Insurance Safety Group: Death Rates in Minicars More Than Double Rates in Other Cars

December 19, 2006

  • December 19, 2006 at 7:06 am
    John Kerry says:
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    All this talk about clowns reminds me of a trip I made with my brother to France, but I digress. Minicars are something to be considered; I myself prefer a fleet of Suburbans, but for little people, little cars make sense. I intend to pursue a more nuanced energy policy, where the little people can feel safer driving little cars. Under my plan, I consult a global test before allowing any more SUV\’s on the road. If we pass the global test, then we don\’t get SUV\’s. If we fail to pass the test, then we don\’t get SUV\’s, but we, I mean people like me, we get to enjoy the warm, 75 degree weather which my little friend Micro Car Jeff is forecasting due to globalular warming. I\’ve already put my wife\’s manufacturing facilities to work on producing a suntan oil that looks and tastes like ketchup, but comes with and spf factor 15. But seriously folks, my opponent, he voted for tax cuts for the rich and then he gave tax breaks to big oil. When Barak Osama and I take office, we will end the corruption of culture and enforce nothing but nuanced, multifaceted, multiculture. If we combine that with a $.50 tax per gallon of gas, we can end globular warming before Al Gore can get elected.

  • December 19, 2006 at 1:37 am
    saddened says:
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    I was trying to talk my wife into getting me a Mini Cooper for Christmas….once she hears about this there won\’t be a chance. She was already harping about the safety issues before she had proof.

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:06 am
    Bulldogg says:
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    WAIT A MOMENT, I was told (by the all-knowing media) that it was the SUVs that were killing people? I was told that small cars were the way to go, they were good on gas, good for the environment and safer because they don\’t go as fast.

    NOW, I\’m more likely to die in a car crash in one of these \”Environmentally safe\” cars?

    Who screwed up on this one and led the media astray?

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:31 am
    Ray Balaamababa says:
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    why isn\’t Wal-Mart being taken to task for forcing their workforce into buying these little deathtraps! I see something undersized, so it\’s probably designed for purchase by Wal-Mart employees, who not only need higher pay, and a union, but they need bigger cars to drive. If they ban SUV\’s, these cars would be safer to drive for everyone, plus there would be more room to drive.

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:36 am
    Chad Balaamaba says:
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    shouldn\’t we be more Eupopean like? The world will like us better if we are European like, and they like smaller cars. If it wasn\’t for the big, gas guzzling suvs and trucks, these cars would be allot safer. We should ban all trucks and suv\’s.

    I think Ross Perot had a good point about smaller cars when he was running for president the first time: littles cars remind him of the story of the big fish and the little fish. The big fish wants to eat, and the little fish wants to eat, and they each swim around in that big, ole ocean. But, the big fish wants to eat the little fish, and the little fish doesn\’t was to be eat, so the little fish hopes the big fish eats another fish, and the little fish is then free to eat something else, which it can\’t do if it\’s eaten by the big fish. This is just like an SUV and minicar collision.

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:40 am
    Obama 2008 says:
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    do they consider a Cavalier to be a minicar? They\’re small, but I think they\’re bigger than the cars these people are talking about. When I\’m elected president, I want my motorcade to be made of American made Chevy Cavaliers, made right here in the good old USA. I just hope Oprah doesn\’t run for president, too.

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:47 am
    Al Gore says:
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    this really steams me; I see nothing but melting icebergs as a result of the bad press these cars of the future are receiving. We must encourage the manufactures to stop making SUV\’s and trucks, as Earth is in the balance and it might tilt on it\’s side if we don\’t push these minicars into use. If I am elected president, I will use a motorcade made entirely of these mini, clown type cars.

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:53 am
    Bulldogg says:
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    I\’m sorry, I didn\’t understand you, did you say a motorcade full of of clown-like cars or just full of clowns???

  • December 19, 2006 at 2:58 am
    Al Gore says:
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    just because we use mini clown cars does not mean we are clowns, although my administration will be diverse and inclusive, so I will not discount anyone because of prior or current clown activities, or even bad makeup or orange hair. but if we keep big cars in motorcades, it excludes all those small car manufactures that want to sell to the mini limosine market. Call me a clown if you must, but mine is the party of the big, all inclusive tent.

  • December 19, 2006 at 3:11 am
    Ray says:
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    And now they are going to be selling in the US, (in a year or so) the Smart Car (from Damiler/Chrysler) – now talk about little. This thing weighs in at about 1630 pounds, about 5\’1\” wide and high and about 8\’3\” long – making about 50 MPG they are going to be very attractive in cities where parking is at a premium.

    If the minicars are unsafe, what is the Micro car going to be.

