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<x-charset iso-8859-1>Actually, the below is a VERY wrong statement! The later the model, the more crash-worthy it is. Even still, cars are not just thrown together, they have safety engineered into them. As time marches forward it is obvious that the next generation of vehicles will have safety improvements (though, in the case of air bags, they sometimes take a step backward but that's another topic the NHTSC has misguided the public with...). The car in the picture, since we have no text to explain it, could've been crushed any number of ways. Being a photographer, I know that pictures don't always "tell the truth" so without an explanation we really don't know how this poor car came to it's photographed state. If it was truly an auto accident then there were some tremendous forces at work i.e. high speed, large/heavy object, etc. Look at the dirt at the front tires...something pushed it into the ground and that ain't necessarily an easy thing! The roof looks cut and most likely the doors have been pried back because in a frontal impact the doors jam to the rear door jams (I've been in a front end collision myself). As to the fears of spouses, well, me and my sister grew up in the back seat of my parents Squareback (which is now my baby) with only lap belts (before the age of child seats) and we've faired quite well in life so far -- well, okay, my sister doesn't have obsessions with vehicles like me so maybe she's more stable ;) The cars are well engineered, particularly if you compare them to VEHICLES OF THEIR OWN TIME...of course they won't compare to more modern vehicles! As always, driver awareness and action goes a long ways in accident avoidance. Those who are not 'automotive aware' need some simple education by us so our SO (significant other...boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, etc.) won't feel at ease. Please see the below for an excellent safety FAQ by Keith Park and John Jaranson: http://www.icbm.org/erkson/ttt/safety_faq.txt I know for a fact -- because I've seen the testing photographs -- that Porsche had engineered crush zones in their 914's and when I front ended my 914 my crumpled nose matched the pictures exactly. I am willing to bet VW did similar work. Toby Erkson air_cooled_nut@pobox.com '72 VW Squareback 1.6L bored and stroked to 2.0L, Berg five-speed '95 VW Jetta III GL 2.0L, P-Chip, Jamex suspension, 2.25" MagnaFlow Portland, Oregon, http://www.icbm.org/ >-----Original Message----- >this should serve as a reminder to all those traveling this summer in their >sweet vintage cars that these machines although classic are not engineered >to be safe in crashes. Ralph Nader had little influence over the design of >type 3s > >My wife doesn't relish me traveling with my kids in my '69 >square... ------------------------------------------------ To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <type3-off@vwtype3.org> For more help, see http://vwtype3.org/list/ </x-charset>