Why are new cars made to crunch?

tito_swave

Crumple zones were made to absorb and disperse the energy of the impact, progressively slowing the vehicle as the impact progresses. This in turn reduces the stress the body experiences and lowers the risk of collision induced fatal injuries like a severed Aeorta....broken spleens etc...

Today's chassis are made to crumple at the front end, B pillars, and rear end.

Muscle cars were heavier and stronger so the objects being hit have to have given way....

Today Engineering has to balance safety along with mileage, reliability, rigidity, aesthetics etc etc...the buyers are demanding of many things so it has to be a given and take approach.

Driving an older car isn't necessarily safer, it is the model of the car that makes a difference...try what you did in a same year pinto....

Then try it in a chevelle, or mustang...

I think that a course in defensive driving would yield better results than any collision countermeasure...

Ferret

Here's the thinking:

As the vehicle crumples, it absorbs the energy from the force of the collision. Each individual crumple point is designed to take x-amount of force before giving way. This makes it so that by the time the force gets to you, the driver, and also the softest most moveable damageable thing in the vehicle, the energy is greatly diminished. Theoretically it's also timed so that by the time the energy does get to you, the air bags are deploying to catch your head and the seatbelt is locking to keep you in place.

The problem with this is that it's really only aimed at front end collisions. This is because front end collisions is all that was tested until recently. The IIHS is just now doing the offset impact testing which tests to see what cars do the best in less predictable situations.

Kyle M

first off, youre lucky.

second off, its not a consipracy to make you pay more in an accident. Its the laws of physics.

change in momentum is the force times the Time. If you have a given change of momentum (cars mass times its change in velocity, like 50 mph->zero), and you lengthen the time its spread over, the forces are greatly diminished.

For instance: a hard ball is thrown at you. If you lock your arms and try to catch it, it will hurt your hand. This is the same as a car without crumple zones. If you give with the ball a bit as youre catching it, it wont hurt. Thats the car with crumple zones.

and personal experiance has nothing to do with statistical chance. you got lucky. Many many other people havent been.

The best way to make cars lighter and consume less gas.

My biggest gripe is no more bumpers. Damn! Painted front end with no protection.

Wolf Harper

It's NOT safer to drive the older cars. Your sample set is faulty and you're analyzing the accidents all wrong.
The '67 Firebird DID crunch. You were damn lucky. You hit the guardrail obliquely so not with that much force; it's not like you hit it head-on like you did in the stealth.

Really, what saved your life was wearing a seat belt. Air bags are a desperate attempt to correct for Americans not wanting to buckle up, you don't have that problem. But still, old cars are not as safe, they don't have crush zones, damage forces will come right through their front zones and hit you full-on. That stuff DOES matter and DOES reduce severity of injuries.

And shame on you for destroying a beautiful '67 Firebird! Stop driving classics until you learn not to wreck!

jeremybradley2562

Driving at 130, what do you expect?! Let me know when you plan to drive through my town and I will stay off the roads.

cArTeR

fuel economy. the metal frames weighed a ton more. not saying that's the right thing for them to do, but its true.

Raymond K OFFICIAL

People want things cheap & that's what they are giving us. We are like a throw away society nowadays.

goldenlight27

you are freaking lucky. "crumple zones" are a euphemism for cheap and shoddy construction. they make the cars lighter to improve fuel mileage. they "engineer" crumple zones to absorb impact (thats what we are told) even though the cheapest car today is more technologically advanced than any of the cars you wrecked, it still comes down to the almighty dollar and the manufacturers profit margins.

Stud Guns

one of newtons laws of motion defined inertia (an object motion attempts to stay in motion, a stationary object stays stationary.) newer cars are designed to this principle. if you slow the deceleration of a car, this gives the passengers time to "catch up" to the cars speed. having the cars crumple slows the decceleration of a car.

why are your friends getting hurt in these cars? it's because car manufacturers are also using cheaper materials to save production costs in cars. consumers want cheap cars.
manufacturers get away with this, if the performs well in controlled crash tests and road tests. volvos aren't built cheap but, they are considered very safe. you can probably go to consumer reports and find other cars that are safe in adverse conditions.

TOM S

There made to do that, there called crumple zones, It helps to take some of the shock of an impact from an accident, you may total your car, but that's better than getting killed in an accident, cars can be replaced, people cannot, And the new cars have much more Plastic in them, so there lighter, they get better gas millage than an older gas guzzler. that way should you survive, you get to buy a new car again,

jd&andi in mo

What you are refering to are called crumple zones. They are designed to absorb the energy of the crash, rather than being rigid and transfering the shock to the rest of the vehicle and to your body. All of these features (air bags, seat belts, etc) are designed to work in tandem to save lives. All of the cars you mention are about 30years old or more, Let's face it; they were bigger heavier, and made of much heavier guage steel. Even with that, you are lucky to have survived those crashes at all, much less with minor injuries and damage. I've been the 1st responder to many accidents, and I would much rather be in the vehicle with the saety equipment. Yes, the newer cars are lighter to save on fuel, and the safety gear more than equalizes the differences between them and older cars. Gas is no longer 29 cents a gallon, and we've gone beyond 8-track tape players too, time to come into the 21st century. I mean no insult, I own and love classic cars also, but there is no turning back the clock. We are rapidly catching up to the rest of the world in terms of fuel prices. I suspect that within a decade Americans will be averaging $5/gal, like most of the other industrialized countries.

Adacadus

Either the car crumples, or you do.

You are, to date, a VERY lucky man.

Would you like them to remove the rollcage/bar, airbags and seatbelts whilst they're at it?

My dad rolled a Truimph Herald, the roof collapsed in and he still has the marks on his back where he was burnt through the metal of the roof.

mmszbi

Lets do a simple anology. Put a mable in an empty mason jar put the lid on and shake it.
Then put the marble in the same mason jar with syrup or some thick liquid. Lid on and shake.
You are the marble, which jar would you rather be in?
New cars are made with crumple zones to absorb the impact force rather than you absorbing it.

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