  • December 19, 2006 at 3:12 am
    Bulldogg says:
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    Sorry Mr. Gore, I did not mean to offend you but even the mini cars spit out polution, have you though about going back to the horse and buggy to cut down on emmitions?

  • December 19, 2006 at 3:16 am
    tsorrels says:
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    Well…I\’m on my SECOND Mini Cooper S – this one in the convertible. I leased an \’04 and when the lease was up, got an \’06 MCS Convertible. GREAT CAR…..just get out of everyone else\’s way! :-)

    Go for it!
    And, Happy Motoring!

  • December 19, 2006 at 3:49 am
    Al Gore says:
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    hopefully, we can stop breeding larger people; the smaller we all are, the easier we will fit into these cars of the future. I was really excited to learn about the Chrysler micro-car; I was instrumental in the research and development of that car. After I completed my work on the internet, I began work on the environment, and knew I needed to work harder on smaller cars; I remember when I used to have to grease the seats of my first Pinto to fit my large frame behind the wheel; but that car was an engineering feat. Other than it blowing up occassionally, and creating CO emissions by blowing up, it was a great car, much superior to the Maverick, which I considered an \’inbetweener sellout\’; you\’re even for conservation and cleaner air, or your against us. I have a 3 pronged plan to attack our problems:
    – smaller cars to get better gas mileage
    and create less pollution
    – more reliance on electric cars
    – less use of oil
    – more use of things that aren\’t oil
    – solar energy
    – holding oil companies responsible for
    globular warmer
    – forcing oil companies to use more
    electricity
    – getting the American car companies to
    produce cars that use corn oil or
    d-cell batteries instead of oil
    – make fewer trips in large cars if we
    can\’t ban them, but we need to get rid
    of them first

  • December 19, 2006 at 3:57 am
    Jeff says:
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    Well, it\’s great to see all the wonderfully insightful remarks from the various insurance professional on this article. So many responses…so little time.

    1. The minicars produce pollution too…are you kidding? When I say that, I\’m serious…are you kidding? I was wondering if you\’re suggesting that a Prius produces the same amount of pollution as a Hummer? Are you suggesting that large SUVs such as Hummers, Excalades, etc. burn the same amount of gas as the minicars…Certainly, you\’re not saying that.
    2. Banning SUVs…of course not. Instead, you should just be required to have a commercial license to drive one. I don\’t care what kind of car I\’m driving, if I get hit by the small bus that is one of these giant SUVs, I\’m going to be in bad shape. I have a suggestion…why don\’t we all just drive tanks. I mean, sure, the gas mileage is terrible, but the fatality rates would go way down. Why should we simply limit ourselves to driving old troop carriers like the Hummer, let\’s go all the way!
    3. The clown comment was particularly fantastic. Just think how bad it would be to have a group in power that appoints agency heads based on how many hunting trips they\’ve taken with the president rather than being qualified. How terrible it would be to have a bunch of clowns in power that can\’t read an intelligence report without about passing out from the excitment of blowing something up. Or having a clown in power that pronounces less words right than my 8 year old niece, and lies to keep himself out of trouble more than my 12 year old nephew. You\’re right…that would be just terrible.

    Obviously, a smaller, lighter car is not going to protect you as well as a giant truck. But I\’m curious if you will all be singing the same tune about SUVs when gas hits $10/gallon, the average winter temp in Alaska is 75.

  • December 19, 2006 at 5:34 am
    Hoggster says:
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    I enjoyed the article. I will show it to my wife this evening. I am buying myself a Ninja 1300cc with my profitability bonus. This article says nothing about Ninjas being unsafe. Kool!

  • December 19, 2006 at 5:38 am
    Al Gore\'s Daddy says:
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    Al Jr,
    If we really are ever going to get serious about global warming and your gases we need to cut off people over 5\’6\” at the knees. Then they will enjoy their micro cars a lot better. Also, the oil saved by those tall people not needing shoes would stop global warming too.

  • December 19, 2006 at 6:26 am
    Been there says:
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    If you have been to Europe, you must know that those people can DRIVE!! No or very few horns, no rash comments that make them get out & try to punch each other out (of course there are exceptions!), they just make room for each other! Didn\’t see any wrecks when I was there. AND their cars are smaller than OUR small cars!! Go figure! I guess we could stand to be a little more European like.

  • December 20, 2006 at 7:49 am
    Bulldogg says:
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    I agree with you Jeff especially about diatribe #3. But Bill Clinton reached is 2 term limit already….

  • December 20, 2006 at 7:50 am
    Bulldogg says:
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    So don\’t let me hear you crying about $6.25 per gallon gas, LIKE THE EUROPEANS!!!

  • December 20, 2006 at 8:29 am
    Lauren says:
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    1) What does Wal-Mart have to do with smaller cars? Nothing. Bringing them into this argument ruins any case against Wal-Mart. The more stupid stuff people spew about the company, such as this, the more I and others stop listening. People don\’t like whiners.

