I had a disturbing thought the other day.

"TheOnelectronic" (theoneelectronic)
03/05/2016 at 22:14 • Filed to: None

In the majority of new cars, thanks to scared housewives’ need to sit higher, my head is right up against the ceiling. I consider a car’s headroom tolerable if only my hair touches the headliner at the seat’s lowest setting.

Am I basically fucked if one of these cars lands on its roof with me in it?

DISCUSSION (49)

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:16

nice knowing you

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:18

How tall are you?

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:18

Maybe. Depends how strong the roof is really.

On another note, I’m noticing this too. I have more headroom in my (comparatively) smaller E36 than I do in my mom’s Fusion. My head doesn’t touch the headliner but if I don’t slouch my hair brushes it. And I know there’s a ton of room under the seat for it to sit lower, but the frame jacks it way the hell up. It’s stupid.

Jdrentarol > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:19

OK- You are dead if a car lands on top of you, but do you know how impossible that is?

Under_Score > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:20

There’s a Nissan Rogue and a Toyota RAV4 in my family, both of which have sunroofs. My dad and I are 6'4", and we have a couple inches of head room at least. I don’t know which cars you’re talking about.

CounterTorqueSteer > Jdrentarol
03/05/2016 at 22:21

I'm pretty sure it's a rollover he's concerned about...

bob and john > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:22

not really. modern cars are pretty friggen strong

Jdrentarol > CounterTorqueSteer
03/05/2016 at 22:23

I know, but how often does a car roll over onto another car on a public road?

EL_ULY > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:24

Get a car sunroofless = more room for a helmet :]

CounterTorqueSteer > Jdrentarol
03/05/2016 at 22:24

What the hell are you talking about? Who said anything about a car rolling on to another car?

Jdrentarol > CounterTorqueSteer
03/05/2016 at 22:26

i am so confuzed

CounterTorqueSteer > Jdrentarol
03/05/2016 at 22:26

I know you are. Goodnight young one.

scoob > Jdrentarol
03/05/2016 at 22:27

Methinks you read OP wrong.

TheOnelectronic > Under_Score
03/05/2016 at 22:27

In just about any non-suv passenger car, as well as some trucks, I feel my hair brush against the ceiling if I’m sitting upright.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:28

Good news is that roof strength standards have gone waaaay up, so it take a lot more to crush a roof

TheOnelectronic > EL_ULY
03/05/2016 at 22:28

Lack of a sunroof is required just to be comfortable. I’ve yet to find a car that had room for a helmet without having to recline the seat or hunch down.

TheOnelectronic > HammerheadFistpunch
03/05/2016 at 22:29

Yeah, but, there’s only like half an inch before my spine becomes a crumple zone.

TheOnelectronic > bob and john
03/05/2016 at 22:29

That’s my hope.

TheOnelectronic > Jdrentarol
03/05/2016 at 22:30

“If a car [that I am inside of] rolls over onto its roof.”

TheOnelectronic > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
03/05/2016 at 22:30

5' 10"

I have REALLY short legs.

HammerheadFistpunch > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:32

People can be quite flexable in a pinch

Jdrentarol > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:32

Ah. You would have some head trauma...

...probably be called ‘special’ behind your back...

...wait, what car do you have?

TheOnelectronic > HammerheadFistpunch
03/05/2016 at 22:33

“Sir have you been drinking?”

“They said... they said it would help in a crash!”

Under_Score > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:34

Do you have a lot of hair, and have you lowered the seat all the way. Some cars, such as my Ranger, don’t have drivers seat adjustment, but pretty much every modern passenger car has a height adjustable drivers seat. Are you very tall? (6'6"+)

HammerheadFistpunch > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:34

“Well...was it?"

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:34

I was about ask how your head is anywhere near the roof until I saw the legs part. I’ve mentioned many times that I’m 6'8" yet I don't have too much of a problem in most cars. A lot of it has to do with seating position.

Gone > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:34

You should be fine. In 2009 the NHTSA implemented a roof crush standard of 2.5x the weight of the car (FMVSS 216). Which is why you see such fat A pillars now. It still sucks and should be 4:1 IMO. The original XC90 is 4.6 to one. The new one is even more advanced and in other ways.

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-new-volvo-…

So, just buy a Volvo.

TheOnelectronic > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
03/05/2016 at 22:39

I don’t like driving reclined. I feel like I’m not as in-control and I move around more in the seat. Apart from that I usually have seats as low as possible all day every day.

TheOnelectronic > Under_Score
03/05/2016 at 22:41

I have short hair, and I always lower the seat all the way. I have to bend my neck sideways when I get into other people’s cars a lot until I’ve figured out how to lower the seat.

I’m 5'10" with probably a 28" inseam. That means I have an extremely tall torso for my height, which means I sit more like someone in the mid-6' range.

6Cylinder > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:43

Yeah it’s odd. I’m 6' tall and my 96 Civic has a country mile of room above my head.

I think you’re on to something.

Under_Score > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:43

Yeah, that makes sense. I’m like a 36" inseam, so my torso is shorter.

Van Man, rocks the Man Van > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:46

You’re like my dad. He drives fairly upright as well and is about 4 inches shorter than me but he doesn’t fit in nearly as many cars as me. I like being reclined because it feels more comfortable, and it allows me to fit into smaller cars because headroom isn't a huge issue.

TheOnelectronic > Van Man, rocks the Man Van
03/05/2016 at 22:47

It’s one of those minor ergonomic things that makes a huge difference. It keeps your arms at a better angle, allows you to anchor yourself by the dead pedal instead of your arms, and you can put a lot of pressure on the brakes without being pushed up the back of the seat.

