Several people have commented on how annoying the thick the A and B pillars on current production cars are because they cut into outward vision. I believe they are used to meet safety standards.
I stumbled on this today: http://articles.sae.org/13956/
Apparently at least one automotive supplier is looking to change this. I thought you all might be interested.
The pillars got thicker for safety and because manufacturers are cheap and didn't want to spend money on stronger materials and simply added more of the cheaper material.
Now that weight is becoming an issue, the money is being spent on stronger, lighter materials.
I can only hope.. visibility out of modern cars is getting dreadful
I was surprised how much thinner the A pillars were on the FR-S compared to my mom's 2009 Civic.
Dear baby jeebus I hope so. Automakers; please stop using the WWII pillbox outward visibility as your design standard.
Maybe we can get a window sill low enough to comfortably rest your arm on again too.
Ever drive a first gen Honda Fit? I've nearly killed people in crosswalks.... Fortunately my wife knows this blind spot too, we work together like a sniper and his spotter. So, I guess it takes two ppl to drive a modern car these days. Man... Ain't technology sumpthin?
Trackmouse wrote: Ever drive a first gen Honda Fit? I've nearly killed people in crosswalks.... Fortunately my wife knows this blind spot too, we work together like a sniper and his spotter. So, I guess it takes two ppl to drive a modern car these days. Man... Ain't technology sumpthin?
all this is why we need radars and cameras on all new vehicles.. think of the children.
novaderrik wrote:Trackmouse wrote: Ever drive a first gen Honda Fit? I've nearly killed people in crosswalks.... Fortunately my wife knows this blind spot too, we work together like a sniper and his spotter. So, I guess it takes two ppl to drive a modern car these days. Man... Ain't technology sumpthin?all this is why we need radars and cameras on all new vehicles.. think of the children.
Exactly. I think it's smart, actually. The car companies are increasing safety by capitalizing on modern humans' proclivity for staring at screens.
Yeah, drive a current Civic vs. the previous one.
Trackmouse wrote: Ever drive a first gen Honda Fit? I've nearly killed people in crosswalks.... Fortunately my wife knows this blind spot too, we work together like a sniper and his spotter. So, I guess it takes two ppl to drive a modern car these days. Man... Ain't technology sumpthin?
I rented a Ram 1500 and had this same issue with the A-pillar- except a whole CAR can be obscured by it 
They're not thick for strength, they're thick for the appearance of strength - that's why Volvo had to ditch their stronger, see-through triangulated A-pillars.
If you look at the structure of some of these massive A-pillars, often the thickness of them consists of nothing but exterior sheet metal and interior plastic.
Looks like the trend is fading at last though.
I've found that sloped A-pillars are safer (in terms of visibility) than vertical ones. People crossing the road at just the right pace and distance can hide behind even thin A-pillars that are close to vertical, I've had it happen twice in my Samurai.
The Nissan Versa had to put a window in the A-pillar!
If you don't like dealing with blind spots, do not buy an FRS. Rearwards and 3/4 visibility is non-existent. I live next to a public school, and kids walking behind my car are not visible.
I'm afraid they're just going to stick a big wide airbag shell on the inside of the nice thin pillar.
Vertical A pillars? Like in a semi - truck?
Pffft, bunch of whiners! Try driving a HMMWV for a while, my ambulance had blind areas that could swallow tanks, Hemuts, small villages, you name it. Seriously, the "A" pillar was over a foot across including the door frame. It just makes you pay attention to your course.
Appleseed wrote: Vertical A pillars? Like in a semi - truck?
Yep, or a Samurai, or H1, or a lot of construction vehicles...
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