Cars being manufactured now are very safe due to the advanced engineering put into them. Some amazing innovations have been done in car safety department the past few years which have resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of injuries reported from car accidents. We have prepared a list of 14 fatal car safety tests with crash test videos for you to enjoy.
1. 1971 Chevrolet Impala vs. 1972 Ford Pinto
You might remember the Ford Pinto controversy from the 70s – it was a real firestorm, both literally and figuratively. The issue? The Pinto’s fuel tank was placed in the back, and according to a 70s story in Mother Jones, these cars had a nasty habit of exploding into fires when hit from behind. Even more alarming was the claim that Ford knew about this dangerous flaw but decided it would be cheaper to pay off lawsuit settlements for the resulting fires and injuries rather than fix the problem.
Fast forward to 1991, and a new report suggested that the actual number of Pinto fires was probably exaggerated. They claimed the Pinto was no more prone to catching fire than any other car of its time.
During the peak of the scandal, an ABC news report used the crash test video you see here as proof of the Pinto’s dangerous nature. However, it turned out this footage was from a test conducted a decade before the scandal broke. The original test didn’t cause any fires, so to make the test more dramatic, an incendiary device was added to ignite the fuel.
2. 2004-2010 Chevy Colorado
When the first-generation Chevy Colorado hit the roads, it wasn’t a bad choice if you were thinking about safety. As I watched a Consumer Reports video the other day, it was pretty reassuring to see that the truck held its own in those nerve-wracking offset front impact crash tests. But, like many vehicles from that era, it had its weak spots too. For instance, if you opted out of the side airbags, the Colorado didn’t perform so well in side impact tests—it actually earned a “Poor” rating.
Now, fast forward to the 2015 model, and it’s a whole different story. Chevy upped their game by making front and rear head curtain airbags, along with seat-mounted torso bags, standard. No more worrying about side impact safety with this version—those airbags are now there to protect you and your passengers right out of the dealership.
3. Limousine Crash Test
The most common car used by the rich and famous people, the stretch limousine was tested by the British TV Show Fifth Gear. The Lincoln town car Limo was made to hit a solid wall at a good 50 mph. And as you would have guessed, the front section of the Limo was completely devastated and so was the interior.
4. Ford Pinto (1971 – 1976)
This was perhaps the scariest crash tests in the history. According to the video, on a rear impact, the nuts and bolts from the rear axle would puncture the tank separating the fuel filler neck and hence causing the Pinto to leak fuel. This made the Ford Pinto catch fire in just a matter of time.
5. 1990s Ford Focus
No automaker on earth crash tests their car on 120 mph, but the TV show Fifth Gear did it with the 1990’s Ford Focus. This can be called the most brutal crash test ever recorded, check for yourself.
6. Ford F150 vs Honda Civic
A Large truck crashing into a sedan can be a very bad news for the latter. The video shows a crash test conducted by the IIHS between the Ford F150 and the Civic and of course the Civic can be seen receiving maximum damage. The second part of the video shows F150 with an increased height which helps the truck to suffer comparatively lesser damage. In 2000, Ford installed blocked beams in their large trucks so that the sedan cars can better align with these trucks.
7. 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG
Not only the family sedan cars go through a crash test, even the most expensive sports car have to suffer the same. In this video, the 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG is being tested both by head on and rollover crash. Notice how easily the gullwing doors of the Mercedes come off after the rollover test.
The intensity of this crash is similar to what we witnessed at Goodwood where 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLS was hit by 1959 Lister-Jaguar.
8. 2013 Tesla Model S
The NHTSA gave theTesla Model S, highest rating than any other car previously As Tesla Motors designs electric vehicles, there is no engine installed in the front section of the car. This provides a large room for the front part of the car to absorb energies from the collision.
9. 1962 Cadillac vs 2002 Cadillac
There is absolutely no competition between a car that was introduced in 1962 another that came out around 35 years after it. But TV shows such as Stuntbusters do such tests just to give their viewers a good show. The old Caddy went through the damaged equivalent of throwing it from an 18 story building.
10. Tata Nano
Everyone knows about the Tata Nano, the cheapest car manufactured by the Indian automaker. But few know that this cheapest car received a zero rating in the crash test conducted by NCAP.
11. Volkswagen Vanagon
The third generation VW Vanagon manufactured between 1979 and 1991 may be very old but surprisingly they performed really well in the crash tests mainly because of the great deformation zone in the front section of the van.
12. Geely CK
The Geely CK sedan by the Chinese manufacturer Geely automobiles may be the most unsafe sedan you could buy. The video shows how even the roof of the sedan crumbled due to the crash. The Geely CK received an overall zero out of five rating in the crash test.
13. 2000 Citroen Saxo
French preferences tend towards compact vehicles, evident in the mass production of the Citroen Saxo. Positioned as a “supermini,” it initially shared genes with the Peugeot 205 but was marketed as an economical choice. Features were basic, with safety provisions limited to seatbelts and a single driver-side airbag, with the passenger-side airbag offered at an additional cost.
Unsurprisingly, the Saxo performed poorly in safety evaluations. Frontal collisions left it crumpled like an accordion, while side-impact crashes posed severe risks of arm fractures, crushed ribs, and other critical injuries to the driver.
14. 2016 Volvo XC90 off-road crash test
For years, Volvo has led the way in car safety. With the latest XC90, they made a commitment: no one in their cars would suffer serious harm from 2020 onwards. To showcase the XC90’s safety, Volvo conducted two intense internal tests. This footage captures the family SUV hurtling into a ditch at 50 mph. It sails through the air, lands rear-end first, then lurches forward, hitting the ground nose-first. Remarkably, both the car and its crash test dummies emerge relatively unscathed.
