Ask someone to name a safe small car today, and many people would say "Honda Civic" without batting an eyelash; the Civic has decades of top-shelf crash test performance, and decades of offering a comprehensive package of safety features for its era, both factors that make the Civic punch above its weight on safety. But early Civics - specifically the first and early second generation - did poorly in crash tests, even by the now-very low standards of circa 1980. Keep in mind that all four of these tests were the same: 35 mph into a rigid barrier, full-frontal, seat-belted driver and passenger dummies the size of an average adult male.
Exhibit A: the 1979 and 1980 Honda Civics. The '79 was the last year of the first generation (1973-1979), built in June 1979 and tested right around the time the second-generation model was launching: October 19, 1979. It did not do well: the driver experienced a 2,029 HIC and a whopping 93 Chest G's, and the passenger, a 2,095 HIC and 46 Chest G's. That's good for a 97% risk of severe injury to the driver, 92% for the passenger. In other words, both are probably dead.
NHTSA got around to testing the all-new 1980 Civic on July 11, 1980, and the results were nearly as bad: 2,710 HIC and 53 Chest G's for the driver, 1,511 HIC and 46 Chest G's for the passenger. Although the Chest G's made a dramatic improvement for the driver, it would likely only be good for organ donation, as the HIC was so bad that fatal injury would be nearly certain. The passenger would likely survive, but would be in pretty bad shape. 99% risk of severe injury to the driver and 60% risk of severe injury to the passenger, to be specific.
Exhibit B: Honda made a few changes to the structure, steering column and seat belt system soon after; the first 1981 Civic that NHTSA tested was built in October 1980 and tested on January 13, 1981. The forces were While a 27% risk of severe driver injury and 51% risk of severe passenger injury isn't good, it was okay by 1981 standards, and both occupants would be likely to survive, if injured pretty bad (especially in the passenger's case). To be specific, the driver experienced a HIC of 985 with 53 Chest G's; the passenger's HIC was 1,391 with 43 Chest G's
Exhibit C: the fourth Civic NHTSA tested in less than two years, built in March 1981 and tested on August 14, 1981. The results were impressive. The driver HIC was 607 with 41 Chest G's, while the passenger HIC was 492 with 34 Chest G's. A 12% risk of severe injury for the driver and a 7% risk of severe injury for the passenger means that a real life occupant would probably only have minor injury.
From a 99% risk of severe driver injury to 12% in just over a year... that's pretty impressive.
Exhibit A: the 1979 and 1980 Honda Civics. The '79 was the last year of the first generation (1973-1979), built in June 1979 and tested right around the time the second-generation model was launching: October 19, 1979. It did not do well: the driver experienced a 2,029 HIC and a whopping 93 Chest G's, and the passenger, a 2,095 HIC and 46 Chest G's. That's good for a 97% risk of severe injury to the driver, 92% for the passenger. In other words, both are probably dead.
NHTSA got around to testing the all-new 1980 Civic on July 11, 1980, and the results were nearly as bad: 2,710 HIC and 53 Chest G's for the driver, 1,511 HIC and 46 Chest G's for the passenger. Although the Chest G's made a dramatic improvement for the driver, it would likely only be good for organ donation, as the HIC was so bad that fatal injury would be nearly certain. The passenger would likely survive, but would be in pretty bad shape. 99% risk of severe injury to the driver and 60% risk of severe injury to the passenger, to be specific.
Exhibit B: Honda made a few changes to the structure, steering column and seat belt system soon after; the first 1981 Civic that NHTSA tested was built in October 1980 and tested on January 13, 1981. The forces were While a 27% risk of severe driver injury and 51% risk of severe passenger injury isn't good, it was okay by 1981 standards, and both occupants would be likely to survive, if injured pretty bad (especially in the passenger's case). To be specific, the driver experienced a HIC of 985 with 53 Chest G's; the passenger's HIC was 1,391 with 43 Chest G's
Exhibit C: the fourth Civic NHTSA tested in less than two years, built in March 1981 and tested on August 14, 1981. The results were impressive. The driver HIC was 607 with 41 Chest G's, while the passenger HIC was 492 with 34 Chest G's. A 12% risk of severe injury for the driver and a 7% risk of severe injury for the passenger means that a real life occupant would probably only have minor injury.
From a 99% risk of severe driver injury to 12% in just over a year... that's pretty impressive.
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