Posted on Tuesday 12 February 2008
We’ve been hearing about the auto manufacturers toning down the quest for more horsepower, and while a good case can be made that it’s time, there will always be those who want more. But now the auto insurance industry is coming out with some statistics that could bring the hammer down even harder on powerful cars. Worse, the statistics relate power to weight - and as we all know, that’s the true measure of fun in a sport-oriented car.
Citing studies of vehicles over the past 30 years, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) claims that for every one horsepower added per 100lb weight (0.75kW/45.5kg), the estimated loss per insured vehicle year increased by 5%, reports Canadian Underwriter. What that cryptic bit of information means is that adding 30hp to a 3,000lb car (22kW/1363kg) increases the amount of money the insurer will pay in claims by 5% for every year its insured. Obviously, the goal of the insurance industry is to collect premiums and minimize paying out - so cutting back horsepower by a similar amount ought to have the reverse effect, saving the industry billions annually.
The two cars given as examples are the Nissan Altima and Pontiac Grand Am. Both cars are similarly sized and priced, but the Altima is equipped with a 3.5L engine while the Grand Am gets by with 2.2L. The horsepower difference is a whopping 120hp (89kW), and that difference supposedly accounts for the 20% higher collision losses for drivers between the ages of 25 and 64. These figures boil down to your average middle-aged married man living in an urban area losing, on average, $339 to collision damages in a year’s time while driving an Altima, while the Grand Am driver would lose only $283 over the same period.
Hardly the stuff that breaks banks - but every penny counts from the perspective of the insurance industry. But without explaining if the study accounted for other factors, like maintenance habits, safety equipment, or simply more expensive repair costs for the items attached to higher-horsepower cars, it’s hard to know if the horsepower is the actual cause, or just an innocent bystander. While the study highlighted the similarly priced Altima and Grand Am, it’s quite reasonable to think that a 420hp BMW M3 would be significantly more expensive to repair after a 5mph fender-bender than would a Nissan Versa. And huge disparities like that can throw such statistical studies off easily enough.
It can be a little unnerving to think that there’s all those high powered four wheeled rockets on the road whose capabilities easily eclipse most of the drivers’ abilities.
Still, there’s nobody quiet like the insurance adjusters to rain on our horsepower parade.
It shouldn’t be based on the car, it should be based on the driver.
A driver in a diesel Mercedes from the eighties is more of a menace than a driver in an Ariel Atom with 20 years driving experience with a racing license and a spotless record.
I’ve driven a Murcielago, but guess what, I was respectful, careful, mindful of what was under my right foot.
The real solution is better training and testing. Real hardcore driving schools, real world training at the edge. 99% of drivers out there have no idea what they’re doing, regardless of the car or bike.
Insurance companies are thieves of the highest order, always looking for a way to take your money and, when crunch time comes, not to pay you your due. The problem is they always find a way to win and screw the consumer.
So just because the Altima has a decent sized engine instead of a weak little 2.2L like the one in my mom’s 1998 Cavalier they are more dangerous? It’s a full size sedan, it shouldn’t be driving around with the engine from a piece of crap like the Cavalier. My mom might own one but I can tell you it’s interior is crap and even my dad wishes we had bought something else all those years ago.
I could understand high premiums on REAL sports cars, but an Altima for gods sake? It’s a family car, I’ve seen hundreds of crashes living in and around Toronto and very rarely was an Altima involved in it. I’ve seen a couple but out of all the crashes I’ve seen they don’t even add up to anything worth mentioning.
Maybe Grand Am drivers are simply better drivers than those piloting Altimas.
I wonder if Skyline is ever going to comment on anything without his obvious hatred of all things American.
Hmmmmmmmmm….
Maybe . . . . . .
There’s a first time for everything.
The Canadian International Auto Show is tomorrow, me and a friend are going after class. The new CTS and Malibu will be there and who knows, I might end up liking them and you’ll have your comment without my obvious hatred for all things American. It’s really only a hatred against their cars though, as far as other products go, I mainly buy American because I trust the quality over products made in other countries. Cough . . . China . . . Cough, Cough.