I have dug up even more awful crash tests from the past. Both are low-volume electric-powered vehicles from the 1970s, so they are very few and far between on today's roads. In a 2012 post, linked here, I summarized the results of some 1979-1981 electric-powered cars in crash tests at 30 mph, and the results ranged from badly flawed to just out-and-out death trap. Electric vehicles of this time period often required retrofitting between several hundred and over a thousand pounds of batteries and other equipment to a car, and 1970s car structures often weren't the best designs for absorbing crash energy. The addition of the electric motors further overloaded the structures in crash scenarios.
These two vehicles are even worse.
At the time, light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs) often performed worse in front crash tests than cars. Vans, with their limited front crush space, were the worst performers.
Both of these vehicles are vans.
Almost all electric car designs tested in 1979-1981 were either proprietary designs or based on cars that were designed in the mid or late 1970s.
The Battronics Van and ElectraVan 600's designs are much older: they pre-date the first Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which were enacted in 1967. The Battronics' design launched in 1964, and the ElectraVan was based on the Subaru 360 van. The Subaru 360 was launched in 1958.
In effect, both were flat nosed vans with little space for a crumple zone, designed before safety was a major consideration in car design. Then solid batteries weighing several hundred pounds were added.
Both vehicles were crash tested into a wall at 30 mph.
These two vehicles are even worse.
At the time, light trucks (pickups, vans, and SUVs) often performed worse in front crash tests than cars. Vans, with their limited front crush space, were the worst performers.
Both of these vehicles are vans.
Almost all electric car designs tested in 1979-1981 were either proprietary designs or based on cars that were designed in the mid or late 1970s.
The Battronics Van and ElectraVan 600's designs are much older: they pre-date the first Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which were enacted in 1967. The Battronics' design launched in 1964, and the ElectraVan was based on the Subaru 360 van. The Subaru 360 was launched in 1958.
In effect, both were flat nosed vans with little space for a crumple zone, designed before safety was a major consideration in car design. Then solid batteries weighing several hundred pounds were added.
Both vehicles were crash tested into a wall at 30 mph.
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