The best way to enjoy an open-top experience is to get a cabriolet vehicle. However, most cabriolets come with a hefty price tag, which most Indians cannot afford. To get the same fun, some people take a different route. Recently, we came across a second-generation Honda City that has been converted into a cabriolet. The entire roof of this car has been removed, and it has also been given an Audi emblem at the front. Now, whether this is safe or not is another discussion, which we’ll have ahead.
Aunda City Cabriolet
byu/Bhadwinder inCarsIndia
This video of the Honda City converted into a cabriolet has been shared on Reddit. It starts off with this unique Honda City cabriolet making an illegal U-turn on a national highway. It can be noted that there was also a female passenger who was standing inside the car. She was posing for a video that was being recorded by another person.
Illegal Honda City Cabriolet
From the video, we can observe that the entire roof of this particular Honda City has been chopped off. These types of modifications are illegal in India. The primary reason for this is that such modifications alter the structural components of the vehicle, including the frame and pillars.
This means that if this vehicle gets involved in a rollover incident, it will most likely not withstand it and can cause severe injuries to the driver and passengers. It can be noted that there are no B and C pillars in this car, which, in the case of a rollover accident, provide support and protect occupants.
Additionally, eagle-eyed viewers can also note that the vehicle is missing a right ORVM. Apart from this, the driver and passenger of this car were not wearing seatbelts because this car does not have any. In normal cars, seat belts are located on the B-pillars.
Also, we can note that the driver of this car made an illegal U-turn on a national highway. It can be seen that there was no intersection for a U-turn. This type of behavior generally causes accidents. Thankfully, nothing happened in this particular case, but this type of careless driving should be condemned.
Not the Only Illegal Cabriolet
The above-shown Honda City is not the only modified cabriolet in India. On the contrary, there are a number of similar cars. Here is a different video of a Hyundai Sonata that has also been converted into a cabriolet.
It can be noted that this car’s roof has also been completely removed, and it has been converted into a cabriolet. Like the Honda City, this car also does not seem to have any structural support, and it is also illegal. Generally, such cars get impounded by the RTO officials for these illegal modifications.
Difference Between Modified and Real Cabriolets
Now you may be wondering that most cabriolets come from premium luxury carmakers like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes. What difference do they have? You may ask that they also miss out on B and C pillars, so how can they be safer than modified cars?
Well, the answer to this is that such brands add additional reinforcements to the frames of the car. They make these cabriolets structurally rigid and, in some cases, almost as rigid as the non-cabriolet variants. This extra reinforcement step is skipped by most modified cabriolet makers, and hence they are unsafe.
The post Honda City Converted Into Cabriolet With Audi Logo: Unsafe And Illegal [Video] first appeared on Cartoq.
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