Here's a random, end-of-the-day video find: Mazda of Australia shows you how it conducts simulated animal-impact tests to ensure that its accessory bull bars for the BT-50 are up to snuff. (The BT-50 is of course one of those cool, world-market compact pickups that would cost over $30,000,000 if Mazda decided to absorb the chicken tax and sell it in the U.S.)
Crashing into animals is a real possibility in Australia, or at least we imagine it is after reading what Bill Bryson has to say about this country-continent, and to that end, the bull bars for the BT-50 are engineered to ensure "the vehicle remains mobile even after a heavy animal impact" -- you know, in case said heavy animal tries to come back to finish off your BT-50.
bc1960 says:
07:50 PM, 10/27/11
Crashing into animals is a real possibility anywhere in the US that deer and similar animals live--I sse them crossing roads almost daily less than 10 miles from the center of a medium-sized city. Usually there's time to slow and let them pass, but sometimes they surprise you and panic braking is necessary. And where there's one, there's usually at least three because they roam in groups--I've seen one get hit because people stop for the one they see and immediately drive forward without waiting to see if there are more coming.
rustyshacklfrd says:
08:22 PM, 10/27/11
Not impressed with the test (nice truck). If you hit a deer, the energy will not be dissipated so easily as clothing flying all over. Instead, the deer remains one mass, and often swings around to the side, destroying a fender, door, or both. I've seen Silverado crew cabs totalled in West Texas by large does and bucks, and they had brush guards (in the TX vernacular) as well.
This seems like the kind of test a muppet would do.
firstwagon says:
09:05 PM, 10/27/11
If you think hitting a deer is bad, you should see what happens when you hit a moose. The bull bar might protect the grill from the legs but the huge body is coming through the windshield.
agentorange says:
11:46 PM, 10/27/11
Try driving anywhere in Southern Iowa at night. They have deer numbers there like we have cockroaches.
agnh says:
05:19 AM, 10/28/11
rustyshacklfrd-
C'mon man, this is a factory accessory brush guard designed for appearance. Other than knocking away a bag of dirty laundry, how effective do you really think it's going to be?
You want real protection, you go to the aftermarket and get a 150lb steel monster that you weld to the frame. These factory accessory brush guards that weigh about 20lbs and bolt up to the bumper are a joke and are meant for yuppies or Soccer Moms to put on their SUV's so they can look cool, not to hit a Kangaroo while you're going 60mph.
93aero says:
09:07 AM, 10/28/11
That testing IS rigorousness at its best. The last time i hit a horse made out of laundry, there were people inside of it! O__o But really, i guess if you have to hit 100Lbs of something going fast, it might as well be something you can then show people without mortifying them. i.e. with a real horse, people were noticing the guard less...
steve_ says:
09:38 AM, 10/28/11
I think bull bars are illegal in the EU and seems like the Aussies keep debating how strictly to regulate them. All that time and money spent on low impact pedestrian friendly hoods goes for naught when you run over a jay-walker with a bull bar hanging on the front end.
Bit surprised at Mazda. Most automakers leave bull bars to aftermarket manufacturers because of potential lawsuits.
hybris says:
05:07 PM, 10/28/11
That Aluminum bull bar looks gaudy and just ugly right up there with the Aztec or Juke ugliness.
blackdynamite1 says:
10:19 PM, 10/28/11
That Bull Bar looks ridiculous!
BD