[ZeeTwentyFour]

I need my fellow car enthusiasts help. I am doing a research paper for my government class. It has to be about a public policy issue so I chose CAFE and how it will affect the consumers. I want to find information on three different things, how weight of cars has changed from the 60's-today, how the safety of cars has changed, and the number of automotive related deaths from the 60's-today. The problem is most places I looks, like IIHS and NHTSA don't have information available that far back.
This is in hopes of seeing how the newer economy style of cars has had an impact on automotive related deaths and if increasing economy standards will increase this risk.

I appreciate any help on the matter, sincerely: ZeeTwentyFour

 

[Dutch]

Here is an interesting angle you can pursue:

The CAFE killed large cars and ushered in the SUV era. By creating a demand for large SUVs, the CAFE had the effective of severely reducing the average fuel economy of average American family vehicle.

The typical American family relied on large sedans and station wagons for transportation. These vehicles could transport the entire family, their luggage, and tow a substantial amount. CAFE applied far more stringent standards to cars than trucks, and forced auto makers to abandon the large engines necessary to power these cars. Manufacturers built smaller cars with smaller engines, which were less capable than their pre-CAFE counterparts.

Without the option of buying a large station wagon with a big block, consumers were forced to turn to the truck market for a vehicle that could meet their needs. International's Scout and Jeep's Wagoneer were among the early vehicles filling this niche.

And so on and so on. All a modern SUV is is a 1960s station wagon, except instead of weighing 4,000 pounds they weigh 5,000 and can drive off road.