A 90’s Ranger didn’t even have airbags let alone side curtain airbags. One of my 2012 cars had seven airbags just for the driver. Also ridiculous stuff like backup cameras being mandatory since May 1, 2018 which is why every car has a screen in it now. All that stuff has just been slowly adding weight a bit at a time.
NHTSA keeps changing/adding crash tests. So if manufacturers want to keep those 5 star ratings then they need to reinforce or redesign the chassis to obtain it which can add a non trivial amount of weight as well.
One of my vehicles they welded in ‘crash bars’ in front of and behind the front tires to improve its crash testing.
A 90’s Ranger didn’t even have airbags let alone side curtain airbags. One of my 2012 cars had seven airbags just for the driver. Also ridiculous stuff like backup cameras being mandatory since May 1, 2018 which is why every car has a screen in it now. All that stuff has just been slowly adding weight a bit at a time.
NHTSA keeps changing/adding crash tests. So if manufacturers want to keep those 5 star ratings then they need to reinforce or redesign the chassis to obtain it which can add a non trivial amount of weight as well.
One of my vehicles they welded in ‘crash bars’ in front of and behind the front tires to improve its crash testing.