integra vs. beetle

[dinomite]

there was an accident outside my school the other day (amazingly enough, the teenager coming out of the school was not at fault). the kid from the school was in a one-model-year-older-than-the-newest integra and was making a left turn, and the beetle guy came over a hill into the intersection and was going quite a bit too fast. The integra kid had already well started making his left (two lane road either way) and went straight into the driver's front quarter panel/frontish (old) beetle. They were both ok.

now, the results of the accident were highly surprising. the beetle won. the sub-2000 pound tiny 70s car won. the front end of the integra was absolutely gone; both quarters, the bumper, wheels were wierd-like, engine was completely exposed and turney.... I know that new cars are meant to absorb the impact, but the damage to the beetle wasn't nearly as much. The rear-engined car that had just been somewhat hit head on had little more than bashed up panels, a broken light, and the driver's front wheel was a little squirley it looked like.

I don't doubt that there was more damage underneath, but what is up? are japanese cars really that wussy? is that really how much new cars disintegrate? japanese cars don't seem to be built very stoutly......