Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
Have you ever seen crash test videos of an old car? Well, neither have I (as far as I can remember) until today, so I’m sharing this video with you. It’s a series of crash test footage for the Mercedes-Benz W123. Watch the video after the jump.
VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz W123 Crash Test
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After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.Want a picture next to your comment? Register for a Gravatar account with the same email you use to comment!
did’nt say anything about the speed but looks good for such an old design
Keras betul body. I think this is from Mercedes own test crash archieve. The old car is better somehow. The occupant cabin just like a ‘cocoon’ protecting the occupants.
Ouch! Poor kid (00:14). Someone should put a seat belt on the baby dummy.
Wah not bad le for such an old car… It seems like it performs better than W124
ppeeerrrgghhh….tue bukan sebarang tue…aku lagi berkuasa..hehehee…mcm ade steroid…
very interesting n yeah..poor kid..someone should put a seat belt on d dummy…
put a cannon n mortar launcher, leh guna buat perang.. mmg keter kebal.. huhuhu..
wow.. never expected that old Merc that good… my Boss own one LOL
.. so, today Merc must be a lot better right? to my understanding, we improve a lot during this past few decades..
Classic!
I guess it is still much better than any today’s proton.
Kewl, the crumple zone seems to be doing it’s work really well. Stiff where you need it to be, and crumples where you need it to, freakin good for such an old car, I’d like to see newer local or even Japanese makes do that.
Nah, todays Mercs aren’t as tough as those days Mercs, but it’s compensated with fancy safety systems and such, those days they didn’t have those technologies, so the only way to make the car safe was to build it as tough as humanly possible. LOL..nowadays, with X-assists, Y-controls, Z-systems…the cars don’t need to be insanely tough and heavy.
w123 got airbag? I thought the W126 S class was the first with airbag?
WOW airbag!
That is one tough bird, from yesteryear crash-requirement and technology.
Anyone can comment the workability of the air bag when the car involve in accident. Judging from the car’s 20++ year old merc. How can we make sure the air bag work properly when accident happend? Are there replacement and are they expansive?. Anyone can tell if there is a manufacturer’s EXPIRY date for their air bag?
A strong and rigid body does not means it will prevent the occupants from more harm. It may cause more injuries instead. Imagine have a couple of raw eggs inside a metal Jacob can. Now, give it a good shake. What happens to the eggs?
Cars need to be damaged where it is supposed to be, in order to absorb the impact, and thus lessen direct impact forces to occupants of the car.
Well, speed kills.. not the car..
kingglim said,
April 4, 2008 @ 9:26 am
Classic!
I guess it is still much better than any today’s proton.
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Apalah u, compare Merc with a Proton, doesn’t make sense at all. Why not compare Bush with Abdullah?
Cire said,
April 4, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
A strong and rigid body does not means it will prevent the occupants from more harm. It may cause more injuries instead. Imagine have a couple of raw eggs inside a metal Jacob can. Now, give it a good shake. What happens to the eggs?
Cars need to be damaged where it is supposed to be, in order to absorb the impact, and thus lessen direct impact forces to occupants of the car.
Well, speed kills.. not the car..
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Yup, agree with you, check this out.
http://paultan.org/archives/2006/11/11/5th-gear-smart-fortwo-crash-test/
my aunt has one! its solid like a rock…a living testiment till today. has more space than any new e class benz. built quality is just superb. my aunt keeps it to its original specs. just a paint job and a change to aloy rims only. i have driven it ..must say the gear change is silky smooth. no car i have driven is soooo smoooth..,,thats what they all say.. over engineered .. i can feeel it when the doors get closed… just fantastic!
Ah, MyviKiller, sure you can compare Bush with Abdullah. I almost want to ask you: what are the differences? The differences between this car and a Saga … are probably bigger than the ones in between Abdullah and Bush
Two great features about this car:
- body colored wheel caps!
- air bags – production of this car ended in the early 80s!
The S-class W126 was the 1st car to offer ABS as an option.
well.. in my opinion, i feel that its better for us to let the dummy do the talking. it may seem tough, as crumple part crumples, and the safety cell remains strong! but how much force translated into the cabin, more crucially onto the passengers, we do not know.
modern dummies have many advance crash cencors, to simulate a real crash. it senses how much force acting on certain parts of the body, however i’m not too sure about the dummies in this W123 generation of dummies.
just my humble opinion!
cheers!
I do think that ths shows that the baby/kid dummy need a proper baby seat/child seat…..like most msian, very few ppl using proper seat for thier kids/baby…..really scary esp when i see those kid/baby seating on the lap wt driver/front passenger + wt air bag some more….govt shld educate ppl about the necessaties of proper child safety equipment….
This video has been on YouTube for a long time.
Clearly Merc had the initiative to build safe cars when Volvo has started to excel in this field. But a car that offers good protection during its time may not fare as well when confronted with a newer car. Look up Fifth Gear’s “Volvo 940 estate vs Renault Modus” segment on YouTube. You’ll be surprised how a early 1990s estate “tank” fares against a smaller, newer hatchback.
sorry paul, a little off topic
http://www.thaiprotonclub.com/picview.php?id=105
anyway
even some mercedes ‘batman’ still on the road in the east coast as taxis,
MaverickNeo said,
April 4, 2008 @ 10:33 am
Nah, todays Mercs aren’t as tough as those days Mercs, but it’s compensated with fancy safety systems and such, those days they didn’t have those technologies, so the only way to make the car safe was to build it as tough as humanly possible. LOL..nowadays, with X-assists, Y-controls, Z-systems…the cars don’t need to be insanely tough and heavy.
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You might want to retract the statement cos it makes you look like a really really dumb person. The new cars are insanely tough, insanely heavy, and insanely loaded with technologies. You might survive in this old merc ramming into a Volvo 240, but if you met a new car (except M’sian, Chinese, Indian, Russian cars) you’ll die instantly.
taxi owner at my kampung sure proud with their car now…
So cool…
The car of choice for Kelantan Taxis and Africa
So how many star is it? 3-star Euro NCAP?
Proton got test like that ar?
old, but still a Mercedes Benz, haha
myvikiller,
its not wrong to compare dis oldies with any today proton…wut wrong??
i don’t see any kids..all dummies right?
mercs from the 80s era are built like tank (w123,124,126, 190E)
http://images.dieselpowermag.com/tech/general/0705dp_09_z+1961_mercedes_benz_fintail190d+front_drivers_side.jpg
pay a few ringgit, it ll get you home,
steering mount shfter, white steering, sikinny half circle chrome metal horn,
front bench seat,
vertical speedometer, sometime reaches 100kmh/60mph
good owner will keep the red seat uphostery, but normally redo due to ages,
4 chrome wheel cover/ hub cap as original,
(almost 50 years old maybe or roughly), its a daily classic,
sorry off topic a bit,
sometime you can spot this at the station looks quite mint, but actually its a taxi, parked in que with other recent modern taxi,
but its ok without ac of a modern car, flip that small A pillra glass piece at the front window, the air gushed through, its a breezey comfort even in a hot day.
crash test=keras test
if proton wira crash like this become wat ?? ….