Final answer:
While large cars are considered safer due to better impact absorption, they are often less fuel efficient. Advances in car design are addressing both safety and fuel efficiency, with modern features like plastic components for better gas mileage and crumple zones to enhance safety.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that large cars absorb more of the impact of an accident than small cars but yield lower gas mileage suggests that there may be a trade-off between vehicle safety and fuel efficiency. While large vehicles typically offer more protection in collisions due to their ability to crumple and absorb impact, thereby reducing the force on the passengers, this doesn't directly imply a negative relationship with gas mileage. However, larger vehicles are often less fuel-efficient because of their weight and size, leading to the perception of a negative relationship between safety and fuel efficiency. Today's advancements in car technologies are aiming to improve both safety and fuel efficiency. Modern cars implement plastic components for a lighter weight, which assists in better gas mileage, and structured crumple zones to enhance safety.
Cars these days have parts that can crumple or collapse in the event of an accident, which helps protect passengers by increasing the time of impact, thus lessening the force exerted on passengers during collisions. Innovations like airbags and seat belts also employ these principles, as airbags allow the net force on occupants to act over a longer time in a sudden stop, without changing the amount of momentum. Therefore, the safety features of modern cars aim to address both concerns by finding a balance between impact absorption for protection and maintaining or improving fuel efficiency.