GM and Ford vehicles were deathtraps until the mid 2000's when Ford bought Volvo and borrowed several of its platforms for their own vehicles. Ford literally ch

GM and Ford vehicles were deathtraps until the mid 2000's when Ford bought Volvo and borrowed several of its platforms for their own vehicles. Ford literally cheaped out on the steel used in the roof pillars of their SUVs and pickup trucks, for example - deciding that the cost of lower-strength steel was worth the additional profit and they'd eat the cost of any potential lawsuits/settlements. Honda and Toyota, similarly, were death-trap cars until around the same time, because a)the Japanese have a much lower crash rate and travel far less on high-speed roadways so it wasn't a domestic issue, and b)they had to compete against Ford in the US market (and GM, who had to compete against Ford.) In the EU, Euro-NCAP crash standards were forcing safety improvement among the non-luxury brands Honda and Toyota were mostly competing against (and GM/Ford brands/models sold in the EU, too.) > I don't think anyone car argue that modern cars don't perform several orders of magnitude better in severe crashes - however for light crashes, your hunk of 50's-70's metal will often end up with significantly less damage, and at a minimum can be driven home. Performance isn't judged based on damage level and "severe" versus "light" are completely arbitrary standards you picked aka "wiggle words." Less damage to the car in any crash means more acceleration on you. Human body repair bills, especially in the US, cost significantly more than body damage to cars. Unfortunately, due to the sad state of US healthcare - getting to the ER and the first hours of medical care could cost more than the value of one's car, easily. Given car crashes are a significant cause of injury and death in the US - and that modern cars are significantly less polluting (multiple orders of magnitude so) and more fuel efficient, quieter, more ergonomic and comfortable - I'll take a modern car, thanks. Side benefit: modern sedans and european SUVs are also significantly safer for pedestrians.