The Safest Car Ever Built – from ~1980

// May 27th, 2010 // Car Stuff

Check out this “safe” ride that no one ever bought:

Thirty-five years ago, the U.S. government built a fleet of cars that were safer than anything on the road. Twenty-five years ago, the government shredded them in secret. Two escaped the crusher. This is their story.
[...]
The result: Three swamp-monster sedans of more than 5000 pounds apiece that did double-duty as safe transportation and appetite suppressants. The October 1972 issue of Popular Mechanics laid out the details: Roof-mounted periscopes; bumpers wide enough to haul Dom Deluise; and in the GM model, a rear-seat “credenza,” so back-seat passengers would be protected in crashes by smacking into a vinyl-covered bosom.

via jalopnik.

Read the whole story on jalopnik, and check out more pictures .