    2) Companies are not going to make less SUV\’s or better cars for the environment unless consumers purchase and push for them. They are companies, not the government. Talk with your wallet and they will eventually follow the money. The american consumer needs to look at themselves and not blame the \”man\” for our problems.

  • December 20, 2006 at 8:56 am
    Jim says:
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    I cant believe they needed to conduct a test to determine that if a small car is in an accident with an SUV, it is more dangerous to be in the small car. My 6 year old cousin could have told them that. And he probably would have only charged them a pack of baseball cards instead of the millions these fools just flushed down the toilet.

  • December 20, 2006 at 9:16 am
    Chad Balaamaba says:
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    Wal-Mart is the root of this epidemic; fuels costs have skyrocketed since they became dependent on shipping Chinese made goods over here to sell dirt cheap. That, and the catalytic converter; when these small cars take over, people will by 3 of them rather than an SUV and a VAN, and you\’ll have just as much pollution and even more traffic because people will think they can buy more of these cars and use them more often because they are cheaper on gas. Don\’t be surprised to see Wal-Mart selling a Chinese version of these microbiles in your neighborhood soon!

  • December 20, 2006 at 10:00 am
    Bulldogg says:
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    Wal-Mart causes higher gas prices because of China. Now I\’ve heard it all. So Wal-Mart must have caused acid rain to fall in the 80\’s? Wal-Mart caused the stock market crash in the 1920\’s. Wal-Mart is causing the glaciers to melt.

    Quick Ecomonics lesson for you, Wal-Mart does not drive up oil prices. It\’s as simple as the cost to aquire oil, refine it to gas and ship it out to gas stations that influence gas prices. Mostly in the price to aquire it and the demand of the customers that drive prices. No ONE single entity out there can set, raise or lower prices…

    It seems that libs like you want to blame everything on Wal-Mart. But remember who is offering perscription drugs for $4…

  • December 20, 2006 at 10:56 am
    Al Gore says:
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    even though I invented the internet and global warming, I consider myself more of an innovator, not an inventor. I find things and I innovate them and make them better.

  • December 20, 2006 at 11:23 am
    Al Gore\'s Uncle says:
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    EQUALLY!

  • December 20, 2006 at 11:31 am
    Al Gore says:
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    Except the dumb ones and Conservatives. But that is the same thing I think.

  • December 20, 2006 at 11:54 am
    Jeff says:
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    Wow, you are certainly quite the hater…huh? So you really believe that global warming was invented by Al Gore and does not really exist. There isn\’t a single, peer reviewed, scietific article that concludes that global warming doesn\’t exist. Try and find one, and then let me know how that works out for you. But, to do that you would have to get your news from some place other than Fox. There\’s a big world out there, you should take a look sometime.

  • December 20, 2006 at 12:14 pm
    Bulldogg says:
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    Oh, here is the Socialists Paradise. Didn\’t we see this fail in Russia? How many died at the hands of the leaders of this Workers Paradise?

  • December 20, 2006 at 1:06 am
    Been There says:
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    Don\’t believe I said a word about the price of gas, just how they drive. You probably pay less than I do for your gas since I drive a diesel car. The price of diesel is an absolute joke, but I still will not complain about the price. Feel like it, though.

  • December 20, 2006 at 1:23 am
    Al Gore says:
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    Jeff, I feel your pain; you are correct, all reports on global warming are clear that they are for global warming, and it\’s the fault of George Bush; Bill and I had nothing to do with it. I simply want to innovate, and once I prove global warming exists, we can introduce it in textbook form for all to learn. I want to teach and innovate. I learned about what you mean, Jeff, when I watched that movie, \’Outfoxed\’; it told me the truth about the conservative, anti thinking, anti global warming, pro oil media. Michael Moore just told me we were winning the other day, so I know it\’s true. Don\’t be hateful, Jeff; they cannot help it; I love the pro warming and anti warming people just the same. Peace.

  • December 20, 2006 at 1:40 am
    Jeff says:
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    Al,

    Glad to hear you love everyone equally…really warms the heart (no pun intended). Just so you know, I don\’t blame President Bush for global warming, but to simply disregard that it even exists is irresponsible. I think it\’s obviously that large vehicles are convenient and they are safer than their smaller counterparts, but they do contribute to oil dependence and unsafe driving. They have bigger blind spots, the increase our overall demand for a products that we import (adding to the already lopsided trade deficit), and you can\’t tell me you\’ve never seen someone have to do about a 20 point turn to get into a parking spot or make a U-turn. Hopefully, with the advent of Hybrids, including our beloved SUVs, we can come to a compromise between efficiency and convenience. My apologies for the snide Fox news comments. Oh, and by the way, I own a copy of Fahrenheit 911 or Bowling for Columbine.

