When Old Meets New: A 1973 Chrysler Triumphs in a Viral Crash

Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

A recent car accident in the United States has reignited a long-standing debate about the durability of classic cars versus modern vehicles. A 1973 Chrysler New Yorker was involved in a rear-end collision with a much newer car, and the outcome quickly went viral on social media.

Images from the scene show the Chrysler New Yorker almost entirely unscathed, with the exception of its rear license plate, which was knocked off. The owner of the vintage car even joked in the viral post that "they don't make cars like they used to."

The other vehicle, an unidentified modern car, possibly a Toyota Corolla or Dodge Dart, was left with significant damage to its front end. This stark contrast led many to question why today's cars appear to be so much more "fragile" than their predecessors.

The Role of Modern Safety Engineering

While older cars were built with thicker materials and more rigid frames, their design posed a major safety risk to passengers. In a collision, the stiff structure would directly transfer the full force of the impact to the occupants, often leading to severe injuries.

Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Today, a car's "fragility" is by design. Modern vehicles have undergone significant transformations, particularly in their safety systems. Auto manufacturers now use special steels and include energy-absorbing crumple zones in a car's structure. These innovations are not meant to make the car weaker but to protect the people inside.

Instead of transferring the force to the passengers, the car’s body is engineered to buckle and deform in a controlled way, absorbing the kinetic energy of the crash. This process helps to slow down the collision and reduce the impact on the occupants, drastically lowering the risk of injury. So, while an older car might look like it won the battle, a modern car is designed to lose its shape in order to save lives.