It's hard to believe that we've been driving automobiles for over a hundred years, and yet some people still don't know how to check their oil, replace an air filter or, worst of all, pump their own gas.
However if you believe any of the 15 Common Myths You Were Taught To Believe About Cars then your misunderstanding is forgiven, because even savvy automobile enthusiasts believe some of these myths.
Think a bigger engine block is safer in a front-end collision? That giant hunk of steel will shift back towards the driver just like a small block in an accident.
Think convertibles are more dangerous than regular cars?
While that used to be true, the convertibles of today have to adhere to strict safety standards, and many models feature roll bars that protect a passenger's head in case of a rollover.
And speaking of pumping gas- did you know getting in and out of your car while at the pump can generate unsafe levels of static electricity? Don't risk your life, just wait until you're done pumping before you get back in your car!
Read 15 Common Myths You Were Taught To Believe About Cars here
Statisticians have done the math, and:
"According to a recent paper by Lee S. Friedman, Donald Hedeker, and Elihu D. Richter, the lifting of the federal 55 mph speed limit in 1995 was responsible for 12,545 deaths between 1995 and 2005. That’s about 45 percent more American fatalities than we have suffered in 9/11, Iraq and Afghanistan put together. And all those human tragedies are due not to weighty national security imperatives but to the fact that we all want to go just a little bit faster."
Source: http://freakonomics.com/2010/04/02/life-and-death-in-the-fast-lane/
The odometer.com website is written by, and catered to, automobile enthusiasts. They know to toe the party line.
The Engine is stronger than the brakes...
Not true for most cases... but i think it would be possible to just overheat them and wear them down, when fullthrotteling down the highway only lightly stepping of the brakes...
If you are about to crash (in a SUV or any other vehicle) just choose the lightest and softest target... Modern cars are optimized to achieve as much points under "laboratory condition crashes into a deformable barrier" crashing into a truck or a steel structure is a completely different case.
thats been my rule for a few years