David against Goliath has always been a cliff-hanger. Is it true that power and size always win, or is it possible to even out the forces through intelligent and clever solutions? In automotive safety, this is the decisive question regarding compatibility, i.e. how the vehicles tolerate each other in an accident. What happens if a large vehicle collides with a small one? Does a high level of self-protection automatically include good partner protection? Or do these two disciplines even contradict each other? At DaimlerChrysler these and similar questions were intensely discussed in the 90s. The 'Vision A' (later A-Class) and especially the MCC (later smart) were so far away from conventional vehicles regarding size and weight, that the question of safety and especially compatibility in case of an accident was of crucial importance to the projects. It was obvious that customers would ask questions like 'How safe are the small vehicles in case of an accident? What will happen to me if 1 in this small vehicle collide with a twice as big and twice as heavy S-Class?' From this moment on, the subject of compatible design for small and large vehicles gained great importance at DaimlerChrysler. A well balanced self and partner protection are the fundamental design criteria for our vehicles. Ten years later, vehicles like the A-Class and the smart have proved themselves in accidents and are part of the daily traffic scene. Independent crash tests between large and small vehicles have been carried out and showed positive results. We now know, that even though the size and weight of a vehicle are very important physical input parameters, there are other essential parameters that affect compatibility performance: the structure, the geometry, the stiffness distribution, the forward displacement range of the occupant in the passenger compartment, the restraint systems, the seat height etc. These basic and important insights are parts of the development of DaimlerChrysler vehicles. After the question between David and Goliath to a large extent seems to be answered in Europe, compatibility of a somewhat different aspect has become an issue in USA. Currently, every other new licensed vehicle in USA is an SUV or a light truck. This of course brings up the question of compatibility between low conventional limousines and mostly high SUVs. Through the development of such different vehicles like the A-Class and the smart on the one hand and the M-Class and S-Class on the other hand, DaimlerChrysler today is in the favourable situation to have learned a great deal about compatibility. In this way we are well prepared to meet the current challenges.


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    Titel :

    Kompatibilität von Personenkraftwagen, wesentliches Kriterium für sichere Fahrzeuge


    Weitere Titelangaben:

    Compatibility of passenger cars, an essential criterion for safe vehicles


    Beteiligte:


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2004


    Format / Umfang :

    16 Seiten, 16 Bilder, 5 Quellen


    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Konferenz)


    Format :

    Print


    Sprache :

    Deutsch