1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass

midsize car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Moderate overlap front: original test

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 1997-99 models

Tested vehicle: 1999 Chevrolet Malibu 4-door

The Chevrolet Malibu and the Oldsmobile Cutlass were introduced in the 1997 model year. The Cutlass was discontinued after 1999, and the Malibu was renamed the Classic in the 2004 model year. The Classic was discontinued after 2005. Note: 2004-05 Classics were sold as new cars only to fleets.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Dummy movement wasn't well controlled. During rebound, the dummy moved toward the driver door, which had bowed outward, and its head hit the inside of the door below the window sill. Then the head moved up and back and hit the B-pillar. Plus there was too much upward movement of the steering wheel.

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the steering wheel and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well, although there was too much upward movement of the steering wheel.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the dummy's head hit the inside of the door during rebound.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the dummy's head hit the B-pillar during rebound.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CF99025
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 18
Left (cm) 26
Center (cm) 25
Right (cm) 16
Brake pedal (cm) 17
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 11
Right (cm) 8
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) 11
Rearward (cm) 5
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 9

Driver injury measures

Test ID CF99025
Head
HIC-15 466
Peak gs at hard contact 25
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 47
Maximum Nij 0.40
Chest maximum compression (mm) 35
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 3.7
Femur force - right (kN) 2.2
Knee displacement - left (mm) 3
Knee displacement - right (mm) 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.61
Maximum tibia index - right 0.83
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 3.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 68
Right 107

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted