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SUVs Buick Rendezvous Rendezvous Suspension Upgrades
132 messages, Last post on Jan 06, 2008 at 7:26 PM
You are in the Buick Rendezvous Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & tidester
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Replying to: hawaiianguy (Sep 30, 2007 5:48 pm) Safety sells. Not everyone pays attention to rollover scores or mpg for that matter, but when you are selling a family people mover and grocery getter like the Rendezvous, bad ratings will hurt your sales with a lot of people. In GM's response to the Forbes article, it sounded like GM was going to focus on things like more airbags and stability control to make the RDV safer. |
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"but when you are selling a family people mover and grocery getter like the Rendezvous, bad ratings will hurt your sales with a lot of people." Steve, one of the reasons, no, in fact THE PRIMARY reason I got the RDV at the time is because my wife was pregnant with her first. Before she had a little nissan sentra. I thought that the RDV, being a bigger SUV, higher impact zone, weight and all that would be safer for her and the child. You can imagine my surprise when that logic is turned on it's head and now SUV's and trucks with higher center of gravity can be WORSE in a single car accident due to potential for rollover. The article says side airbags helps aleviate some of this risk by eliminating imapct with the ground as does stabilitrac, I would presume. So yes, I think my CXL model does have side airbags and traction control and the article may not be 100% applicable to my vehicle. But there is still the rollover factor. Ideally, I'd like the "best of both worlds" if possible, that is an SUV like vehicle which withstands the impact of a multi-vehicle crash, yet one that is still worthy of being in and NOT rolling over in a single-vehicle emergncy mauver/crash... That's all I'm trying to do in making the suspension a little firmer. Because as I said, the RDV was bought priimarly with safety in mind, and if there is any 'chink' in the RDV's armor, my view is that rollover hazard would be it. All I 'm trying to do is fix that chink as cost effectively as possible... This may not be the case for everyone else, but my whole decision to buy a larger SUV like vehicle like the RDV was for safety. This is why I'm interested in limiting the rollover potential through aftermarket upgrades, if possible. |
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"In GM's response to the Forbes article, it sounded like GM was going to focus on things like more airbags and stability control to make the RDV safer." My understanding is that the RDV is discontinued as of 2008 due to the Enclave which has already been released. Also the article was dated 7/26/2007, so it is not like it is an old article either. If it was dated 7/26/2007 and GM's response was after that, what changes can they make to RDV's which have already been discontinued? Where is this response that you are referring to? (I'd like to see it).
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Replying to: hawaiianguy (Sep 30, 2007 6:48 pm) "Alan Adler, GM's safety spokesman, confirms that it's important to look at a wide range of information. "You've identified two technologies [side airbags and stability control] that are important, and we have rollout plans for both," says Adler." link When it rains, it pours: markphil, "2002 Buick Rendezvous Class Action?" #68, 30 Sep 2007 7:47 pm |
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As I've already said, I think the CXL and Ultra models at leaset from 2004 up have "side airbags" and a traction control system. From a website describing the 04 RDV: "CXL FWD ($30,935) and CXL AWD ($33,140) add leather upholstery, six-way power seats, automatic dual-zone air conditioning, heated mirrors, premium eight-speaker stereo with steering-wheel-mounted controls, separate rear-seat audio controls and headphone jacks, tire inflation monitor, and unique exterior trim. Both FWD and AWD CXL models have side-impact airbags and ABS. Additionally, front-drive CXL's come with traction control." From another website describing the 2006 CXL (I have a 2005 that has traction control, not sure if it is the same thing as '06): " Air bags for the Driver and front-passenger are standard feature on all Rendezvous variants. In the CXL variant is provided an additional feature in the form of additional air bags for enhanced safety. These air bags are mounted for side impact safety for the driver and front-passenger on the sides of seat. These side-impact air bags have a bearing in reducing the risk of injury in the event of side-impacts on the vehicle. The 2006 Buick Rendezvous is fully equipped with traction control system so as to control efficiently untoward accidents that occur on slippery conditions of road. The traction control on 2006 Buick Rendezvous operates through a powertrain control module (PCM) computer to detect any excessive front-wheel spin and in the event there is undue spin then it makes compatible adjustments in order to enable the spinning tire to regain traction. The traction control is the Buick Rendezvous 2006 ace to arrest slippage in every aspect. The process starts with applying