Look at the A-pillar deformation and dashboard movement. In a full frontal crash test. Over 15 years after this test configuration was launched.
At the time of its 1995 launch, the Chevy Blazer - renamed from the S-10 Blazer after a redesign - was already among the most dangerous new vehicles sold. This wasn't some vehicle that had once been adequate on safety that was sold long past its sell-by date - this was a clean-sheet design that was already horrendously inadequate on safety the moment the first units hit dealership lots. The 1995 Blazer's front passenger had an 85% risk of severe injury in the NHTSA full-frontal test, with a HIC of an almost unbelievable 1,874. The driver, with an airbag, had a severe injury risk of a much lower 22%, with a HIC of 932. GM designed a very weak structure, and then failed to install the one safety feature that could have at least somewhat cushioned the passenger from the intruding dashboard - a passenger airbag. While most competitors put in dual airbags starting in 1995 or 1996, it took GM until 1998 - the very last year they legally could do so - to get off their lazy butts and put in a passenger airbag.
Here are NHTSA full frontal crash test ratings for the last generations of SUVs WITHOUT an airbag: Keep in mind most of these SUVs were being superseded by dual (or at least driver) airbag-equipped versions around the time the 1995 Blazer went on sale; also, most had structural designs that were several years older. The model year given is the year NHTSA tested.
(Driver severe injury risk / Passenger severe injury risk / Stars)
1993 Ford Bronco: 11% / 6% (4 D / 5 P stars)
1993 Chevy Suburban: 14% / 12% (4 D / 4 P stars)
1993 Ford Explorer: 21% / 17% (3 D / 4 P stars)
1993 Mitsubishi Montero: 24% / 14% (3 D / 4 P stars)
1990 Jeep Cherokee: 30% / 22% (3 D / 3 P stars)
1990 Isuzu Amigo: 30% / 31% (3 D / 3 P stars)
1993 Isuzu Rodeo: 35% / 25% (3 D / 3 P stars)
1993 Chevy Blazer: 26% / 36% (3 D / 2 P stars)
1994 Jeep Wrangler: 42% / 16% (2 D / 4 P stars)
1995 Geo Tracker: 44% / 30% (2 D / 3 P stars)
1992 Isuzu Trooper: 45% / 45% (2 D / 2 P stars)
1993 Toyota 4Runner: 49% / 13% (1 D / 4 P stars)
1991 Nissan Pathfinder: 52% / 29% (1 D / 3 P stars)
1995 Chevy Blazer (WITH driver airbag and new design): 22% / 85% (3 D / 1 P stars)
As you can see, the 1995-1997 Blazer was a death trap even compared to SUVs from several years earlier. I kid you not, even the FIRST generation S-10 Blazer - with a structure that dated back to 1982 - ran circles around the 1995 redesign in this crash test!
In 1996, IIHS crash tested 6 of the most popular SUVs of the era. If the 1995-1997 Blazer was a death trap compared to older SUVs, just look at how far behind it was compared to its own peers. All of the Blazer's contemporaries passed the NHTSA full-frontal test, earning 3 or 4-star ratings, while the Blazer still subjected its front passenger to a high risk of fatal injuries. In the IIHS offset, both the Blazer and the Isuzu Rodeo earned Poor ratings; most SUVs of the era earned Marginal or Acceptable ratings. However, the Blazer's actual performance was far worse than the Rodeo's; the driver dummy in the Blazer's head hit the windowsill hard enough that serious head injuries were likely, while the Rodeo (and all other SUVs tested) spared the upper body from serious injury, with leg injuries being the main concern.
(NHTSA driver severe injury risk / passenger severe injury risk / stars - IIHS offset rating)
1996 Ford Explorer: 14% / 12% (4 D / 4 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Acceptable
1996 Land Rover Discovery: 23% / 26% (3 D / 3 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Acceptable
1996 Toyota 4Runner: 27% / 26% (3 D / 3 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Acceptable
1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee: 31% / 21% (3 D / 3 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Marginal
1996 Nissan Pathfinder: 33% / 25% (3 D / 3 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Marg/Poor*
1996 Isuzu Rodeo: 20% / 27% (4 D / 3 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Poor
1996 Chevy Blazer: 22% / 85% (3 D / 1 P stars NHTSA) - IIHS Poor (w/high risk of head injury)
*The Pathfinder was tested as a 1997 after some running structural improvements and scored a Marginal rating in the IIHS offset. The 1996 was the same body style, and was untested; however, it would have presumably earned a Marginal or a Poor.
When GM finally put a passenger airbag in the Blazer in 1998, it improved to 4 stars on both sides in the NHTSA full-frontal test, with risks of 17% and 18% respectively. But a '99 4-door Blazer regressed to 33% and 19%, barely holding on to 3 stars for the driver (and maintaining 4 for the passenger), and a 2002 2-door Blazer stayed in the same low-end 3-star range for the driver with 34% and 14%. And while GM did improve the restraints, they made no changes whatsoever to the weak 1995 structure.
