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RussJeep1

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Laws notwithstanding, FCA of course has the right to put what features it sees fit into its new Wrangler. I'm sure it does extensive market research to consider the pros and cons of features, and whether they'll be standard, optional, 3rd party producible or unavailable.

Still more, love it though we do, nobody's forced to buy it.

But I really would have liked to have seen some airbags in the rear passenger compartment, even as options.

Many may disagree, citing how adventure (i.e. life) has its risks, and that it feels like when a brand like Wrangler gives in to the mall crawler crowd's needs it takes something away from its heritage. And I respect that.

I respect the cost of engineering the feature, even if only to be optional. I respect the potential increased liability FCA places on itself for such airbags failing to deploy, or deploying when they should not, or too soon in an accident, etc. and how something designed as a safety feature ironically has the possibility of "biting them in the ass" with liability claims.

I even respect the forum member who says, "go out and buy yourself a Subura Crosstrek poser," but most of all I respect the avoidance of head trauma in rear seat passengers, many of which are kids.

Thoughts?
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word302

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Laws notwithstanding, FCA of course has the right to put what features it sees fit into its new Wrangler. I'm sure it does extensive market research to consider the pros and cons of features, and whether they'll be standard, optional, 3rd party producible or unavailable.

Still more, love it though we do, nobody's forced to buy it.

But I really would have liked to have seen some airbags in the rear passenger compartment, even as options.

Many may disagree, citing how adventure (i.e. life) has its risks, and that it feels like when a brand like Wrangler gives in to the mall crawler crowd's needs it takes something away from its heritage. And I respect that.

I respect the cost of engineering the feature, even if only to be optional. I respect the potential increased liability FCA places on itself for such airbags failing to deploy, or deploying when they should not, or too soon in an accident, etc. and how something designed as a safety feature ironically has the possibility of "biting them in the ass" with liability claims.

I even respect the forum member who says, "go out and buy yourself a Subura Crosstrek poser," but most of all I respect the avoidance of head trauma in rear seat passengers, many of which are kids.

Thoughts?
They would be useless with the top off. Also airbags and kids are a bad combo.
 

Phenomenon

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Let's wait until we see the crash test results. I'm sure they will be improved from the JK.
 

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foo.c

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full cage, 4 racing seats with 5 point harness -> safer than airbags.
 

Armycop

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There are major problems with a Wrangler and rear airbags. Door mounted torso airbags actually don't work well with large child seats. Side curtain airbags are expensive and the ones that span the whole side of SUVs need a clear spot to be mounted. When you add grab handles, fire extinguishers etc on the sport bar that could affect the operation. Plus there is nowhere to stuff the airbag along the roof because it's removable. In other fixed top vehicles they can hide them in trim panels above the door. It would make the Sport bar pretty thick. Until they make a full steel roof Wrangler I doubt rear side airbags would be a reality.
 

Indio

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Laws notwithstanding, FCA of course has the right to put what features it sees fit into its new Wrangler. I'm sure it does extensive market research to consider the pros and cons of features, and whether they'll be standard, optional, 3rd party producible or unavailable.

Still more, love it though we do, nobody's forced to buy it.

But I really would have liked to have seen some airbags in the rear passenger compartment, even as options.

Many may disagree, citing how adventure (i.e. life) has its risks, and that it feels like when a brand like Wrangler gives in to the mall crawler crowd's needs it takes something away from its heritage. And I respect that.

I respect the cost of engineering the feature, even if only to be optional. I respect the potential increased liability FCA places on itself for such airbags failing to deploy, or deploying when they should not, or too soon in an accident, etc. and how something designed as a safety feature ironically has the possibility of "biting them in the ass" with liability claims.

I even respect the forum member who says, "go out and buy yourself a Subura Crosstrek poser," but most of all I respect the avoidance of head trauma in rear seat passengers, many of which are kids.

Thoughts?
Real adventure requires real risk. Else it's just Disneyland. Fake adventure. I run across people that are very risk averse, including friends from earlier days who now have become painfully risk averse. They have become like Bilbo Baggins, before Gandalf arrived and hooked him up with the dwarves adventure to take Smaug's stolen treasure. These folks have essentially engineered all the risk (adventure) out of their lives.

Jeep markets to some of these risk averse folks, selling the appearance of adventure in their commercials, to people who will never have any. The Wrangler makes these people feel like they are having an adventure driving to the gym or something. A person on these boards wrote recently, that the important thing for him is he knows his Rubicon could go on an off-road adventure, even though he likely will never go there. That is like anathema to me. I couldn't be more opposed to that way of operating. But hey different strokes for different folks.

Where to find your place between the Disneyland ride "Pirates Of The Caribbean", and actually being attacked by real pirates in the Caribbean? The place between no adventure and adventure of the ultimate kind involving risk of death? I guess that is for each person to decide. For me, air bag config is pretty low on the list of items on the new Wrangler I have thought about. But who knows I could get in a car accident tomorrow and regret not having them!
 

The Great Grape Ape

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Thoughts:

full cage, 4 racing seats with 5 point harness -> safer than airbags.
Need to add a Hans device to that harness to be truly safe. :captain:

The harnesses keep you so secure there is little give which can cause other serious injuries.