Xyl0c41n3 > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 22:50

“Scared housewives’ need to sit higher?”

That doesn’t sound sexist at all. /s

I’m a 5'4" woman with a 28-29 inch inseam (in other words, short legs). I’ve got plenty of head clearance in my super tiny 2013 Fiesta sedan, even with the seat height adjusted a few clicks higher. I drive with the seat pushed pretty far back — far back enough to have to use the steering wheel’s telescoping capability to achieve a comfortable arm distance.

But every time I have to drive my dad’s MUCH larger Impala (a 2005), I’m constantly hitting my head against the headliner.

In my parents’ full-sized SUV? Again, plenty of clearance. In my brother’s small-sized pickup truck? Plenty of room.

Maybe instead of jumping to the sexist conclusion that “scared housewives” are ruining your rides, you consider that perhaps head room depends on make and model, not gender.

Don’t believe me? Ask Yamahog. She’s an engineer in the auto industry. She can tell you how each car model is tested extensively by people from a wide variety of demographics in order to comfortably accommodate as many people as possible. Car manufacturers spend a shit ton of time testing and tweaking that stuff.

But nah, clearly it’s the “scared housewives.”

TheOnelectronic > Xyl0c41n3
03/05/2016 at 23:04

I’ll admit there’s no need for it to be gender specific. I was referring to the people who favor crossovers and other tall vehicles because they sit higher. These “high hip points” I have been told are the result of focus tests which say people like sitting higher because it makes them feel safer. That’s the “scared” part. I have a particular dislike of people who approach driving from a position of fear and apprehension.

The “housewives” part I will admit is just an association due to anecdotal observation and specific people I’ve known who exemplify that mentality. It is, as you say, unnecessary.

To put this in perspective, I’m 5'10". I have THE SAME inseam as you. Just using raw math, I’ve got about 6" less headroom in any given vehicle. I don’t really expect carmakers to accommodate my unusual proportions, I just wish that proclivity towards higher seat heights wasn’t a thing so it wasn’t always such a gamble. There are very neat cars I just cannot drive.

Xyl0c41n3 > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 23:11

But my point is, it’s sexist to say “scared housewives.” People wanting to ride higher exist in any gender, not just among women, and not just among women who are married and don’t work.

Going back to my dad, for instance: he loves riding with his seat both high and close to the wheel (dangerously close, IMO). Anytime I drive one of his vehicles I have to move the seat both back and down before I go anywhere. My dad is taller than me.

You have unusual body proportions, so, yeah, it totally sucks that your lengthy torso comes at the cost of decreased head room, but again, could you not make it about gender? It’s unnecessary and incredibly insulting. Oppo is an incredibly male environment as it is, we don’t need to make it more othering to women.

TheOnelectronic > Xyl0c41n3
03/05/2016 at 23:21

And I agree with you, and will do my best to keep my insulting terms gender-neutral in the future.

Xyl0c41n3 > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 23:22

Heh. That’s why I’m a fan of using “asshole.”

Because everybody’s got one. ;)

Berang > TheOnelectronic
03/05/2016 at 23:26

I don’t care that you used the word housewives.

Berang > Xyl0c41n3
03/05/2016 at 23:27

Are you suggesting people who want to sit higher are assholes???

Xyl0c41n3 > Berang
03/05/2016 at 23:33

Lol. Nah. I was referring to using that term as a good gender neutral insult. :)

Also... Evening, Berang. How goes it?

TheOnelectronic > Berang
03/05/2016 at 23:33

Xylocaine has a point, though. The term springs to mind because of admittedly sexist stereotypes in my own mind, and the use of such reinforces said stereotypes in those who read it.

Since the fear-based approach to driving is not limited in any way to women, it makes no sense to single them out intentionally or otherwise.

facw > Jdrentarol
03/05/2016 at 23:58

Kinja'd!!!

I drive a first gen S40, good to know its roof can handle a strangely placed Explorer.

facw > TheOnelectronic
03/06/2016 at 00:01

Unless you are wearing a five point harness, you’ll get pushed down in your seat if the roof hits your head, hopefully preventing serious injury.

TheOnelectronic > facw
03/06/2016 at 00:04

That’s true. The seat isn’t rigid.

facw > Gone
03/06/2016 at 00:06

Stack those Volvos right up:

Kinja'd!!!

Berang > TheOnelectronic
03/06/2016 at 00:11

Top ten vehicles with the largest proportion of female owners (2012 survey): 1: Volvo S40, 2: Nissan Rogue, 3: Volkswagen Eos, 4: Volkswagen Beetle, 5: Hyundai Tucson, 6: Honda CRV, 7: Toyota Rav 4, 8: Nissan Juke, 9: Jeep Compass, 10: Nissan Versa.

Contrary to stereotype though, Subaru Forester sales were split nearly evenly amongst men and women.

It should also be noted that the idea of “housewives” wanting a commanding view of the road was an idea widely circulated in the 1990s at the start of the SUV craze, and marketing research did in fact find that women were more likely to consider the purchase of an SUV than men (despite the fact that more men bought SUVs at the time) and married couples were buying the most. It’s probably anachronistic data now, but the notion has its roots in fact. So don’t feel too bad about being lead on by decades of motor journalism.

uofime-2 > TheOnelectronic
03/07/2016 at 10:56

I agree with this seating position. I’ve heard, and it makes sense too, that you should not be locking your knee joints while using the pedals, otherwise you’ll shatter bones in an accident.

One of my favorite crusing positions has my arm wedges between my seat side bolster and the 4 O’clock on my wheel

TheOnelectronic > uofime-2
03/07/2016 at 12:51

I usually rest my elbow on the top edge of the door panel. My arms are short like my legs.