That's one of my gripes--I don't want a nanny car. I stop faster manually than with antilock brakes, I fasten my own seatbelt, and I don't mind rolling up my own windows. Oh, and I check my tire pressure too. I'd rather save the weight, complexity, and expense, but Congress won't let me.
Their goal is safety, but the best safety comes from learning to drive well, practicing maneuvers occasionally, then being careful on the road. Making a crashproof car is great, but not crashing is even safer.
You mean those famed innovators at the Big 3? If they already meet standards, where's the incentive? And even Japanese car makers are slow to change: ultra-conservative.
Technically it's pretty easy--hanging sheet metal on light, stamped frame supports just doesn't absorb much energy, or provide much protection.
Steel is soft; a side impact will sag it like a suspension bridge between supports, no matter how strong. And it has to be very, strong to resist much at all.
Lovins' deal is to deploy internal crush cones pointing outward inside the structures. Like the highway crash barriers. They're stiff, light, and absorb a huge amount of energy as they collapse, protecting you.
Could be. Lovins is selling, but he's a physicist, knows his numbers, and makes a decent pitch.
Even if he's a little fast and loose, he rightly points out that streamlining and saving weight is _the_ way, and makes a number of good suggestions in that direction.
Oh, and hybrids? Lovins was pushing that ages ago.
Cheers, James Arthur