What to look for in car safety

Sometimes accidents happen, that’s just the nature of motoring. That’s why car manufacturers make safety such a high priority, and why safety testing is so rigorous. Keeping passengers in one piece is paramount, but how do you know how safe a car is, and what should you look out for? Read on to find out!

All new cars are given a safety rating by NCAP, the European car safety board. This is based on a range of tests including frontal impact, side impact and pedestrian impact. The higher the score, the safer the car. Some of the safest cars on the market today include the Volkswagen Golf, Volvo XC90 and Honda Insight.

Airbags are one of the key elements in car safety, so the more airbags a car has the better. You should expect to see a steering wheel airbag, passenger airbags and side airbags in all doors at a minimum. Seatbelts are also hugely important as they limit the forward motion of passengers. They should be strong and tight and resist a bit of a pull; they aren’t meant to be comfortable, but that doesn’t matter when they save lives.

Other important aspects are laminated windshields that don’t shatter upon impact and crumple zones that absorb huge thereby taking them away from areas where passengers are sitting. If you just look at a modern car, you’d never know it contains such a large amount of safety gear. Just think of it as an angel on your shoulder!

The great thing is that cars don’t become unsafe over time, so if you’re looking at cheap used cars, you can be sure the NCAP ratings still apply. This is particularly important if you want to buy a second hand motor to transport your family. Safety is paramount.

Whatever type of car you’re looking to buy, whether it’s brand new or second hand, you should not take safety for granted. It only takes one accident to cause the unthinkable, so do the smart thing and protect yourself by getting the safest car possible!

 
 
Best elements for car designs

You must have seen many luxurious cars. The most attractive feature of these smart cars is the different car design elements. There have been many aesthetic features representing the movements and epoch in the automobile industry. Here is the list of the ten best car design elements of all time. These ionic elements appeals to the viewer and gives a pleasing response. The car design elements are as follows:

  1. Hoffmeister Kink: Mostly a BMW is recognized by its trademark kidney-shaped grille, but a true car fanatic will surely identify a small wedge at the base of the C-pillar. The rear wheels of rear-wheel-driven cars are highlighted by this small wedge. Wilhelm Hoffmeister has created this remarkable element for the Neue Klasse Bimmers of 1960s and 1970s. This element is now available in almost all BMW cars. It looks best on the Bangle-ized Bimmer and the BMW 2000C/CS coupe.
  2. Porsche 911 Silhouette:  The silhouette here is formed from a single angled line which extends from the A-pillar bending up from the edge of the greenhouse and then takes a long curve to the taillights. This forms the signature sloping roofline. There have been many changes in the later models of this car but this element has remained constant and familiar.
  3. Flying Buttress: This car element borrows its names from a buttress which is typically found on religious buildings. Flying Buttress supports the car aerodynamically. In this car element the C-pillars on the car stretch away from the rear glass. This adds steadiness at high speeds. The Jaguar XJS, Ferrari 308 have this car element.
  4. Quad Round Headlights: The car designers placed various car lights in one sealed plastic piece but before that they separated these lights into distinct elements. Quad Round Headlights is the classiest of all the car light designs. XJ Jaguar, Lancia Fulvia, 1968 Fairlane 500, Pierce Arrow have this car element.
  5. Curved Hip: All the cars have rears but they may not be perceptible. When the rear wheels extend i.e. the fenders, widens beyond of the line of the greenhouse outside the car's shoulders. The curved hips are found on the Ford GT and the Aston Martin DBS. Curved hips provide strength and good performance.
  6. Dagmar Bumpers: From the 1950s Dagmar Bumpers is a style that appears as an artillery shells poking out from the facade of the car. In the post World War II period, this was very popular. This style got extinct in the rocket age and the Tailfin Era.
  7. The Wedge: This car design has not been used in most reliable cars in the history. It has now been used on the aerodynamic and sport-looking vehicles. In these vehicles the front end is lower than the rear end. Wedge-shaped car represents speed. Lancia Stratos has this car design.  
  8. Tailfins: Tailfin is a classic car design. It mimicks the rocket designs. The cars like the 1960 Cadillac Sixty-Two Coupe and the Moskvitch 408 has this car design. 
  9. Corvette Quad Round Taillights: Every Coevette since 1960 have two sets of round red taillights. Amongst the many iconic headlight designs, these rounded taillights are a remarkable and memorable taillight designs. These taillights look amazing like glowing red afterburners. C4 Vette-amino car uses this car design.
  10. Hood Ornament: This is a creative way of dealing with the technical problems. The older cars had radiator caps on the edge of the hood. Later the designers began adding mascots instead of the round caps. The classic flying lady on the 1930s Caddy and a leaping Jaguar from the British marque are some of the remarkable hoods.