  • December 20, 2006 at 1:45 am
    Al Gore says:
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    So will the Democratic Congress be any better than the Republican Congress was? A look at half a dozen likely policy proposals makes clear the answer will probably be no:
    • Tax Increases. From the liberal perspective the good news is that the major Bush tax cuts will expire in 2010. So if the Democrats simply do nothing, the tax rates on lower-income individuals will rise to 15% from 10% and on higher incomes to 39.6% from 35%. Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin says that tax increases are the only way to solve the nation\’s fiscal problems, so that will be the Democratic strategy.

    • Spending Increases. The incoming House leadership says it will hold spending flat for the remainder of the current fiscal year. Perhaps, but for liberal Democrats spending increases are political no-brainers: appropriate more and expand the government to make the country better. And if the deficit grows, well, that\’s because of the Bush tax cuts, not the Democratic spending increases. Historically Democratic Congresses have outspent Republican ones, and it will surely happen again.

    • Alternative Minimum Tax. A 1969 tax increase that was enacted to soak the rich is suddenly going to seriously soak the middle class. Some 3.5 million taxpayers paid the AMT this year. But unlike the regular tax, the AMT is not indexed to inflation, which means the number of taxpayers the AMT hits is expected to balloon–by some estimates to as many as 23 million in 2007. Less than 5% of families with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 are now paying the AMT, but more than 80% may pay it in 2008. Almost no families with incomes of $50,000 to $100,000 pays the AMT today; but as many as 35% of such families will in 2008.

    To eliminate these very unpopular AMT increases would cost about $750 billion over the next 10 years. What taxes the new Congress will raise to solve this dilemma is unclear, but either AMT or other taxes will have to rise.

    • Protectionism. Almost as passionate a liberal idea as spending more money is abandoning free trade and returning to protectionism. The AFL-CIO wants to limit lower priced goods from being imported into America even though it gives people a wider variety of products to choose from.

    The truth is that the export of goods and services from America accounted for 10.4% of our gross domestic product in 2005 and created more than five million jobs over the previous 10 years. Imports have been increasing American trade deficits over the last quarter century, but U.S. employment simultaneously rose from 99 million to 145 million people. So trade has not cost us jobs; in fact it brings jobs into America–foreign auto manufacturers building cars here being the best example. Nevertheless, the Democrats will start by refusing to renew the president\’s trade authority, which expires next year.

    • Energy. One of the last acts of the current Republican Congress was to pass legislation permitting more oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. It will lead to the production of about 1.3 billion barrels of oil and 5.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, two things America badly needs.

    But that will be the end of progress, for the Democrats have a very different set of energy goals. First, no more offshore drilling, even though there are 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas on the Outer Continental Shelf–a 19-year supply at today\’s usage rate–and 102 billion barrels of oil in the OCS and Alaska. Next, Hillary Clinton\’s repeal of oil drilling tax deductions and another windfall profits tax on oil companies, just like Jimmy Carter\’s, which reduced domestic oil production between 3% and 6% and increased oil imports by about 10%.

    No more nuclear power plants will be allowed either. We have 104 operating successfully–our cleanest source of energy. But liberals believe they need more regulation and are too risky.

    • Social Security. Just 10 years from now Social Security benefits paid out will exceed taxes paid in, so something will have to be done to fix the system. Individually owned Social Security accounts would help by allowing workers to enjoy bigger returns. But Democrats are dead opposed to the idea of turning millions of Americans into owners of stocks and bonds, which will lead to the liberal solution of raising Social Security taxes and reducing benefits. The forthcoming plan will likely be to raise the cap on earnings subject to Social Security taxes ($97,500 in 2007). That would raise taxes on everyone earning more than this amount, especially the most productive wage earners. If the cap went up to $150,000, for example, it would mean a tax increase of $6,510 on a worker earning that amount.

    Golly, I just wanted to stick it to big oil, but my party is all over the place; we need a cohesive, nuanced, innovative plan to fix this global warming, which I didn\’t invent, but I did discover.

  • December 20, 2006 at 1:49 am
    Chad Balaamaba says:
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    does anyone know if GM is going to bring the Chevy Cavalier back? I see Obama is a fan, and I like mine allot, but it\’s getting a bit long in the tooth. It\’s still a pretty cool looking car, though, I\’d like to find a new one.

  • December 20, 2006 at 1:53 am
    John Kerry says:
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    Study hard, Chad, and I bet you\’ll get the Cavalier your heart dreams of. I worked hard and look where I am; this is a great country. You know, education–if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an effort to be smart, uh, you can do well. If you don\’t, you get stuck in Iraq.



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