Monday, September 28, 2009

Car Crash Test Videos: "!!!"

With apologies to those folks behind firewalls blocking YouTube (like the one where I work). . .

By now you may have seen this crashworthiness comparison: 1959 Chevy Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevy malibu. Watch until at least 1:02 when the Malibu film starts playing. They don't make 'em like they used to. The Bel Air basically disappears all the way back to the driver, who would be quite dead. The malibu driver has a rumpled shirt from the airbag.

Mercedes C300 vs. Smart ForTwo The Smart got pwn't, and the driver wasn't having a good day either. Watch that video and consider that it's a 40MPH test against a midsized sedan. Then consider a 55-75MPH crash with a fullsize pickup or a tractor/trailer truck.

"No."

VW Bus vs. Wall: Click & Clack, The Tappet Brothers, refer to the front bumper of these things as "the driver's legs" and it appears they were being optimistic. More like "the rear passengers' legs." Ouch.

Picking on VW for a minute, here is an old Beetle and a rabbit, vs. a wall: Note: both drivers almost kiss the wall, with a bit of compressed car between them and it.

BUT let's not be too hard on the krauts . . . those older German cars stood up like tanks, compared to these newer Chinese cars which appear to be made of old soda cans:
You buy Chinese car!
You like! Very high quality!

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