New cars today have what's called crumple-zones designed to absorb energy while bringing the car to a stop. The passengers have a better chance of surviving unscathed but the vehicle gets totaled in the process. The technology was invented on the race trace in the early days of racing. Car builders found they could build a car that would withstand a high speed impact with no problem. But once you strapped a driver in place with a five-point harness it became a death trap. Early race car drivers died in a crash from internal injuries suffered during extreme deceleration. Basically their internal organs got rearranged. The same theory is applied to games at a family picnic like tossing water balloons back and forth. Extreme deceleration will cause the water balloon to break. That's why you reach for the balloon as high as you can and use the 6 or 7 feet (depending on your height) at your disposal to bring the balloon to a gradual stop. Granted, our old Imperials are built like tanks but anything over 30 MPH you're probably safer in a new car. Just my .02 Ken 67 Crown 4 Dr Ht (needs a turn signal switch) 68 LeBaron 4 Dr Ht (also needs a turn signal switch) -----Original Message----- From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of r.villanueva@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2007 2:42 AM To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: IML: Safety- Old cars vs New cars Just recently I was having a debate with someone with regards to safety offered to occupants in old cars compared to today's cars, my view is that if properly restrained, a person has a better chance of walking away from an accident if driving an 'old' car than if they are behind the wheel of a brand new, air bag equipped car, no matter the size. Having owned and driven a 1973 Imperial I felt very safe siting such a loooong way back from the front bumper bar, and the earlier cars from the 40's , 50's and 60's were even more solidly built. Seems like car makers today are selling nothing more than thinly disguised plastic coffins on wheels, with very little styling based mainly on add-on accessories, cars which crumble like paper. 'Old' cars forever..... ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message was sent using MyMail ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com ----------------- This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm ----------------- http://www.imperialclub.com ----------------- This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm