Let's take a look at this 1979 Jet ElectraVan 600. We have a vehicle ultimately based on the Subaru 360, a vehicle that was produced from 1958-1971 (and rated Not Acceptable by Consumer Reports in 1969), meaning that its design was over two decades old by the time this van was built. The 360's standard variant was a kei car (a very small class of car, even smaller than the original VW Beetle), but other variants were produced, including a small van built from the 360's platform.
It was this small van that would serve as the base vehicle for the ElectraVan's conversion. In the conversion, "gliders" (complete vehicles without powertrains) were bought by Jet Industries, a company that produced electric powered vehicle conversions in the '70s and '80s. They then installed twelve 6-volt batteries that had a combined weight of nearly half a ton, and produced enough power for the vehicle to travel at freeway speeds at the time. These batteries were mounted in the van's midsection, and served as a base for the rear seat.
NHTSA crash tested this one not once, but twice. Both tests were conducted at 30 mph, full frontal into a solid barrier. By 2016 standards, this test is a cakewalk, and even in the late '70s, survivable in most vehicles if you're wearing a seat belt.
The ElectraVan 600's performance in both tests can only be described as appalling. The first test was conducted on June 13, 1979, as part of NHTSA's electric vehicle testing program that was active circa 1979-1982. According to the original 1979 test report, the occupant compartment was "completely crushed". The dummies were so tightly enmeshed in the crushed structure that the front seat backs had to be cut open and peeled down to free the dummies, which then had to be taken apart at the femurs to be removed from the vehicle. The batteries broke loose from their frame and were free inside the vehicle, with massive electrolyte leakage. The heater's 7-gallon fuel tank also showed potential for massive leakage and consequent fire hazard.
Not surprisingly, dummy injury measurements* showed that had real people been in this van, they would have likely been killed. Both dummies violently struck the intruding dashboard. For starters, both legs of each occupant would likely be broken. G-forces on the driver's chest show that severe chest injuries would have likely been inflicted when the intruding steering column hit the chest. The driver's head injury criterion showed a likelihood of life-threatening head injury; the passenger's head injury criterion was high enough to indicate a near certainty of fatal head injury. In practice, due to the crushing and entrapment of the dummies, the injuries a human occupant would likely receive are even worse than the injury measures indicate. It is likely that both occupants' heads came very close to hitting the barrier. The dummies themselves were "extensively damaged" after the test.
Driver: 1,426 HIC, 71 chest G's, 3,181 lbs left femur load, 2,656 lbs right femur load
Passenger: 2,663 HIC, 54 chest G's, 2,369 lbs left femur load, 2,849 lbs right femur load
The van's second crash test was conducted on February 27, 1980, and this time it was compared with a Volkswagen Microbus T2 (produced from 1968-1979), which was crash tested in the same manner two days later (Leap Day!). The ElectraVan's performance was slightly better in this test; the batteries stayed in place this time.
Report for the June 1979 test
Timeline of June 1979 crash event
Report for the February 1980 test
*Limits for likely serious injury are 1,000 HIC and/or 60 chest G's and/or 2,250 lbs femur load.
It was this small van that would serve as the base vehicle for the ElectraVan's conversion. In the conversion, "gliders" (complete vehicles without powertrains) were bought by Jet Industries, a company that produced electric powered vehicle conversions in the '70s and '80s. They then installed twelve 6-volt batteries that had a combined weight of nearly half a ton, and produced enough power for the vehicle to travel at freeway speeds at the time. These batteries were mounted in the van's midsection, and served as a base for the rear seat.
NHTSA crash tested this one not once, but twice. Both tests were conducted at 30 mph, full frontal into a solid barrier. By 2016 standards, this test is a cakewalk, and even in the late '70s, survivable in most vehicles if you're wearing a seat belt.
The ElectraVan 600's performance in both tests can only be described as appalling. The first test was conducted on June 13, 1979, as part of NHTSA's electric vehicle testing program that was active circa 1979-1982. According to the original 1979 test report, the occupant compartment was "completely crushed". The dummies were so tightly enmeshed in the crushed structure that the front seat backs had to be cut open and peeled down to free the dummies, which then had to be taken apart at the femurs to be removed from the vehicle. The batteries broke loose from their frame and were free inside the vehicle, with massive electrolyte leakage. The heater's 7-gallon fuel tank also showed potential for massive leakage and consequent fire hazard.
Not surprisingly, dummy injury measurements* showed that had real people been in this van, they would have likely been killed. Both dummies violently struck the intruding dashboard. For starters, both legs of each occupant would likely be broken. G-forces on the driver's chest show that severe chest injuries would have likely been inflicted when the intruding steering column hit the chest. The driver's head injury criterion showed a likelihood of life-threatening head injury; the passenger's head injury criterion was high enough to indicate a near certainty of fatal head injury. In practice, due to the crushing and entrapment of the dummies, the injuries a human occupant would likely receive are even worse than the injury measures indicate. It is likely that both occupants' heads came very close to hitting the barrier. The dummies themselves were "extensively damaged" after the test.
Driver: 1,426 HIC, 71 chest G's, 3,181 lbs left femur load, 2,656 lbs right femur load
Passenger: 2,663 HIC, 54 chest G's, 2,369 lbs left femur load, 2,849 lbs right femur load
The van's second crash test was conducted on February 27, 1980, and this time it was compared with a Volkswagen Microbus T2 (produced from 1968-1979), which was crash tested in the same manner two days later (Leap Day!). The ElectraVan's performance was slightly better in this test; the batteries stayed in place this time.
Report for the June 1979 test
Timeline of June 1979 crash event
Report for the February 1980 test
*Limits for likely serious injury are 1,000 HIC and/or 60 chest G's and/or 2,250 lbs femur load.
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