brakes followed by reducing power, which is achieved, by reducing spark ignition to the engine cylinders. At the end of this process the PCM switches the gears thus slowiing down mechanically the rotation. The PCM having accomplished its mission thus returns control back to driver and relinquishes the auto control mode it had taken up to restore normalcy. This would any ways convince any one of the safety and soundness of installed systems in a 2006 Buick Rendezvous." Okay, based on the above, I think it can be said that certain CXL and ultras DO have traction control (and again supporting my thinking that it may not apply, so I don't know why GM's response didn't indicate this and just say that some of their RDV models DO ALREADY HAVE traction control). Now the question remains, I think is whether the "side airbags" referenced are the same as "side curtian" airbags. My initial impression is maybe no. I think the curtain airbags protect the head area and the side airbags on my RDV are in the sides of the seats. If I am wrong on this please let me know. So again, maybe that is still one downfall of my RDV... |
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steve, it appears your linked article is different than the one I linked. Yours shows the methodology used and may answer some of spike 99's questions. Basically in the article you linked, it says they are using SCORE's methodolgy and evaluation, not only IIHS and NHSTA. Hope that helps you spike99. "Informed for Life releases SCORE (Statistical Combination of Risk Elements) data each year, which combine all the available safety data from the federal government and the IIHS, along with the role of weight and the presence of stability control, into a single number for each particular model, making it easier to compare vehicles of varying sizes or body types. Related Stories Ten Ways To Outwit A Car Dealer Most Expensive Cars In The U.S. The SCORE is calculated according to the role that each element plays in general fatal accidents. For instance, as about 26% of national accident fatalities occur in a side impact, 26% of the SCORE depends on the vehicle's rated side-impact protection. The system, which has been implemented for about five years, more closely matches the fatality rate on a model-by-model basis than either IIHS or NHTSA ratings alone. And it's easy to decipher; it's on a scale that's proportional to risk, with the average passenger car ranked 100. So, for instance, a SCORE of 150 means that the relative risk of driver fatality is 50% higher than for the average passenger car. In the group's 2007 list, the most dangerous vehicle, the Buick Rendezvous, at 161, has more than three times the relative risk of fatality than the Hyundai Entourage and Kia Sedona minivans, at 51." |
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Anyone interested in knowing why FORBES rated the RDV as #1 most dangerous, or why it has 3x more of a fatality rate than a smiliar sized Hyundai or Kia minivans, can go to the following website. It appears Forbes had based their ratings completely on the SCORE ratings.... http://www.informedforlife.org/
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If you click on "ranking lists" you will see that the Kia van they refer to has side airags and ESC. And it is rated at 51. The RDV they tested does not have side airbags and does not have traction control. And it was rated at 161. Therefore, it appears that the SCORE test results of the RDV that FORBES used to say the RDV was the "most dangerous" is a RDV which has no side airbags and no traction control. This would most likely be the CX model. Unforunately since it appears they did not test a CXL or ULTRA model that DOES have side airbags and traction control, we don't know what the results would be in these cases. So yes, the FORBES article is "slightly' misprepresenting the fact that "NOT ALL" RDV's don't have side airbags or traction control like the one tested with SCORE on informed for life's website... That is slightly misleading... They should have at least made the distinction that only base CX models were tested for SCORE and that the front-wheel drive CXL and ULTRA models may have a much higher rating (or lower SCORE rating) because they DO have side airbags and traction control as standard equipment. |
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Replying to: hawaiianguy (Sep 30, 2007 8:03 pm) As I recall, one criticism of that site is that is doesn't give much (if any) weight to the score of a vehicle having ABS brakes, and perhaps some other "safety" features. [edit] And saying "one model of the Rendezvous" isn't as safe as one model of a Sedona doesn't sell as many magazines. 
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"The plus is he tells you how he comes up with the ratings." spike99, well, if it hadn't been for steve posting that link, i would not have known how they come up with the ratings either. in any case you got your wish and the website lists very detailed methodology as to how the ratings were obtained... (it is a bit complicated looking to me so I haven't personally taken the time to try to understand what he's doing.. I basically assume if it was good enough for forbes, then it must make "some" sense...)... |
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