IIHS demonstrates this quite graphically, here.
Anyone driving an NEV on public roads is only a little better off than riding a scooter.
Repeated efforts to speak with top officials at Mahindra and Global proved unsuccessful. A spokesman for Global Vehicles said CEO John Perez was out of the country and unavailable for comment. A request to speak with other Global Vehicles executives went unanswered.
Efforts to reach Perez -- a normally talkative businessman with a rich baritone that carries a slight trace of his childhood in Cuba -- drew a response from a U.S. representative of Mahindra & Mahindra in New York. The representative said that Goenka would prefer to handle discussions of the venture instead of Perez. But Goenka was not available for interviews.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100329/RETAIL07/303299954#ixzz0msQyYrXJ
For reference, just about any mass produced four wheel car can easily negotiate a lane change maneuver at 45mph.Watched by a large group, including many note-taking and video-taping team members, the three-wheeled Aptera car struggled to find a clean run. More than two dozen attempts were made, with the car routinely sliding enough to topple several cones. In watching, it seemed natural to question how difficult this test is to pass. However, all current production vehicles, from small cars to large trucks, can successfully negotiate this test. We expect the Auto X Prize finalists to do the same.
Because of this behavior, CR has given Toyota another black eye, with a rare and embarrassing "Do Not Buy" rating. This puts the Lexus GX460 in the same company as the Suzuki Samurai.We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death. We are not aware, however, of any such reports.
...
In real-world driving, lift-off oversteer could occur when a driver enters a highway's exit ramp or drives through a sweeping turn and encounters an unexpected obstacle or suddenly finds that the turn is too tight for the vehicle's speed. A natural impulse is to quickly lift off the accelerator pedal. If that were to happen in the GX, the rear could slide around far enough that a wheel could strike a curb or slide off the pavement.
The most expensive 2010 vehicles to insure | ||||
Rank | Make and Model | Style & Type | Cylinders | Avg. national premium |
1 | Porsche 911 Carrera GT2 | 2 Door Coupe | 6 | $2943.78 |
2 | Mercedes S65 AMG | 4 Door Sedan | 12 | $2863.03 |
3 | Dodge Viper SRT-10 | 2 Door Coupe | 10 | $2851.89 |
4 | Porsche Panamera Turbo AWD | 4 Door Sedan | 8 | $2837.39 |
5 | Dodge Viper SRT-10 | 2 Door Convertible | 10 | $2815.90 |
6 | Mercedes CL600 | 2 Door Coupe | 12 | $2754.80 |
7 | Audi R8 | 2 Door Coupe AWD | 8 | $2751.55 |
8 | Porsche Panamera S | 4 Door Sedan | 8 | $2744.78 |
9 | Mercedes SL600 | 2 Door Convertible | 12 | $2715.86 |
10 | Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo | 2 Door Coupe AWD | 6 | $2706.04 |
11 | Mercedes CL65 AMG | 2 Door Coupe | 12 | $2699.74 |
12 | BMW M6 | 2 Door Convertible | 10 | $2689.13 |
13 | Mercedes S600 | 4 Door Sedan | 12 | $2667.48 |
14 | Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series | 2 Door Convertible | 12 | $2655.15 |
15 | Mercedes SL65 AMG | 2 Door Convertible | 12 | $2653.53 |
16 | Mercedes CL63 AMG | 2 Door Coupe | 8 | $2646.92 |
17 | BMW M6 | 2 Door Coupe | 10 | $2627.27 |
18 | BMW 760Li | 4 Door Sedan | 12 | $2565.59 |
19 | Jaguar XKR Portfolio SC | 2 Door Coupe | 8 | $2537.79 |
20 | Jaguar XKR Supercharged | 2 Door Coupe | 8 | $2533.48 |
Source: Insure.com, from a study commissioned by Insure.com from Quadrant Information Services |