More crash tests

Last Updated:



We saw how the Smart did against a Mercedes C class.

Here are the other 2 cars from that same test. The Yaris and the Fit.

I wouldn’t like to be in the Yaris.

Conversation 12 comments

  1. These videos are completely missing the point. If I drove an Accord or Camry I would want to die.

  2. I would much rather be in the Fit or the Smart than the Yaris. That is scary that it did so poorly.

    “Anonymous said…

    These videos are completely missing the point. If I drove an Accord or Camry I would want to die.”

    Idiot.

  3. Lets test a Camry or Accord into a full size Pickup or Acadia SUV. Then lets put the winner agaist a train locomotive and see what we can learn.
    Science 101 MASS WINS when other things are equal

  4. Those speeds were pretty high too. Did you see that Fit get all 4 wheels airborn in the offset? You dont do that at low speeds with a 2500+lb vehicle.

  5. "Then lets put the winner agaist a train" That's what you propose when you can't face reality. The reality is that 95% of highway vehicles are cars/SUV's/pickups. A relatively SMALL percent are Semi-trucks (and none are Train Locomotives). Driving a small Toyota or Honda is like smoking a pack a day. You might survive but you're DEFINITELY taking an UNnecessary chance with your life, and the lives of those who ride with you. A 5-star Smart is nowhere near as safe as a 5-star Dodge (ANY Dodge). In a Smart your head decelarates in 1/5th the distance that it would in a Dodge (given the distance from driver's head to front bumper) and that's the difference from mild concussion to brain dead. Consider the situation where a Charger HITS a Smart and things get BETTER YET for the Dodge (which will be slowed considerbly by the smart– but keep going in the same direction) vs. the Smart (which will come to a DEAD STOP upon impacet and THEN REVERSE direction as it is propelled off in another direction by the inertia of the more massive cast-iron Hemi V8). Your brain will splat against the inside of your skull as that small econo-car stops & reverses– and THAT's what makes you BRAIN DEAD! A 1-star Plymouth from 1970 would be safer that a 5-star camery (if they collided).

  6. “These videos are completely missing the point. If I drove an Accord or Camry I would want to die.”

    Your whole life is based on what kind of car you drive? That’s pretty sad. I’d consult someone in the mental health industry if I were you.

  7. “A 1-star Plymouth from 1970 would be safer that a 5-star camery (if they collided).”

    And I thought the post about rather being a dead than drive an Accord or Camery (oops Camry) was stupid.

  8. "Anonymous said…
    "Then lets put the winner agaist a train" That's what you propose when you can't face reality. The reality is that 95% of highway vehicles are cars/SUV's/pickups. A relatively SMALL percent are Semi-trucks (and none are Train Locomotives). Driving a small Toyota or Honda is like smoking a pack a day. You might survive but you're DEFINITELY taking an UNnecessary chance with your life, and the lives of those who ride with you. A 5-star Smart is nowhere near as safe as a 5-star Dodge (ANY Dodge). In a Smart your head decelarates in 1/5th the distance that it would in a Dodge (given the distance from driver's head to front bumper) and that's the difference from mild concussion to brain dead. Consider the situation where a Charger HITS a Smart and things get BETTER YET for the Dodge (which will be slowed considerbly by the smart– but keep going in the same direction) vs. the Smart (which will come to a DEAD STOP upon impacet and THEN REVERSE direction as it is propelled off in another direction by the inertia of the more massive cast-iron Hemi V8). Your brain will splat against the inside of your skull as that small econo-car stops & reverses– and THAT's what makes you BRAIN DEAD! A 1-star Plymouth from 1970 would be safer that a 5-star camery (if they collided)."

    Your arguement is fatally flawed.

    Larger DOES NOT always mean safer. That is one of the biggest misconceptions of all time.

  9. “Larger DOES NOT always mean safer. That is one of the biggest misconceptions of all time.” Let’s re-visit Physics 101: E=mc2. The more mass, the more damage (energy) available to re-arrange the molecules in the smaller vehicle (since it has LESS kinetic energy). Therefore; the brain in the smaller car decellerates faster (possibly even reversing direction) and the brain in the more massive vehicle decellerates more slowly. The whole “5-star” thing only applies to identical vehicles colliding at identical speeds (or if equally massive vehicles hit a fixed object at equal speeds. You con’t break the basic laws of nature.

  10. I agree this is flawed. I don’t know what the percentage of head on crashes vs. other crashes is but I imagine it is quite low. Mass always wins – e.g. a camry vs. landcruiser wouldn’t favour the camry… Besides, in most “head-on” cases the cars nearly crash and swerve off the road. A Jazz/Yaris would probably stop quicker than a large 4×4 would cold hit a tree, roll or both!

  11. In 1970; we had a 1970 Chrysler. It was parked. It was hit by a 1970 Dodge Super Bee doing 70-80 MPH (driver was drunk). The Chrysler was shoved 97 feet and then into a 1959 Rambler which rebounded 75 feet across somebodys lawn. The Drunk driver stumbled away. All 4 doors of the Chrysler opened EASILY in spite of front and rear fenders being compressed to 1/2 of their origional length. All 3 cars were totaled (along with some shrubs and a tree). NOBODY DIED. EVERYBODY WAS BACK TO WORK ON MONDAY. Try doing THAT in a Prius or Yaris! And they say size doesn’t matter — HA!

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *