2002 safety, roll cages

Subject: 2002 safety, roll cages
From: Jbrucebmw@domain.elided
Date: Thu, 5 Sep 1996 14:57:15 -0400

 The recent (I just got caught up on a couple weeks of digests) discussions
about safety on the digest have got me thinking about something. How vast is
the difference in crash worthyness between older and newer BMWs? For example
how much safer is an E30 or an E36 than a 2002? Now I am not talking about
air bags or ABS I am talking about the ability of the car body  to protect
the driver.

Also, can an older car like a 2002 be made as safe as an E30 or E36 with the
instalation of a full roll cage ? Obviously such a 2002 would be safe in a
roll over but what about a front, rear, or side impact?

I have seen some wrecked E30s but I have not seen many O2s. Also I have never
seen a street car with a roll cage that has been in an accident (besides
racing coverage on TV where the cars usually bounce off tire walls). I would
be interested in hearing from people that have seen the way such cars protect
their occupants in accidents.

Juan Bruce
BMW CCA 95025
BMW ACA LA
(soon to relocate to the Golden Gate chapter)