30th Aug 2011, 11:03
Almost all the new cars you mentioned received excellent crash ratings. So that alone speaks volumes.
Also - just because a car sits on a frame doesn't mean it's automatically safer. Here's an analogy. Let's say you come across two bridges. One bridge is made out of a solid slab of heavy, thick steel. The other is made out of a complex webwork of lighter steel pieces creating an arched shape (In other words, the way that almost all bridges are built) So why would engineers choose to use a bridge made out of thin pieces of steel forming a structure, when surely it makes sense to use one giant thick slab of steel? The reason is because the later lacks structural rigidity. The same is with cars. Just because a car uses a unibody frame doesn't mean it's all puny. In fact the entire car is a frame versus a body on frame car where the body more or less just sits on top of the frame. Unibody cars aren't getting "Pounded into the ground in crashes", which is a good thing because they are actually safer, which means they do their job better.
30th Aug 2011, 09:47
I am with 21:20.
His post is a balanced and fact driven view of old vs new cars.
Your 70's and 80's cars are transitional, as they feature early safety features like crumple zones, collapsible steering columns, bonded glass windshields, seat belts, airbags and even ABS. Those features were added to both, body on frame and unibody vehicles.
Saying that body-on-frame beats unibody in regards of passenger safety is way oversimplified.
Now they have second and third generation safety features...