When the 1979 Peugeot 504 went up against the NHTSA crash test barrier on that hot August 27, 1980, it was already a twelve year old design. In Europe, production had been scaled back at this time; the hot ticket and priority for Peugeot at this time was the 505, which had been introduced the year before. The reasoning for the 504's late testing - the individual car tested was almost two years old - has been lost to history.
Even worse for safety, this is not a heavy vehicle. A van that performs poorly at least has the advantage of weight in most real life crashes. This vehicle weighs 3,526 pounds, 67 pounds LESS than my 2011 Honda Accord V6, which is a midsize car.
What is known, however, is that the 504 performed worse than any other vehicle ever tested. Let's take a look at the video:
History doesn't record what the test engineers said upon seeing the impact (go to 2:28 to see it, before that is preparation footage). They even look a bit shocked. They were used to seeing bad performances - this is 1980 after all, and the 43rd chronological NHTSA crash test - but none of the other 42 vehicles had suffered complete structural failure. Intrusion, jammed doors, nasty head impacts, yes. But this was clearly worse than any of those 42 vehicles had been. The low watermark set by this crash test endured for the remainder of the life of this crash test program*, nearly 30 more years.
The 504's front occupant compartment buckled severely in what can only be described as a horrifying display of structural failure. The doors jammed so tightly that even tools couldn't open them, and the dummies had to be removed through the side windows. The driver was pinned to the wheel
(Read the full NHTSA report here. I am not responsible for any nightmares. Make sure to read long before bed.)
HIC, or Head Injury Criterion, is a measure of the likelihood and severity of head injury an occupant may suffer. At the time, 1,000 was considered a "fail", with the likelihood of serious head injury or death. The average driver HIC was 1,219 (and passenger HIC 1,325) up to this point, showing the lousy state of car safety at this time. Fatality became possible at 1,300, and likely (over 50% chance) by 1,800. Particularly bad performances at this time had HICs exceeding 2,000. The 1980 Honda Prelude, the worst performance up to this point, managed "only" 3,063 for the driver the month before. Nearly a certain fatality.
The 504's front occupant compartment buckled severely in what can only be described as a horrifying display of structural failure. The doors jammed so tightly that even tools couldn't open them, and the dummies had to be removed through the side windows. The driver was pinned to the wheel
(Read the full NHTSA report here. I am not responsible for any nightmares. Make sure to read long before bed.)
HIC, or Head Injury Criterion, is a measure of the likelihood and severity of head injury an occupant may suffer. At the time, 1,000 was considered a "fail", with the likelihood of serious head injury or death. The average driver HIC was 1,219 (and passenger HIC 1,325) up to this point, showing the lousy state of car safety at this time. Fatality became possible at 1,300, and likely (over 50% chance) by 1,800. Particularly bad performances at this time had HICs exceeding 2,000. The 1980 Honda Prelude, the worst performance up to this point, managed "only" 3,063 for the driver the month before. Nearly a certain fatality.
The driver HIC was 4,611. The driver dummy's head assaulted the steering wheel still moving at 34 mph, just one mile per hour short of the impact speed, dashing to the steering wheel in less than half the time it took most crash test dummies of the era. Most poor-performing vehicles' dummies hit the wheel at 15-25 mph - about half the force. In short, it means that the seat belt did next to nothing to slow the dummy down, and was virtually useless.
This means that the Peugeot 504 was worse by a full 50.5%. The driver HIC alone was worse than the combined driver and passenger HICs of 41 of the 42 vehicles tested up to that point, and only 230 points better than the 42nd, that 1980 Honda Prelude.
(Even today, this HIC, on its own, would be fifth worst among combined driver and passenger HICs. Imagine that that 4,611 was split evenly among the driver and passenger. Their HICs would be 2,306 each, a likely fatality for each occupant, and fifth worst among combined driver and passenger HICs out of over 1,000 vehicles tested by NHTSA in 31 years).
This means that the Peugeot 504 was worse by a full 50.5%. The driver HIC alone was worse than the combined driver and passenger HICs of 41 of the 42 vehicles tested up to that point, and only 230 points better than the 42nd, that 1980 Honda Prelude.
(Even today, this HIC, on its own, would be fifth worst among combined driver and passenger HICs. Imagine that that 4,611 was split evenly among the driver and passenger. Their HICs would be 2,306 each, a likely fatality for each occupant, and fifth worst among combined driver and passenger HICs out of over 1,000 vehicles tested by NHTSA in 31 years).
The passenger HIC was 2,535, still placing it among the worst HICs recorded for an occupant in this type of crash test. The dummy's head hit the glove box, which opened.
The combined HIC of 7,146 is the worst combined HIC of any vehicle by quite a large margin. Next worst was 6,300.
Even worse for safety, this is not a heavy vehicle. A van that performs poorly at least has the advantage of weight in most real life crashes. This vehicle weighs 3,526 pounds, 67 pounds LESS than my 2011 Honda Accord V6, which is a midsize car.
*Note: The NHTSA crash test program was re-worked starting in 2011.
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