Today’s cars have crush zones and safety cages that do their best to keep you alive so you can be a returning customer. However, what were American cars like when physics was the only safety feature being offered? This video from UCLA with some early-1960s Mopars and 1967 Fords gives us an idea.

We may take automotive safety for granted today since it’s engineered by government mandate, but there was a time when automotive safety was nothing but a curiosity. In fact, Ford offered a Lifeguard safety package in 1956, which included a deep dish steering wheel and reinforced door latches plus available lap belts, padded dash and sun visors, and safety rear-view mirror. The idea was met with indifference by the buying public, leading Lee Iacocca to suggest the mantra “Safety doesn’t sell.”

View this 1971 video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and see contemporary full-size and compact vehicles from different manufacturers:

I bet your attention was focused on the compacts, right? But how did the big cars fare? And how would they have fared when colliding with a like-sized vehicle? Some of that research was put to good used in 1974-76 as General Motors offered an Air Cushion Restraint System on a number of its full-size vehicles. However, after an estimated 10,000 cars, it was discontinued.

A famous crash tests demonstrating the difference between old and new went viral two years ago. A 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air 4-door sedan was pitted against Chevrolet’s late-model bread and butter, the Malibu. Despite having a 300 lb. physical advantage, the Malibu emerges from the fracas standing tall in comparison. Ruminations circulating through the Internet regarded the video with amazement or derision, with the latter suggesting the video was an unfair comparison because of the ’59’s X-frame chassis was not the most structurally sound design…but what was sound back then anyway? Very few cars had recessed switches and what-not back then so I can’t imagine the passengers faring any better in a ’58.