Bro,that accident was a total loss.
Shell,Chassis... all damaged.
The trust is on Toyota not on the extra safety mech's they provide on their top end variant,
Mine, the one displayed do not have an ABS & an Airbag.
People do believe on such reputed companies.
.
Brother so far I agree with all excellent points you have presented and raised .
Yet I don't understand what point are you trying to make here with the words you have posted above ? How is safety related to what people trust ?
Having a safe car ( with safety tech and 5 * rating ) is like investing in insurance . In no way it assures you will escape death or massive injury .
Even a Volvo car laden with best safety tech can't assure you anything .
People had trust in satyam computers too , and so invested in it what happened in the end ?
People also trust maruti , but the fact is not all their cars are safe . People also trust and travel in autos but in no way they offer some real safety .
If you are making a point here that people prefer Toyota because of having great reputation as a car maker overall then that is a topic of a different thread
" which car maker you trust overall " .
Yes, I do agree that safety of a car based on the strength of the panels or the "thud" of the doors is psychological. But as I mentioned above, I dont really believe that the Innova is a safe car either. I have seen many cases to believe that.
So, since I cannot judge or determine how well built a car's chassis or frame is, I might as well conclude by the strength of it's panel (which is my first point of contact in a car) about how safe it would be. In other words, even if some XYZ car does have a strong underpinning with a plastic body, it wont really matter because I would not dare to drive it at high speeds.
I will be confident that I can come out of a moderate intensity crash in a VW, Skoda, Fiat, the German trio, Volvo... and even the XUV and Aria. But I wont be confident enough about a Swift, Etios, etc.
Raj I think topic has gone haywire . And with time ( since the thread had started long back ) people are interpreting it in different ways .
If one goes and checks the door of a duster and ecosport one will easily understand that duster doors are flimsy .
And that carries forward in the Latin safety test too the duster scores just 3 * and ecosport 4 .
Europe has a culture of making cars in a certain way and Japan , Korea , america have their own way . Reassuring thuds from the doors is a very European , American way while light doors , boot doors and front and back bumpers is a very typical Japanese and Korean characteristic .
Yet we must understand and take into consideration that all are making 5* safety rated cars too .
Light weight cars ( over all weight and also using light weight materials on bumpers ) in my opinion were also designed keeping pedestrian safety in mind and fuel efficiency ( and it is observed worldwide that japnese cars are most of the times preferred for the excellent fuel economy )
What the discussion started and the poll is asking here on this thread is " maybe " ( my guess ) which style the European or japnese style of car building you prefer ? Was that the intention to know what members prefer When this thread was started ?
But if we extend further and bring safety here or even associate the famous thud sound from doors with safety then we are drifting .
Are we discussing Skin panels here ? Or heavy chasis ? Or overall heavy weight ? Or heavy look ?
A car can be heavy and have no real safety and a light car can have the best safety built in and vice a versa . ( punto and swift one is heavy and one is light yet both are safe ) ( maruti 800 , omini and bolero , sumo here maruti cars are light and unsafe ,bolero and sumo are heavy and unsafe ) .
So imho the question is keeping the safety parameters constant I.e if both cars are 5* rated in safety , which would you prefer a light car ? or a car which gives you a reassuring thuds from it doors and boot or whose bonnet doesent bend easily when you punch .?
To make it more simple a Honda city or a vw Vento ? Toyota ALTis or skoda Laura ? Swift or polo . I10 or beat ?
Regarding safety here are some intresting topics
HowStuffWorks "Comparing Vehicle Size, Weight and Safety for Fuel Efficiency"
Light Weight, Not Small Size, Makes Cars Green and Safe | Autopia | Wired.com