Crash safety not a priority in car purchases

[Soya]

haiz.....

 

 

Business Times - 14 Jul 2004

 

Crash safety not a priority in car purchases here

Buyers more motivated by prestige, image and price, say dealers

By SAMUEL EE

DO crash test ratings make a difference in the Singapore consumer's decision-making process? Not really, if the sales figures for mass market models are anything to go by.

A case in point is the Honda Jazz. The latest results from the European New Car Assessment Programme, or Euro NCAP, show the Honda Jazz with a four-star rating - the best in its supermini class. But the crashworthiness of the popular Japanese-made car is hardly a key selling point in Singapore. Instead, its styling, flexible seat configuration, spaciousness and fuel economy are used to market this trendy model.

In comparison, for the small family car category, the new Renault Megane hatchback was awarded the maximum five stars in front and side impact tests. In fact, all the models in the Renault range available in Singapore have a five-star rating when it comes to occupant protection. They include the Megane Coupe-Cabriolet, new Scenic, Laguna and soon-to-be-launched Grand Espace. This makes Renault the only marque here to achieve such a safety rating feat.

However, sales of the new Megane pale in comparison with the Jazz. Launched last September, the stylish French car has registered only an average of 58 units a month this year (including the Megane sedan), compared with the Jazz's 112 units.

The contrast is even greater when both models are compared with the top-selling Hyundai car, the Matrix mini-MPV. An average of 257 units were sold each month in the first half of this year. The Korean-made car does not have a Euro NCAP rating because the model is not sold in Europe.

'Euro NCAP ratings are good but they do not usually help to sell a car,' said the distributor of a popular Japanese marque. 'In general, safety does not sell as much as, say, price.'

Taking airbags, or the supplementary restraint system, as an example, he said that subconsciously, car buyers hope they won't have to use them. As a result, this feature becomes less important to them.

'If they have a choice between paying for an airbag or ABS (anti-lock braking system), they will choose ABS because they press the brake pedal every day,' he explained. 'If they can feel it and they know that it's there, then it's important to them.'

A distributor for a Continental make agreed. 'Not many people appreciate high safety levels,' he lamented. 'Some are just not sophisticated enough to value features like side impact beams and deformation zones.' In fact, he said as many as one-third of his potential buyers ask if they can downspec safety equipment like airbags in order to get a lower price.

The fact that there are some entry-level models sold in Singapore which do not come with ABS as standard seems to attest to the consumer's indifference to safety. And among high-end cars with five-star ratings, such as the Volvo S40, and Saab 9-5 and 9-3, including the 9-3 Convertible, only the Mercedes-Benz C and E-Class sedans sell in significant volumes.

'Maybe having a three-pointed star is more important than five stars from Euro NCAP,' quipped one motor trader.

However, he cautioned that while getting five stars is important, the test results are only an indication of crashworthiness, albeit a very good one. This is because a front impact test is carried out at 64 kmh and a side impact test at 50 kmh (there are also pedestrian impact and pole tests). 'Serious accidents usually happen when you are going fast, much faster than 64 kmh,' he said. 'That's why even if the car has a good rating, people can still die because they were speeding.'

But while the value of the tests may be questioned, there is no denying the value of the safety features themselves. Unfortunately, the billions spent on safety innovations are sometimes lost on the people who buy them.

'When a person buys a car, the last thing he thinks about is crashing it,' said a senior manager in a local dealership. 'So that crashworthiness rating has no value. When you buy a car, what is more important is often the prestige and the image and how it differentiates you from other drivers on the road.'

[Jazziegirl]

Hey hey, fyi , posted liao.... http://www.mycarforum.com/forum/gforum.cgi...g=crash;#584723

[Soya]

isit?? too distracted by the toilet thread.

[Jazziegirl]

distracted ? or entertained?

[Soya]

now that this thread is obsolete, lets' drifffttt here.....keke.

[Jazziegirl]

you hoh!

 

not going off yet?

[Soya]

bye-bye.

[Jazziegirl]

nightie!! enjoy your weekend!