The big fear of all festiva owner. Crashing in our little cars. Has anyone ever.....

[jimdigs]

...been in a major crash with a festiva and how bad was it. I know its not a nice topic but I am curious just how do they hold up in a big crash.

[fastivaca]

Not as "major" as some I've seen documented but car was rear ended while stopped at light. Driver was going about 35mph when they hit. Back of the car is much the same as the front. Vehicle in front was a Jeep Cherokee and you can see the imprint of the exhaust and trailer hitch receiver in the Festiva's bumper. Rear floor was crumpled over and the hatch would not open. Upper and lower rad supports were bent back pushing the rad into the exhaust manifold. Very impressed that both the passenger doors still opened.

[blkfordsedan]

They're not good at anything over a mild fender bender. IIRC, We did have a member a while back who was in a crash with his Festiva. His Fiancé was with him, and unfortunately, she didn't make it. No matter how well it's built, the laws of physics and momentum are not in our favor.

[Eokang]

I think it's safe to say that any accident over 35 mph would end pretty badly. I've seen a few pictures of what can happen to a festiva. Most of them were pics that talked me out of fabricating a removable top for my festiva. I think the only way to ensure that you walk away from an accident in a festiva would be to install a full roll cage. even then I think its safe to say the car would still be badly damaged beyond repair.

[sketchman]

I've been in 2. 1 at 40 and we were stopped. 1 at 45ish and I was turning into it at 15 or so.

Depends where you get hit, but I got out of both with not a scratch.

EDIT: I did break the driver's door glass out with my head on the 2nd one. Still, no injuries. Not even a headache.

[bravekozak]

Over 35? Take a look at some of the Pride crashes on the Autobahn!
There are also some horriffic crashes from the Philippines.

[Twistiva]

Not as "major" as some I've seen documented but car was rear ended while stopped at light. Driver was going about 35mph when they hit. Back of the car is much the same as the front. Vehicle in front was a Jeep Cherokee and you can see the imprint of the exhaust and trailer hitch receiver in the Festiva's bumper. Rear floor was crumpled over and the hatch would not open. Upper and lower rad supports were bent back pushing the rad into the exhaust manifold. Very impressed that both the passenger doors still opened.

35mph and the car looks as good as it does?

That's impressive!

In my opinion, the best things that ANY driver can do to be safe in ANY car is to....

- not drive too fast
- wear your seatbelt
- Clear! Clear! Clear! (which is pilot talk for "LOOK!")

Drive safe! nthego:

[ericsmith32]

Smacked into the side of a Oldsmobile Intrique with a 92 Festiva at about 50mph. Not sure actually could of been faster. Hard enough to knock my glasses off and twirl the car 3 times. Everyone was impressed I walked away from it. Pushed the engine into the firewall and twisted the roof. Busted the frame on the other car The doors opened somehow and the only glass that broke was the windshield due to the hood. If it's your time it doesn't matter you're driving... The Festiva is a very survivable car.

I'll also flipped on one on it's top and after I fixed it rear-ended a Dodge at about 35mph. My nine lives are exhausted!

[bravekozak]

[QUOTE=ericsmith32;584633 My nine lives are exhausted![/QUOTE]


I don't think so. It's not your time yet.

[ericsmith32]

The big fear of all festiva owner. Crashing in our little cars. Has anyone eve

Yeah you may be right... Fell off a ladder at work and only killed a box of plastic forks. My coworkers were impressed!

[GenevaDirt]

I thought the accident mentioned above where the girl lost her life was in an Aspire. None the less.... it was a bad accident. But there has been numerous accidents reported and all he pretty much walked away for the most part.

I have hit 2 deer in Festy's at over 50 mph and one is still on the road in another persons care. The other is still in my driveway waiting for me to replace the core support. I saw one run into the rear end of a pick up truck at about 40 and all that happened was the hood buckled up and the steering wheel was bent from the drivers hands...was still drivable.

I have said it before and although from a good accident the car may be toast. It could have been much worse. I think that small stature of our cars has a lot to do with it. When it is hit or hits something....there is not as much mass to cause the damage that a heavier car would cause. In turn our cars tend to bounce or slide when hit. Which helps "Us" to walk away.

[crazyrog17]

Main reason I would want a roll cage if I knew I was keeping this car forever. Unfortunately, Michigan road salt eats cars and I can almost see the road through my footwell.

[Movin]

They are pretty strong structures for their weight.
Semi trucks fail badly when in a contest with freight
trains. No matter how safe your car is luck is the biggest
factor. Being aware is a big factor. There is so much to consider
and with all that one never plans for everything unforseen.
Drive or ride what you enjoy!

[leapin]

I was t-boned in my first Festiva. I was doing about 35-40mph and the other was doing 20mph. I got pushed up over the cude and on the sidewalk almost into a bust stop. Not a scratch on me or my wife.

[Icedawg]

I was doing about 140 km/hr when a Scirocco spun in front and lodged in a snow bank in front of me. At a guess I was going about 100 km/h or 60 mph when I t-boned him. It felt hard and I slammed up against the 5-point race harness pretty good. The intake manifold was pushed back through the fire wall. But the front folded up and took the energy the way we hope they designed it to. It won't buff out, but maybe we could weld a new front clip on. The other guys cage bent and moved in a few inches, so it was a hard object I hit. But no injuries, and the shell did what it was supposed to, protecting the driver in the cabin. All in all not bad for crash survival properties.
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