So many things went wrong I wouldn't know where to begin. One of the HUGE problems is that 64dart170 brought up is that people don't care about driving. Your average Joe wants to get in and mash the pedal while doing everything in the car BUT drive. Go smash your brand new sedan into a pole and you'll be safe......WHY DON'T WE PUNISH THE IDIOT FOR DRIVING LIKE A SACK?....No longer does the driver of a car feel anything behind the wheel. For craps sake some of the cars are so damn quiet that the driver can't hear an emergency vehicle until it's in the rear seat.
One of the reasons that the CAFE standards are so hard to meat is that you can't get a 5000lb car to get 50MPG because of the safety features.
I was watching a car and driver episode on Speed that featured the all new volkswagon GTI. I almost fell down when they said the car weighed in at 3200-3300 lbs (
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/09q2/2010_volkswagen_gti-second_drive )
WTF? I got to thinking that it must be all of that safety crap that makes a 2 door hatchback weigh the same as a 2-door a-body, or maybe it's the cup holders or dvd player or GPS nav or power lift gate or air bags or blah blah blah....DAMNIT I'M PISSED NOW.....If I'm on the cell phone and I smash MY car into a tree and die, it's my own damn fault. Why do people expect to be saved from there own stupidity? OK I feel better now :)