I was just re-reading this and thought of one more thing I wanted to say...
You say that I'm childish and that I probably haven't even considered crash test ratings? Go and re-read my first response in this thread. I straight out said that I'd much prefer the safety of a giant SUV, but that I've considered it and I'm willing to compromise on the safety a bit for the benefit of fuel economy. In other words, I have indeed thought about this, and I made the decision that I'm willing to accept the risk in exchange for the benefits (I believe this is called an informed decision?), so don't tell me that I'm an irresponsible jackass who doesn't bother to think about anything I do beforehand...
I'm lowering the collective IQ around here because I'm asking for something that I feel is fairly reasonable? I'd be lowering the "collective IQ" if I was spreading FUD or misinformation, such as you've been doing yourself, not asking for tips/help/insight/whatever.
If you're so brilliant, tell me, how and WHY is it economically unfeasible to strengthen the civic? I'm not asking for a civic that can plow through a Toyota Land Cruiser and can shoot artillery shells out of the bonnet, or a civic that can act as a plane, submarine, race car, boat, and mobile home. Your angst would be partially justified if I was asking for the above but I'm NOT, what I'm asking for is what would need to be done in order to improve the crash test rating. Read this:
IIHS-HLDI: Toyota Corolla
IIHS-HLDI: Toyota Corolla
"In the first test, forces on the right tibia were high enough to indicate the possibility of lower leg injury. This led Toyota to modify a portion of the padding underneath the carpeting on models produced after December, 2002. (Note: information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on or near the driver door.) The Institute tested a second Corolla that had been retrofitted with the improved padding, and forces on the lower right leg were reduced so that significant injury was unlikely."
It is this kind of adjustment and what not that leads me to believe that only small changes are needed in order for a substantial improvement in crash test performance. However, this is most likely not the case for the civic, nonetheless I believe that it would be possible to improve the safety of the civic. What other explanation can there be for intrusion into the footwell of the '96 civic over the '01 civic except for poor reinforcement of the firewall or the crumpling of the "passenger area" in the '95 crash test due to a lack of strong reinforcement.
Honda and just about any other company tries to use the fewest, cheapest parts they can get away with, with the '90s crash tests being 40% offset and not just a flat wall like they were before, the passenger area compacts in the offset tests unlike in the older "wall" tests. When honda designed this car, they had the "wall" or non offset crash tests in mind, so they use less material than was neccessary for an offset crash test.
Here is a perfect example illustrating my theory:
Non Offset crash:
YouTube - Honda Civic crashtest (1995)
Notice how the passenger area does NOT buckle? Looks good to me!
Oh but wait..
Offset Crash:
YouTube - Honda Civic old model crash test (DEATH TRAP)
Notice how the passenger area DOES buckle? Looks awful to me!
Knowing that the engineers did not have offset crashes in mind when designing the civic, it is completely understandable as to why the '95 civic performs as it does. Why else would the '96 perform so significantly better if it wasn't for the fact that by the time the '96 was released, offset crash tests were standard fare. Also keep in mind that the '95 is really a '92 model, I'm just calling it a '95 because that's what my original thread was concerning.
I should also mention that the "jobs" would be done by myself, and not by a hired shop as any work by any shop would make it prohibitively expensive and not economically feasible.
Also the front end crash test ratings are NOT comparable amongst different classes of cars. So just because you get a 5 star civic or camry or vulva or whatever, it doesn't mean that it will fair better in an accident with a 1 star rated SUV, this is something I've already considered.