Zaphod

If the US version of the new 5-series is unsafe then why would the IIHS give it its highest rating?

Given the legal environment in the U.S., the IIHS certainly has incentives to get it right, so I am skeptical about concerns that the U.S. version of the car is unsafe.

I also find it very plausible the safety requirements for the U.S. version are more stringent, which would explain the better test performance by the IIHS.

It makes no sense to me that the IIHS would give easier tests.

Iceman

If the car is so safe, it wouldn't get a three-satr rating in the EuroNCAP.
The EuroNCAP is more likely a worst case scenario, since only one out of thousand accidents happen this way.
Anyways... BMW is not giving us the test results so we can make up our own mind. They are ot telling us all the facts and they are hiding something. That is a sign, that there is something wrong.

robg

The most annoying part is that BMW will not reveal what changes were made. Now I have a new name to write to and will keep at it. I want to ask why BMW is claiming it cannot reveal what changes were made. As soon as the first lawsuit challenging the safety of the E60 is brought, BMW will have no choice.

Aaron

It may not be mandatory over here, but it's there.
Fact is, all E60 are coming from the same plant, Dingolfing in Germany. And the things that got redesigned are not different. That would be way too much hassle and way too expensive.
Best BS I've heard from them is the knee airbags. There was a crashed E60 on ebay, where you could clearly see that there is no such knee airbags!
I could continue and list more BS lies the've told me. The more they are telling us BS, the more I believe that they have a problem and don't want to take any action.
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They should have named them knee bolsters. They do two things, they keep you from sliding under the airbag (which would defeat its purpose) during a severe frontal crash. They have the potential to break your legs, but NHTSA would rather see broken legs than a severed head. Iceman, take a second to investigate all of the crazy safety stuff that it required over here, it's ridiculous, and trust me, if a module costs BMW $100/vehicle plus labor cost, but is not required elsewhere, they would not install it. And just think...all of this technology, which begets more technology, which creates new problems, which begets more technology, etc...because of people not wearing their seatbelts!

Iceman

All I know is, there is no difference, in between EU and US spec E60's, in the parts BMW redesigned for the second EuroNCAP test. They want us to believe it's all just normal technical progress. But this is definately not a "technical" progress. They redesigned the body of the car. And that has nothing to do with technical progress, nor is there a difference to the US spec E60's.

Zaphod

Iceman:
What leads you to believe there are no differences in the safety features between US and Euro models?

EBMCS03

Is there a clear cut date on when they "redesigned" the body? I still havent heard when that implamentation actually took place

Iceman

I wrote: >>All I know is, there is no difference, in between EU and US spec E60's, in the parts BMW redesigned for the second EuroNCAP test.<<

I didn't say there is no difference in the safety features, I said it is no difference in the parts that got redesigned.
BMW redesigned the body...

robg

Is there a clear cut date on when they "redesigned" the body? I still havent heard when that implamentation actually took place
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I do not think anyone has determined an exact date, but from the test results and articles, the redesign appears to effect cars built after Aug - Oct 2004.

5 Rakete

The car tested for the NCAP rating was apparently a RHD. I'm curious has to what all is involved in modifying a car's design to build a RHD version. I know it's done successfully all the time and I assume there are examples of LHD and RHD versions of the same car with the same NCAP rating. I'm just wondering if RHD versions are typically considered from the start of design or if at some point it's done as a "retrofit". I suspect the former but that's why I'm curious. Obviously the LHD and RHD versions are not just simple mirror images, the pedals and steering column features like ignition key housings are located in the same relative orientation in both versions.