars to make them safe (and why not, enjoyable) on the open road - it is 2012 after all and technology is advancing leaps and bounds - this would be easy now.
While the accident was not particularly serious, it is very eloquent in showing that cars should be designed as all-rounders rather than having one car meet one specific need and that’s it - drivers’ needs vary considerably and more thought should go into the design and philosophy of small cars to make them safe (and why not, enjoyable) on the open road - it is 2012 after all and technology is advancing leaps and bounds - this would be easy now.
Google News