The Sentra that saved my ex-wife's life

My ex-wife was sitting at a red light late last night when an Isuzu SUV came barreling into the back of her 2004 Nissan Sentra. From the right, I'm told, the car looks normal. From the left, the rear bumper and most of the trunk have been obliterated, buried right into the rear wheel and window pillar.

Lisa, thank God, walked away. (Before I go further, I should mention that I actually like my ex-wife.) She's aching pretty bad and I'm sure her doctor will have plenty to say -- but considering the severity of the crash, the fact that she went home without the aid of an ambulance and slept in her own bed is amazing.

A miracle? More like a testament to the engineers at Nissan. All that crunched metal indicates a body structure that absorbed impact forces. Her seatback held firm and cradled her body as it was pushed back with a force much greater than her body weight. Even the rear seatbacks did their part by holding firm while the contents of her car's trunk -- and there was lots of it, believe me -- was crushed against them by two tons of fast-moving SUV. The kids weren't in the car, but it's nice to know that had they been, those seats would have held firm.

Few car shoppers walk around the showroom thinking "Is this the car in which I am going to have a major accident?" I know Lisa wasn't -- but I sure am glad she bought that Sentra. Check out our list of the ten best cars to crash. It's easy to get high on new-car smell; make sure you sober up and consider crash performance.

Another thing I hadn't really thought much about was resale value. Lisa hasn't had the car very long and still owes on it. Because the Sentra has held its value, there's a much better chance she won't be behind the eight ball if the insurance company totals the car.

Drive safely! -- Aaron Gold