On a brighter note, a 1999 4-door Blazer did get 5 stars for both driver and rear passenger in a NHTSA side-impact test - though the rear passenger's HIC of 921 was almost high enough to get a safety concern. The 2002 2-door Blazer also got 5 stars for both driver and rear passenger in the NHTSA side impact, but rolled one quarter-turn onto its side during the test. It is worth noting that high-profile vehicles of the era, such as SUVs, minivans and full size trucks, typically did well in the NHTSA side impact test. The Blazer also got a dismal 2 stars for rollover resistance.
2002 Blazer after a NHTSA full-frontal test. Do you see any structural improvement? Me neither.
Although the Blazer ran through the 2005 model year, IIHS only applies its rating through 2004; nevertheless, there were no design changes for 2005, so the results would apply to 2005 models as well. For 2005, 4-door models were only available to fleets, while 2-door models remained available for general sale. Because these fleet models would have been available as used cars a few years later, and because the 2-door model (with similar NHTSA, and though untested, likely similar IIHS ratings) was still on sale, I'm going to use 2005 as the final year to show just how far the Blazer had fallen from its already poor position earlier in its lifecycle.
(NHTSA front risk - NHTSA side TTI - NHTSA rollover risk - Stars - IIHS offset)
Note that the TTI is given as a raw number and is not a percentage. A TTI of 57 is equivalent to a 5% risk of severe thoracic injury, and is the maximum for a 5-star rating. All vehicles earned 5 stars for both front and rear seats, so the side star rating is not shown, but the TTI's for front and rear occupants are shown.
2005 Honda Pilot: 5% / 9% - 30 / 34 TTI - 16% (5 D / 5 P front 4 stars roll - Good IIHS)
2005 Chrysler Pacifica: 4% / 5% - 32 / 39 TTI - 14% (5 D /5 P front - 4 stars roll - Good IIHS)
2005 Toyota Highlander: 7% / 10% - 38 / 54 TTI - 18% (5 D / 5 P front - 4 stars roll - Good IIHS)
2005 Toyota 4Runner: 13% / 12% - 33 / 30 TTI - 22% (4 D / 4 P front - 3 stars rollover - Good IIHS)
2005 Nissan Murano: 13% / 11% - 49 / 54 TTI - 16% (4 D / 4 P front - 4 stars roll - Good IIHS)
2005 Ford Explorer: 13% / 9% - 35 / 35 TTI - 25% (4 D / 5 P front - 3 stars roll - Good IIHS)
2005 Mits. Endeavor: 9% / 12% - 45 / 41 TTI - unrated (5 D / 4 P front - unrated roll - Good IIHS)
2005 Kia Sorento: 15% / 14% - 38 / 24 TTI - unrated (4 D / 4 P front - unrated roll - Accept. IIHS)
2005 Chevy Trailblazer: 25% / 14% - 26 / 26 TTI - 20% (3 D / 4 P front - 4 stars roll - Accept. IIHS)
2005 Buick Rendezvous: 27% / 12% - 42 / 48 TTI - u. (3 D / 4 P front - unrated roll - Accept. IIHS)
2005 Jeep Liberty: 8% / 18% - 40 / 42 TTI - 25% (5 D / 4 P front - 3 stars roll - Marg. IIHS)
2005 Chevy Blazer: 33% / 19% - 55 / 43 TTI - 35%+ (3 D / 4 P front - 2 stars roll - Poor IIHS)
In every single category, the Blazer is dead last, and it's not even close. While 4 and 5 star ratings in the NHTSA full frontal were the norm, the Blazer was still barely earning 3. In fact, every single non-GM vehicle in the class earned at least 4 stars for both seating positions in the NHTSA full frontal. While most vehicles were earning Good in the IIHS offset - at this point, IIHS was just a year from turning this test over to the manufacturers due to its widespread mastery - the Blazer was still earning the same Poor rating, with the same high risk of head injury in the frontal offset, that it had a decade earlier. The Blazer was still far more likely to flip than any of its competitors, as well. While a specific percentage was not given for the earliest rollover resistance ratings, the Blazer's 2-star rating means that it had at least a 35% chance of a rollover in a major crash - close to double that of the class average. And those weak A-pillars do not inspire confidence. Even in the Blazer's strong suit - side impact - its performance, while good, was significantly worse than the class standards.
By 2005, the Blazer was GM's budget midsize SUV, superseded by the TrailBlazer, and supplemented by the Buick Rendezvous as a crossover. While these vehicles were still somewhat below average by 2005 standards, they at least existed in a 21st century world of safety.
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