I am not offended, however I am contemptuous of Americans' fixation for trucks.

It is right to be concerned with people crushing your vehicle, but that has a tiny chance of happening, while devastating the planet escalating to bigger and bigger trucks has definite consequences.

When everyone drives 3 tons SUVs what are you going to do to feel safer? Buy a 4 ton truck.

Escalation... slippery slope.

Wouldn't it be better to de-escalate, instead?

I do not drive.

I live in a large civilised city that does not require it, and I am far happier for it.

If I really need to go somewhere not reachable by public transport, say, some desolated land in the sticks where simpletons have fun doing donuts with SUVs, I will have someone to drive me. In and out. As quickly as possible ;)

The presumption that a car like this would be any less safe than 3 tons of steel is possibly unwarranted.

As pointed out by many people here, F1 racing cars are extremely light and way safer than regular cars.

Now, I understand that F1s do not have to contend with trucks at full speed in the opposite direction.

But the physics of collision is not obvious at all, engineers study for many many years the science of materials, rational mechanics, partial and non-linear differential equations. Some of the most complicated mathematical objects out there.

We have crash tests for a reason, if the physics was simple, we'd just make the calculations.

I'd say, we have safety standards, someone mentioned that they intend to pass them. If they do, then I would tend to be in favour of the direction this is going rather than sticking with something expensive and unsustainable, that belongs to the last century.

[reply edited to control for my knee-jerk anger issues :) ]