I am not sure what the heck you guys are talking about but damn... 35 mph and the car looks like it crashed at 75! ... 35 on a regular car does a nice lil front end dent but not a bomb like the c5..
Looks to me like all that fiberglass just blasts all over the place even from the tail end where its supposed to be still..lol yeah makes me feel reeeealllll safe. Well I would judge it somewhat better then my motorcycle lol.

 

That was interesting. Good to know. I dont like the freaky music in the video though. - Colin

 

A 35 mph crash does a nice lil front end dent! What car is that?

 

a traditional crash test is a 5 mph test. Maybe then you would see a nice little front end dent, but not at 35. I mean, if you look closer at the video you will see the momentum lift the rear wheels of the car nearly a foot off the ground and the car is projected rearward a several feet. In a two car crash each of the cars absorbs and dissipates some of the impact. This is a crash into an immovable barrier the only place for the energy to go is into the C5. I'd much rather have the fenders come off then to have the engine introduced to the passenger compartment.

Paul

 

The music was playing in the background at the museum over this display. I didn't put it in, but I guess I could have edited it out.

 

I'm pretty sure if i'm going to crash my vette, i'm going to be going a lot fast than 35...pretty scary

 

 

My only ? is when the front end gives like that don't you end up with a 346 LS1 in your lap.

 

 

I've seen lots of wrecked corvette and I must say I feel pretty safe in mine!

 

One of our favorite Corvette Forum members emerged from this altercation without a scratch, although I think it was slightly less than 35 MPH. Without mentioning names, he went on to be a World Class Texas Holdem' player.



(while the crashed Vettes may "look" in pretty bad shape in the 35 MPH crashes, they accomplished their task of protecting occupants)

 

Yea but thats just at 35...what about at 55???

 

awsome, thanks for posting!

red

 

...but theres no telling how fast he was going and he knocked off the filler cap. Pretty nasty if you've seen the video but he describes getting out. Very interesting to me is that his whole impression (I watched the interview on Speed channel), was that someone pulled him out. He says that was what he asked over and over at the hospital.."who pulled me out ?". Watch it if it comes on again.

 

What are you saying ?

 

Just to post a little bit more about the safety of the C5. I work in the seatbelt industry and see hundreds of crashes every year. The 35 mph test is not the only test we are required to do. Instead, insurance companies and the federal government chose 35mph because they want want to be able to compare it to other vehicles...if GM runs a 35mph and Ford runs 45mph, they wouldn't be able to compare the results and come up with a standard measuring system. Also, I believe the government determined that at 35 mph there should be 0 fatalites. Once again just used for measuring purposes. The idea is not to have a perfect looking car after a 35mph accident but rather to protect its occupants. The end result is what you in those pictures. All cars sold in the USA must meet the FMVSS requirements. Furthermore, most car companies not only meet but far surpass these requirements. As most of you have heard, many car companies are "bragging" about their 5 star government impact rating...because everyone is meeting these requirements, the government is thinking about "raising" the standards so as to bring the majority back into a 3-4 start range...As stated before the idea is to see how the occupant, seatbelt, and vehicle interact. Some basic thinking that went into determining the 35mph as a standard is as follows. 1.Most impacts are not directly head on (this is why the new offset barrier is being used more, techincally the offset barrier is worse that a full head on) 2. when oncoming traffic is present on a non-divided highway the speedlimit is between 25-55. 3.Logical thinking also says that if you are on a highway doing 65mph, by the time of the impact, your speed will be much closer to 35 than 65 due to braking. Of course this is not a guarantee but it is more likely than not. As for the LS1 in the engine compartment...based on the shape of the front of the car, the engineers can determine which direction the force of an impact is headed...most of the time they direct that force down into the ground...in other words the engine mounts and supports collapse in a way as to drive the engine down rather than back towards the firewall and interior compartment.
Recently, I saw quite a few of the soltice crashes...it reacts in a similar manner to the vette in that the rear wheels lift off the ground. I will try to find more info as to why 35mph was selected instead of something higher....

 

And when those fragments take off, they dissapate energy generated by the impact. This is a good thing.

Someone here posted pics of their car after a head-on with a semi. That the person survived to post a story like that speaks volumes about the quality of the passenger protection.

 

Thanks for posting the vid.

 

 

Isn't a head on collision when you hit another car coming directly at you head on? So effectively, that's a lot more than a 35mph collision. Significantly more, depending on the rate of speed the other vehicle is going.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-on_collision