Someone mentioned crash test results on another thread. I was going to ask where would be a good place to look these up, then realized I could use google to find this info myself. Thought you all might be interested in these links. You can look up your own vehicle, or vehicles you are considering purchasing. I started a new thread for this so more people might notice it than if it were buried at the end of an already long thread.
http://www.safercar.gov/Safety+Ratings
I think personally I like the first one more than the second one. Some of the videos in the second one are like, 2 seconds long and end as soon as they begin.
Personally, I have just looked up the Honda Fit, the Hyundai Accent, and the Mitsubishi Mirage (so far). Funny how all these cars more or less disintegrate to protect the occupants (plastic, glass, bumpers, body pieces just seem to spray everywhere.) The car totals itself so that you may live. I bet a 60’s era Falcon or Dart would barely sustain any damage, but the driver would either go through the windshield or be impaled into the steering column.
I know the libertarians and liberals here like to argue over what constitutes government over-regulation, but if you happen to be the person who gets creamed at an intersection, I bet you’ll be glad for government mandated crumple zones, collapsible steering columns, and more airbags than you can count.
They are complimentary, not competing sites. The NHTSA front crash test is full front while the HLDI test is offset. I also like the IIHS recap of insurance payouts. It collates crash payouts from all auto insurers in the USA. Find cars with low payout, and you can save on annual insurance costs. You will like that, @“Ed Frugal”
Yeah, I figured one could cross-reference both of them to get a more detailed idea of results. That “offset” test is considered to be more real-world realistic of an actual crash than “full frontal” isn’t it? After all, who crashes head-on into a wall in the real world? Most people are swerving to avoid the accident when it happens at an “offset”.
For me, all roads seem to be heading towards that Fit. Saving a few thousand up front would be meaningless if I later end up eating through a straw for the rest of my life after an accident, although clearly any 2016 car is light years ahead of my '93 Festiva, safety wise.
All the regulars here have offered me so much useful free information, I posted the links in an effort to actually provide some useful information to others for a change. 
The full frontal crash is more a test of the seat belts and air bags as opposed to mimicking real accidents. HLDI has two offset crash tests now. The newer one is offset more than the original. When the auto manufacturers start meeting the 5 star requirements in large numbers, HLDI raises the bar with a new test. If vehicles resist crash damage better then accident payouts for medical issues are less and the insurance companies save money. I think they really do want you to be safer, but I think they want to save money more.
Jaded JT
@Ed Frugal
Ed, are you familiar with the site referenced below? Lots of good info there and a vehicle
Look-Up.
http://www.informedforlife.org/
CSA
@“common sense answer” - No, I wasn’t familiar with that site, a quick look tells me its a good one, I’m gonna bookmark it with the others. Thanks for posting it. A quick perusal. . . well, I guess I can scratch the Nissan Leaf off of my dream car list. . . the new Ford Fiesta and Kia Rio were already off my list for other reasons anyway. . .
@jtsanders “. . . accident payouts for medical issues are less and the insurance companies save money.” I guess they save the money on medical bills, 'cause it sure looks like the cars total themselves on impact. I’d bet that if the car is more than 5 or 6 years old, any impact that causes all those airbags to deploy will pretty much total out the car, for insurance purposes, anyway.
Older cars were destroyed in accidents too, but they also were much more likely to take the passengers with them.