allblackxb

After seeing the pics from http://www.overboost.com/story.asp?id=1254 and a few other Scion Xb wreck photos it seems to me that so far nobody has been hurt. Even in the Overboost's sponsored scion, I mean look at it the rear is gone. Has anybody been injured in a Scion wreck yet?

BlueScionXB

From what I know, no one has been even moderatley injured in a wreck with their Scion...but what do I know???

allblackxb

I just don't know how someone could walk away from that, but he did so they must be i guess.

Hate_adict

WoW!! That blue scion got messed up. It portrudes in to the cabin...were they going real fast cause that car didnt hold up well. Its like ripped apart in some places.

Reno

it actually looks like it took the hit well. the crumple zones seemed to work well. I'm glad the driver was alright.

It looked like a really nice xB. too bad..............

IonYz

Not sure anyone here can answer that with complete correctness. I'd like to see crash tests on the side-airbagless xB. They have done them on the xA. Now that I think about it, don't remember where I saw them. For sure it wasn't the Ist, it was the US-spec xA being tested.

sithscripter

I wonder what kind of vehicle(s) hit the Blue Bus and at what speed. I'm guessing SUV from the height of the impact damage. If that's the case I'd say the xB did about as well as you could expect it to. I'm glad no one was in the back seat because that could've been ugly.

There are some other accident photos of a thundercloud xB on scion-owners.com ... the driver of that one escaped without serious injury.

windowtint

the driver had minor injuries but walked away (concussion/memory loss)

rallyxb

I did a LOT of research before purchasing my xB… and since I am a single parent, SAFETY was paramount!

So... in my searching of the net, I found NASVA, the Japanese equivalent of NHTSA the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration... and the crash test data on the xB.

http://www.nasva.go.jp/assess/html2002e/as115.html

Needless to say, the xB (know as the Toyota bB in Japan) has been around for over 2 years and dose amazing well in a crash. It is ranked as safe as the Toyota Corolla and Toyota Echo (which it is built from) and has a high survival ratting.

However, being the Engineer and mad-tinkerer that I am, I plan to make my xB much stronger and tougher to endure the rigors of the occasional Rally-Cross race. Like my 96 Nissan Quest that I turned into a mild off-road minivan, I will reinforce the xB with lightweight, yet super-strong metals, to make it even safer and more durable.

Hmmmm… now where can I get a welder for Titanium?

fr130

Can't defy the laws of physics. Rear Bumper is lower that most cars however. So keep that in mind. Don't put people in the cargo area. Side Airbags are only good as long as they are designed as good. The Saturn with Standard Side Airbags faired poorly with the Insurance Institute Test. The Accord and Camry with side airbags faired better than the same model Accord and CAmry's without side airbags.

XBman

now see the problem is that anyoe that dies in a scion cant really tell us that he did

the_saint

correct me if i am wrong, but isn't it possible that stiffening a vehicle will lower occupant saftey?
they build these things to absorb the shock from the impact of a collision, so if you stiffen these things up, the energy that would be absorbed by the vehicle is now being transfered to the occupants.
i guess that's why the phrase "they don't build 'em like they used to" isn't such a bad thing...so when you get into an accident, the car goes squish before your brains do.

just my dos centavos

IonYz

Perhaps they meant to stiffen the cage around the passangers, the areas that don't crumple. If they all crumpled everyone would be crushed along with the metal... hmmm

rallyxb

Anyone that is familiar with Rally-Cross racing knows that safety is the first concern with engineers whenever they modified a car for racing. As "IonYz" said… you don't want the passengers safety cage to crumple. So… considering the xB (according to Japan) gets a safety rating of about 4 stars in a crash, when I am done with mine it will get a least 5 stars and the bumpers will be re-designed to absorb far more damage in an impact than the OEM type. Remember, car manufactures have to keep costs down so they tend to cut corners wherever they can. For example, my 1969 AMC Rambler hit a very large tree during the winter snowstorm and only bent the front and damaged the radiator, yet it was still drivable and I was uninjured. Try that in today’s cars and it would be totaled.

So… why do it you ask? Because I can… and I love to tinker and modify vehicles. I have yet to find a vehicle that cannot be re-engineered to make it better, faster or safer. The Scion xB is the perfect platform for the mechanical engineer in us all.

kalieaire

i hope you guys actually appreciate how crumble zones work.

the entire car is a large crumpling system.

the front engine bay and the trunk are made to deform like mad crazy when hit with a fast enough impact to do harm.

this is why cars are so much easier to total than they have been before.

decades ago, cars were made with one train of thought, to be heavy and as strong as possible, in the 50's and 60's you had hotrodders weighing in at well over 3000 lbs for a two seater.

today you have 5 seat econoboxes weighing in at 2425.

weight is the large deciding factor for the crash, the second is the ability of the structure to handle an impact.

the scion xB is made to deform around the ceiling and the floor and anywhere across the frame to accept as much of the shock as possible whenever you hit something or when another car hits you.

------For the sole purpose of racing, where you are MORE likely to be involved in high speed impacts, the safety of the DRIVER and possibly 1 passenger -ALONE- are preferrable, this means broken bones, slight 2nd degree burns, bruising, concussions are ALL acceptable with a helmet AS LONG AS the driver and single passenger are able to walk away from the accident.

However, putting in a FULL roll cage inside a scion xB is very dangerous, not only for the driver, but for every occupant of the vehicle. Seat belts can allow them to bounce around and crush their skulls under the chromoly tubing when without helmets, your crumble zones are NOW compromised, and you run the risk of serious muscle and join strain injuries in small accidents.

Basically, with the deletion of the center crumble zone in the scion xB, you'll be allowing the vehicle hitting you to exert an even GREATER amount of force THROUGH the occupants.

For racing, cool, do it, wear a harness, and wear a helmet, remember to wear a sparco racing suit (They're comfortable and give u 20 seconds of burn time), and bring a fire extinguisher.

For the street, don't kill your friends, it starts to get expensive as lawsuits pile up.

BlueBox

man..some awful photos...but it's amazing that the driver walked away. Keep in mind that most cars nowadays are made to crumble on purpose in order to reduce the impact... i'm still amazed that the driver walked away.