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Let's face it, automotive engineering has morphed to fit the market, that's to say that the move to "performance" has been overly hyped in order to appeal to the younger buyers who believe the hype in car magazines. Truth be told, most of the "improvements" in auto engineering have been greatly exaggerated, but every year the auto magazine editors must have something to blather on about, and the automobile media business has never lacked for high tech B.S.reporting.
Since the advent of unitized construction methods, little has changed with respect to the auto body/frame components. Using terms such as "flexibility, rigidity, "torsional load" and other solid engineering considerations, may help to explain the merits of such factors, but the average guy is lost as to the real significance of it all. I drive a Toyota Avalon and a Mercedes Benz CLK 500 convertible, the Toyota has a "buttery handling" feel to it while the Benz drives as though it's on rails. How that difference is factored in engineering terms means little to me, and at day's end, it's all how you, the driver, perceives the difference of one car to another..
The Camry is a low end driver, it is built well and drives pretty darn good for it's price range, but, when reading the car mags one would think the need for twelve inch rotors is almost a necessity, and offering great cornering capability at speeds around ninety and above is also looked upon as a desirable factor when looking at that new grocery-getter down at the dealership. Things have changed, no doubt about it, back in the day, no self respecting salesman would infer a need for performance when selling that 59 Impala wagon..
Let's face it, automotive engineering has morphed to fit the market, that's to say that the move to "performance" has been overly hyped in order to appeal to the younger buyers who believe the hype in car magazines. Truth be told, most of the "improvements" in auto engineering have been greatly exaggerated, but every year the auto magazine editors must have something to blather on about, and the automobile media business has never lacked for high tech B.S.reporting.
Since the advent of unitized construction methods, little has changed with respect to the auto body/frame components. Using terms such as "flexibility, rigidity, "torsional load" and other solid engineering considerations, may help to explain the merits of such factors, but the average guy is lost as to the real significance of it all. I drive a Toyota Avalon and a Mercedes Benz CLK 500 convertible, the Toyota has a "buttery handling" feel to it while the Benz drives as though it's on rails. How that difference is factored in engineering terms means little to me, and at day's end, it's all how you, the driver, perceives the difference of one car to another..
The Camry is a low end driver, it is built well and drives pretty darn good for it's price range, but, when reading the car mags one would think the need for twelve inch rotors is almost a necessity, and offering great cornering capability at speeds around ninety and above is also looked upon as a desirable factor when looking at that new grocery-getter down at the dealership. Things have changed, no doubt about it, back in the day, no self respecting salesman would infer a need for performance when selling that 59 Impala wagon..
There is no frame on a FWD car they are a unibody construction pickups and large suv's are the only ones with a true body on frame.
Dude, owners been griping about Camry stiff and bumpy ride ever since 2015 models. I witness to that as I rented one and had one as loaner. So they call it "sporty suspension". Catering to a "younger buyer market".
Here you have it.
All of what you say is true; I'm simply wondering whether there are really any incremental, noticeable differences in rigidity over, say, the same car 20 years ago. Cars are definitely safer as time goes on (offset impact standards come to mind), but I really question whether there has been that much of an increase in handling performance over that time period. For example, does a "more rigid" 2017 Accord really handle any better than a 1997 one? I'm dubious.
I think the best way to tell is to drive both generations back-to-back. As far as stiffness and refinement, one of the most notable ones I noticed myself was between the 1990's and 2000's Chevy pickups - the 2000+ models were the first generation with a hydro formed frame & driving the two back-to-back was an eye opener. To me, the newer models were on a completely different level & going back to the older model after driving the newer ones made them feel like rattle traps. Of course, "stiffness" is only part of the story, you'll have refinements in insulation, wind-noise, tires, different power trains, etc. if your commute is 3 miles down a 25mph road, you might not notice much, but at higher speeds & for longer commutes, I'd suspect the differences would be empirically measurable.
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