Head to head crash: 1998 Corolla is flattened by the 2015 model

[Z]

I haven't owned it for 20 years, so no.

[M A V I C]

We've gone through this ebb and flow of car design. The cars used to be built to withstand an impact. Then they were built to absorb an impact. Back then, if you hit an older car, you were toast. As older cars went away, the newer crash absorbent cars did better as they were hitting each other. They were lighter weight and that helped.

Now we're on to larger, heavier cars again, with the cabin holding its shape better than cars from the 80's and 90's. And with those cars hitting the older ones, the older cars just can't hold up.

jdc wrote:
If this stat is even close in the USA, pretty amazing

The video sprinkles a few car accident statistics along the way, including the fact that more than 50% of deaths that occur on New Zealand roads, happen in vehicles built before the year 2000.

I'd love to see stats on what % of cars on the road were made before 2000. As it is, that stat tells us nothing.

[btfc]

"larger, heavier cars"

Good point, apparently the 2015 Corolla is about 400 lbs heavier.

[mikebw]

chilling video of the driver hitting the steering wheel in the 98 model.

[mrbigstuff]

Yeah, I actually made an audible comment to no one when I watched that footage.

[Bill in NC]

1997 Subie is our oldest vehicle, with both driver & passenger airbags.

If those ever deployed, even in the most minor accident, it's heading straight to the junkyard.

They're too expensive to replace on something that old.