Where's the new tech

Well, there's:

There's so much ignorance out there about linking energy absorption and crumpling cars. It makes me laugh every time some total idiot goes "his car crumpled and mine didn't." Sometimes that is followed by stories of another accident with a fixed object which led to permanent physical injury to them.

 

Not when it comes to the Mitsubishi, I'm afraid: Mitsubishi i-MiEV | Euro NCAP - For safer cars crash test safety rating
It is one of the poorest performers because it's a fairly old chassis.

 

From the Department of Old Jokes: At a computer expo (COMDEX) Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles/gallon." Recently General Motors addressed this comment by releasing the statement : "Yeah, but would you want your car to crash twice a day?"

Read the longer version here.

 

4/5 stars is bad?

 

Yes in Euroncap it is.
Modern cars are expected to have 5 stars, while cheaper and less safe city cars sometimes get the poor 4/5.
Anything getting 3 or less is ridiculess in this day and age, and far behind the competition.

 

During rush 'hour', I find I can get around town to the local businesses I frequent faster by walking than by driving. Given a clear path, I bet a fit cyclist could traverse the whole city faster than either car or 'rapid' transit. I used to do that on a regular basis, but decided the continued risk wasn't worth it.

The lack of progress lies not with the lack of automotive technology, but with the mistaken belief that we can build our way out of traffic congestion.

 

Queretaro, Mexico, is a nice city to walk in, with its mild climate. For a semester I lived south of the city center and went to the university (ITESM -- El Tec de Monterrey) north of the center. I had to go through the city center with its crowded narrow streets to get there. It took me an hour to walk, so it was probably about 3 miles, or it took me about 55 minutes by bus. The bus route was not direct, but most of the delay was the agonizingly slow progress through the center of town. As a result, after trying both, I ended up walking exclusively. And it was good exercise. I was fat at the time and needed the exercise.