4 ms·
It looks great -- however, how safe is a model made in '79 compared to a modern model?
by diziet 9y ago
It looks great -- however, how safe is a model made in '79 compared to a modern model?
- Baeocystin 9y agoCompared to a modern car? Not even the same scale. It is 'safe' for the time, in that it's a unibody steel shell, which is more resilient than the body-on-frame style that was common in the era. It would probably handle a rollover OK. The bumpers are solid. There is an anti-whiplash head restraint, and the seatbelts work as expected. But there are no reinforced bars to prevent cabin intrusion from a side impact, and crumple zones are nonexistent. No airbags. So I don't really drive it on the freeway. It's an around-town runabout. On the 35mph-and-lower roads it spends 99% of its time, It's fine. It is undoubtedly safer than the motorcycle I would likely otherwise be riding. For distance driving, I use my 'new' car, a '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Which is probably still bad compared to a truly modern vehicle, but is much safer (and more comfortable) than the CVCC. And the ZJs were great years for Cherokees. The straight-6 is practically indestructible, and the transmission will last forever. If I keep maintaining it as well, it should last for easily another 10-20. (Not having a car payment, and having insurance payments of <$100/month for both, is nice.)