1984 Cutlass Factory Crash test

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I found this a little disturbing when I found it. Look at how the roof deforms, and the damage to the dash and steering wheel from where the seat-belted dummies hit it. It's a 35 mph head-on crash. Unfortunately, it's pics only.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSqv0yXOnU0

Most modern cars are not this bad, plus this is a straight head-on, not the offset frontal like they do now.

 

[STLRegal]

Kinda what id expect from a car 24 years ago.

 

[Coveted]

35mph head on is the same as running into a wall at 70mph.

Rollcage > *
I tboned a guy at 70+mph in my street stock, he was dead stopped.
I bit my tounge, the sub strap got me pretty good and I had some bruises, But I walked away no problem.

 

[SBCregal]

most people tend to think the older cars are safer. they do hold up better in an accident, for the car...not the passengers or driver. the newer cars are designed to collapse and crush to absorb the energy of the impact. while they sustain more damage, occupants generally sustain less damage/injury

 

[srercrcr]

Those bumper shock absorbers didn't help out much!!

 

[Coveted]

Those bumper shock absorbers didn't help out much!!

ROTFL

i think this was a little more then a 5mph bump.

 

[Peter]

honestly, i thought it would have done better than that

 

[Geesie]

A lot depends on the angle of crash, etc.

I saw a stock picture of car crash accompanying a story about new Volvo safety measures. The two cars were a recent (10 years) Volvo and a G body. The G body was smashed up to about the front tires, but the hood wasn't buckled and you didn't see any evidence of interior damage (though it wasn't a good photo). The Volvo's entire front end was demolished, the windshield was halfway out, and the roof had buckled right above the front seats.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Here's another contemporary of the G body that was also released in 1978, and was last sold here in 1985. It's a Mercedes Benz type W123, and is one of the first cars designed to crash well for it's occupants. ( The Tucker Torpedo and Citroen DS were too, but they are from the 40's and 50's) It is about the same size and weight of a G body, with similar power output, etc. The tests show it with air bags, but they were not equipped with them until later on in the series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqMEGA76HsE

Here is perhaps the worst one of them all, a VW type 2 pickup. It pretty much disintegrates!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPpU5azjCB8&feature=related

Here's another bad one, Soviet technology at it's finest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erJtIM5r7KE&feature=related

Then, there is this: a 1990's Volvo Wagon vs a subcompact Renault ( Similar to a Nissan Versa underneath) The Renault is a 5 star car, Volvo is not rated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3ygYUYia9I

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I stand corrected....THIS is the scariest of them all!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFVM7K4Clo&feature=related