Possibly Chinese truck crashes at 40MPH, practically vaporizes

This video purports to be a crash test for a Chinese truck. That may not be the actual truth, but considering the fact that this 40MPH crash ended up with pureed crash test dummy limbs spitting out of the tail pipe like corpses flung into a wood chipper, it's certainly time to go back to the drawing board. Remember, safety designers: a crumpling cage is good, but there are diminishing returns to safety the more you crumple. Example: the passenger cabin folding up like a deflated accordion.

[via POETV]

[#1 posted by strider_mt2k , June 25, 2008 4:33 AM]

Holy crap that's bad.

The problem is you have to line up the corrugated part of the cardboard to take that impact...uh...impact stress.

Sorry, I was distracted by the video.

Holy crap that's bad.

[#2 posted by onre , June 25, 2008 5:03 AM]

This is not a Chinese truck of any sort. Instead, it is a Volkswagen truck from '80s, and several details in setup suggest this test was done quite recently, i.e. the specimen was second-hand and possibly quite badly rusted already.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Type_2_%28T3%29

[#3 posted by Patrick Austin , June 25, 2008 5:22 AM]

Another view of the same test:
http://www.truveo.com/VW-T3-Crashtest/id/127016308

This one _is_ a Chinese car, and a modern one at that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F06LjugtIUo

[#4 posted by dculberson , June 25, 2008 5:40 AM]

Also note the cargo bed is full. I've heard (from "them," unverifiable sources) that this was a demonstration of the crash test lab and the work they can do, and that for extra fun they loaded the bed down with secured concrete.

While the truck definitely wouldn't be a good contender in modern crash tests anyway, with a really heavy load, going into a fixed barrier, pretty much any pickup is going to result in dead occupants.

[#5 posted by dculberson , June 25, 2008 5:47 AM]

I've heard (from distantly remembered, unverifiable sources) that this was a demonstration of the crash test lab and the work they can do, and that for extra fun they loaded the bed down with secured concrete.

While this truck definitely wouldn't be a good contender in modern crash tests anyway, pretty much any pickup with a really heavy load going into a fixed barrier is going to result in dead occupants.

[#6 posted by dculberson , June 25, 2008 5:48 AM]

Woof, double post, I'm sorry!

[#7 posted by strider_mt2k , June 25, 2008 9:05 AM]

Thanks for the additional info there, it puts it in a different light.

[#8 posted by Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator , June 25, 2008 4:30 PM]

Forty-mile-an-hour accidents used to be worse than they are now, but even when they involved Volkswagens, they weren't as bad as this video. Either that vehicle's made of heavy-gauge tinfoil, or it's got an unnatural amount of inertia.

[#9 posted by ratcity , June 25, 2008 6:15 PM]

Way to advertise your lab: we can make your car look like it's made of heavy-guage tinfoil.

[#10 posted by Amplifier , June 25, 2008 6:20 PM]

I don't see the problem. That crumple zone worked perfectly, leaving the cargo completely undamaged.

[#11 posted by patela , June 25, 2008 6:56 PM]

Did we fall asleep at the fact-checking wheel lately? Or perhaps China baiting is fun!

It's a Volkswagen. See:
http://www.geocities.com/harald_nancy/t3_history.htm

for a picture.