These FULL videos of the crash test (and some other interesting stuff) are now live and loaded at From: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of James Espey Sent: Monday, March 19, 2012 2:50 PM To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [DML] The COMPLETE DeLorean crash test videos, report and more. Here is the complete PDF on the crash testing shown in the video. http://www.delorean.net/crashtest.pdf It was *not* a test of the DeLorean, but a test of how car already in production *could* have airbags fitted using computer modeling techniques rather than design the car with airbags in mind. The DeLorean car was used (two, actually - a 35mph test and a 40mph test) because DMC donated four early production cars (VIN 515, 517, 531 and 537) to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA). In the 40mph test, the testers were unable to get one of the driver's side door latches to close completely, and this violated the integrity of the side impact beam (which goes from latch to latch inside the door) causing it to open from the impact. This is noted in the report (page 60 in the PDF), and in spite of that, the report further goes on to state: After the 40mph test ".the compartment interior dimensions following the crash were still quite generous so that most of the original compartment volume was maintained." ".the DeLorean proved to be a very well designed vehicle in terms of allowing a relatively great amount of front end crush without adversely compromising the "survival space" in the compartment." This doesn't bear out Claude's flippant and inaccurate comment about the occupants being "DOA", as he posted earlier. This is also NOT a complete video - the original videos, which will be posted on the DeLorean Museum Facebook page later today, are each (the 35mph and 40mph tests) about 4 minutes long. Finally, there were ZERO cars EVER produced with ERM underbodies. Even the prototypes were made with fiberglass underbodies as the expense associated with the tooling required for ERM would not be justified for prototypes. A few NON-STRUCTURAL parts of the production car are made with ERM, but that's it. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Regards, James Espey ------------------------------------ DeLorean Motor Company james@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:james%40delorean.com> 15023 Eddie Drive Humble, Texas 77396 USA Tel: 800/872-3621 (USA only) Tel2: +1-281/441-2537 Fax: +1-281/441-2813 http://www.delorean.com http://www.facebook.com/deloreanmotorcompany ------------------------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To address comments privately to the moderating team, please address: moderators@xxxxxxxxxxx For more info on the list, tech articles, cars for sale see www.dmcnews.com To search the archives or view files, log in at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnewsYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dmcnews/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: dmcnews-digest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx dmcnews-fullfeatured@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: dmcnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/