<p>The AAA card with extra towing is so that H & I can sleep soundly at night, especially since both kids have older cars and live in big cities. I like knowing that they can get car towed to near where they live instead of leaving them wherever they happen to break down. </p>
<p>Another benefit of AAA in Los Angeles is that you can use their office for many DMV activities instead of having to go to the City’s DMV and wait in long lines.</p>
<p>Back to the size debate, which it was pointed out will never be settled, we all have our beliefs. Physics (I guess physics would include weight considerations) plays a role …if a truck hits a camry broadside or a camry hits a truck broadside…and there is a pole on the other side of the vehicle that is hit… Which vehicle is more likely to be squashed between the striking vehicle and the pole? Do you think the Camry is likely to push the truck (suv, not a light pickup with no back end weight)?. Or say there is not a pole, but maybe a drop off or a ravine? I still have to believe that a big vehicle hitting a small one is more likely to send the small one spinning or flying into other objects than the reverse. </p>
<p>By the way…the girl across the street hit a pole with her dodge stratus…flipped it right over and it caught fire. she’s the only one I know who has flipped a car (or truck)</p>
<p>The whole focus on larger size and weight to crash into other cars ignores the fact that half or more of car crash fatalities are in single vehicle crashes.</p>
<p>Wrapping your big SUV around a big tree or rolling it down the ravine is not a situation where larger size and weight can help – indeed, the extra size and weight make it harder to avoid a crash, and mean that there is more energy to have to dissipate when you do hit something.</p>
<p>They have the safety ratings for a reason.</p>
<p>Assuming he hits a tree. My Expedition has front and side safety ratings of 5 stars. Our 2013 Toyota Camry hybrid has 4 stars for front impact and 5 for side. I’m not going to put my son in a car with a lower rating for front impact.</p>
<p>The NHTSA star ratings changed in 2011, so the current ones are not comparable to earlier ones. The 2011-current NHTSA star ratings are based on more stringent tests than the 1990-2010 NHTSA star ratings. (Think of it like grade deflation.)</p>
<p>[5-Star</a> Safety Ratings | Safercar – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)](<a href=“Safer Car Vehicle Safety, Ratings and Recalls | NHTSA”>Safer Car Vehicle Safety, Ratings and Recalls | NHTSA)</p>
<p>For example, the 2010 Camry had 5 stars for all of the older NHTSA front and side crash ratings, but the 2011 Camry (same design as the 2010 model) had 3 star NHTSA front and side crash ratings (upgraded to 4 stars later in the model year).</p>
<p>The 2001 Expedition had 5 star older NHTSA front crash ratings, no NHTSA side ratings, and 2 star rollover rating.</p>
<p>Most teens don’t have newer cars, they’re are lucky to have a car with decent tires.</p>
<p>^ Lizard you are right and good tires are very important regardless of what car you are driving.</p>
<p>HANDY tip next paragraph…
We’ve had two cars with pushed in bumper corners…my murano and my son’s first car, a used Taurus. We each backed into a truck, bumper to bumper I think (Tahoe and BIG pickup). The trucks never even knew they were hit. Just an observation. I hit the Tahoe in my own driveway, first accident since I was 17! My hubby once backed into my moms car, he had forgotten she was there and nobody reminded him. AND DS1 also backed into the Tahoe one night, he was distracted by his girlfriend who didn’t remind him either. Tahoe took a dent in the door, but just barely and it popped out with a plunger. The perils of a long 2 car wide driveway! We had more accidents (3) in the driveway than on the road (1 by son)</p>
<p>Here’s a handy tip! Many cars have bumpers that are actually plastic. If you heat it up with a heat gun, or a blow dryer, you can push that bumper dent right back out. ( the kind that is like a bowl shaped dent in the corner). My son did it himself, you just have to be able to get access to behind the dent to push it out knce it heats up and has some flexibity. I think there was a little cover that had to be pushed aside or something on my Murano. So many people have these dents and don’t know they can fix them, often the paint is ok but maybe not perfect.</p>
<p>My guess is that the BMW and the LC would have surprisingly similar safety rankings but for very different reasons. However, I believe most fatal teenage accidents happen because of rollovers, for example on one lane roads with soft shoulders. That would give the edge to the BMW IMO. The LC would undoubtedly do better in a multi car or highway accident. </p>
<p>But to be honest, neither would be my choice for a teenage driver. I’d sell or trade in in this case. The BMW has too much acceleration and power to be safe in the hands of a young driver. The LC is a true off road vehicle with a particularly high center of gravity, even with stability control. It’s size and obstructed line of sight make it a challenge to drive and a danger to other drivers as well.</p>