rruff
Explorer
That ship sailed in the US a long time ago. Here it's all about safety, which as far as the relevant federal agency is concerned, is mostly determined by the ability to slam into concrete walls and shapes of various aspects. A van or truck where you are sitting over the front wheels fairs poorly in this, so we require that you have a lot of malleable steel and mass in front of you to "absorb" the impact. Whether you can see or not is irrelevant.
Of course, most people don't slam into concrete things, rather they are more likely to slam into other vehicles. If the ubiquitous 6,000+ lb commuter or "run to the liquor store" vehicle happens to go head on with a more sensible car weighing say 2,000 lbs, they will demolish it... even though that little car got stellar scores in the "slamming into concrete" tests. All the smart people know this, so if you really care about your family you'll only let them drive or ride in the biggest, most blunt-nosed, and lifted monster you can get... that also gets an A+ in slamming into concrete. These days everyone is driving them, so any idiot driving a small car is a moron who doesn't value their life, and deserves to die.
I predict electric vehicles will do well here, since they are inherently heavy and will reside at the top of the pecking order when it comes to who survives in a collision. We aren't dummies, we figure this... uh... feces out and act appropriately. Survival of the fittest, baby!