I have considered this myself after riding in a friend’s trail JK with a 4-point Corbeau seat, but was always concerned about on-road safety tradeoff. Still very tempting though to avoid the occasional bump into objects (including passenger) when bouncing around the trails.
 

The Great Grape Ape

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I agree with you, as someone who has been t-boned in their Wrangler, I would like to see these improvements, and whatever else they can do to improve safety.

However, I also realize there are limits, and pressures that pose challenges in this area, so they have to try and come up with different ways to approach the issue due to the possible lack of doors or roof in the scenarios.

Of course there is also the challenge of people not wanting to pay for the features (the number of JKs with front side airbags was very low too) versus economies of scale due to low adoption rate.

I will take as many un-intrusive safety features as they can add, but I realize that those offerings may have other limitations. So in he meantime I like to improve side-rail support to improve the odds from the current available offerings.
 

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RussJeep1

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I did. That prior thread dealt with an unknown as to whether rear airbags would be part of the JL.

Now that we know that they aren't part of the JL I am discussing, in a new thread, the implications of this decision.

Or perhaps you think it a waste of time for news outlets to talk about what an elected official is doing simply because they talked about what this person might do when running for office, but not yet elected?????
 

kiwi

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How many people put their children in the third row of seats which is in the rear crash zone of many other vehicles.

Their's not many vehicles that have rear airbags. You could have your passengers wear airbags and yes they are available. You could then have children wear these airbags when they are out playing or crossing roads.

I would be more worried if you own a new Ford Mustang as it has a 2 star crash rating. It will kill children in the back seat and the front passengers head misses the airbag.
 
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RussJeep1

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Real adventure requires real risk. Else it's just Disneyland. Fake adventure. I run across people that are very risk averse, including friends from earlier days who now have become painfully risk averse. They have become like Bilbo Baggins, before Gandalf arrived and hooked him up with the dwarves adventure to take Smaug's stolen treasure. These folks have essentially engineered all the risk (adventure) out of their lives.

Jeep markets to some of these risk averse folks, selling the appearance of adventure in their commercials, to people who will never have any. The Wrangler makes these people feel like they are having an adventure driving to the gym or something. A person on these boards wrote recently, that the important thing for him is he knows his Rubicon could go on an off-road adventure, even though he likely will never go there. That is like anathema to me. I couldn't be more opposed to that way of operating. But hey different strokes for different folks.

Where to find your place between the Disneyland ride "Pirates Of The Caribbean", and actually being attacked by real pirates in the Caribbean? The place between no adventure and adventure of the ultimate kind involving risk of death? I guess that is for each person to decide. For me, air bag config is pretty low on the list of items on the new Wrangler I have thought about. But who knows I could get in a car accident tomorrow and regret not having them!
...and yet parachute jumping, which involves some risk (maybe less than driving a car) often involves the use of professional licensed packed backup chutes, some with altimeter based automatic release if decent is too fast, too close to the ground, should the jumper be unable to open their reserve chute (e.g. become unconscious.)

To point, I think you can have plenty of risk and still have some safety as airbags enhance, not guarantee safety. In fact the two need not be mutually exclusive to have adventures, I think, although I concede that some people think the two can't coexist. Disclaimers for pregnant women on perfectly safe amusement park rides suggest that the perception of risk and adventure (i.e. danger) that attracts us to the ride still exists, even if danger has been all but eliminated.

Sadly, rear Wrangler airbags or not, and with all the best safety designs around, the numbers still suggest the near impossibility of nobody ever dying from an accident in a JL/U Wrangler's, or any vehicle's back seat.

Riding in any motor vehicle is never "just Disneyland. Fake adventure."

That the product is difficult with removable doors or removed doors....duly noted.
 
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RussJeep1

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Dear lord, really? I knew I previously saw a thread already asking this, but the same person? Man...
See what I wrote ArmyCop about why this came up in threads twice.
 
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RussJeep1

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How many people put their children in the third row of seats which is in the rear crash zone of many other vehicles.

Their's not many vehicles that have rear airbags. You could have your passengers wear airbags and yes they are available. You could then have children wear these airbags when they are out playing or crossing roads.

I would be more worried if you own a new Ford Mustang as it has a 2 star crash rating. It will kill children in the back seat and the front passengers head misses the airbag.
Plenty of vehicles have at least curtain airbags in the back. That other vehicles or the optional placement of kids in a 3rd row rather then 2nd present more risk...all the more reason to drive a Wrangler, ideally one with such airbags...much as respect the challenges of engineering them in a doors off capable vehicle.

More dangerous vehicles and practices not performed here only make the Wrangler relatively safer than things you describe, not as safe as it perhaps could reasonably be, and are not relevant.

I seek to manage risk, which weighs the pros and cons of a decision, not eliminate it by bubbling wrapping kids: which detracts from quality of life when risk doesn't reasonably warrant such behavior.

...I'd love to hear from someone like Great Grape Ape who got seriously T-boned and still tows the "rear airbags, really?" line..........in addition to the winch in front.

Sure, it was a 2008 JKU. But an airbag here might have prevented cervical injury associated with rapid lateral head movement relative to the body, particularly in the back seat where such features are not optionally purchasable, then, or as it turns out, now.



I'm sorry if I am more passionate here than with discussions on "the best snorkel." It's because the discussion centers around safety, and that the best Wrangler accessory isn't nearly worth life.
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