Vehicle Damage and Crashworthiness Data for 1973 Intermediate-Size Cars

A series of front, side, and rear impact tests was conducted by Dynamic Science, under NHTSA contract, to obtain vehicle damage and occupant crashworthiness data on two representative 1973 intermediate-size sedans. Selected evaluation variables included cost-to-repair data in dollars and crashworthiness data in terms of occupant response per FMVSS 208. The data are presented as a function of impact speed to emphasize that future vehicle evaluations must consider a broad speed range. Since only one test was conducted for each crash condition, data are not identified by vehicle model to avoid any inferences on relative vehicle standings. Additional tests are needed, under identical conditions, to determine if differences between vehicles are statistically significant. However, these data can serve as benchmarks against which future improvements in vehicle damageability and occupant crashworthiness can be measured.