Quote Originally Posted by AutoMAN View Post
That's highly illogical sir. I've encountered vehicles abroad that are as highly well-packaged in terms of safety feature but weigh less. The Mazda 3 is very heavy but it only has 2 airbags, also the same with the Focus. Mas magaan pa yung top line civic w/ 4 airbags. Of course pwede idahilan yung ABS, EBD, Brake Assist..etc.. but that already came standard with the previous gen cars but it still weighed less than the car now. Like yung Altis ngayon sa previous Altis... almost the same lahat pero lalo siyang bumigat at humina ang HP and NM ng 18L niya. It's a shame because Japanes cars used to be lighter than it's European predecessors and yet pack as many safety features none the less. Ngayon, it's turning out to be a heavyweight contest.
Is it really that illogical? Look at the size of the cars now that are considered compacts, the current Corolla is bigger than the first generation Camry. As a matter of fact let's look at the Corolla as an example since it's been around the longest. When it was introduced in 1966 it was 1,637lbs and the wagon was 1,731lbs had a 60hp engine at 1.1L and a 90" wheelbase. By 1983 it had a 1.6L 70hp engine, 94.5" wheelbase and weighed in at 2,080-2,178lbs. In 1987 it had grown to 95.7" wheelbase and 166.3" length, weighed 2,134-2,167lbs with the same 1.6L engine now at 72hp. By 1990 it got heavier to 2,390lbs-2,436lbs with the same wheelbase but longer at 170"-172" length with interior space at 84 cubic feet. The 1998 model weighed in 2,414lbs-2,453lbs with a 97" wheelbase, 174" length and 88cubic feet of interior space. 2003 the Corolla again got bigger to 102.4" wheelbase, 178.3" length, and 90.3 cubic feet of interior space but now weighing in at 2,600lbs. The 2009 Corolla is even heavier at 2,800lbs and wider by almost 3", length and wheelbase grew by a few tenths and interior space is now up to 92 cubic feet and trunk space is now up to 16.6 cubic feet, now compare that to the 1990 model with only 11 cubic feet.

You say it's illogical but study has shown that occupants of cars with over 100" wheelbase are more likely to survive a crash compared to a vehicle with less than 100" wheel base. Size is a factor in the safety of these cars and those steel beams at the doors need to be longer if the car is bigger. Now which car do you think will be safer, that 1,600lb car from 1966 or the 2,800lb 2009 model in a head on collision? All things being equal even without airbags that 2009 model will be safer simply because of it's size and having more steel in front of the passenger cage that can absorb the impact. The cars you are saying that have the same safety devices are also smaller than the newer generation, you can't make bigger cars without adding weight unless you wan't to pay $50,000 for a Corolla that's made of aluminium and carbon fiber.