For those who thought cars were safer in the old days.

Do people not remember Unsafe at any Speed? My mother was in a pretty serious accident with a Corvair in I believe around 1970 or so.

MY dad had one oldsmobile in 1956 when they introduced PADDED DASHOBOARDS so that your brains wouldnt be mooshed into a fine paste when you hit it. (I dont think that was the exact ad campaign )

She said Corvair (snicker snicker)

People thought/think that 50yr old cars are safer than today's cars?

I recall the little ones being thrown all over the place as we rattled down the road.
Also, my brother owned a Corvair. The one time I drove it, a steady wind from the side made steering a real challenge.

You've never heard someone talk about how if they go in an accident they'd rather be in a iron boat than a modern plastic car? I used to hear that stuff all the time.

T
K
O

I guess I've heard it; but not enough to have thought it was widly believed.

I always attributed it to the desire for cars that last longer than a happy meal or cars that invoke the allure of yester-year.

Being in my late 20's, even I have this desire. Older cars were built to last through the decades; these newer cars are built to last as long as the latest fashion trends (albeit, safer).


I think there's a happy medium that could be acheived. Cars that are built to last, that also incorporate the safety features of new cars.

some older cars are indeed safer then some modern cars.

Which would you rather be involved in a head on accident with?



or

Interesting that you choose the smart car as an example. It has a smaller frame, they spent some extra money on the materials for it's frame. It also has less mass to bring to a stop. In a collision, it sometimes just dissipates energy by bouncing off and rolling away mostly intact. Not the best example, if you want to demonstrate a safety difference. You should judge less on looks.




Tiny tank
K
O

That's ok, I didn't really expect you to get the point.

My husband owns a '59 Belaire.

If he saw those cars getting destroyed, he'd kill himself.

(fyi, he drives it around a few square blocks every week or two)

it's definitely a bit of a mixed bag. You're more likely to survive in the newer vehicles, but you may survive with injuries that didn't occur as often in the past. Fewer fatalities these days, more catastrophically (American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment definition) injured people. Some of those injuries, people certainly tell me they'd be better off dead.

I'm sure cars are safer today, but in 1979 I survived a wicked head-on collision with a drunk driver going 70 miles an hour in a pick up truck.
I was driving my trusty Olds Vista Cruiser and I'm sure that big, long front end saved my life. The thing folded up like a concertina but the drivers compartment stayed intact.

There's no real choice, is there? That Cadillac would be a death trap.

I didn't expect you to make a point, only to draw some uneducated connection based on aesthetics.

T
K
O

I once had an old 1963 Porsche - no seatbelt, no airbags, no ABS brakes, nothing. I only drove it around on Sunday afternoons, and even then I had
an ill feeling while driving.

My car now is much much safer and larger.