But if you think back then how cars were designed, they didn’t have well designed crumple zones to absorb the impact. So if your options are to get pancaked between metal or go flying out the window, flying at least gives you a chance of survival.

Crumple zones don’t extend into the car’s cabin. They absorb the impact, much like a bunch of accordians. The kinetic energy is dispersed.

The cabin area is surrounded by a cage of steel designed to protect the occupant. Jaws of Life, essentially hydraulic bolt cutters/scissors/something you want your fingers to avoid at all costs, are used to cut through those steel reinforcements in accidents where the cabin is compromised.

Any accident involves more variables than can be predicted. Speed, road shape and conditions, tire quality, driving experience, vehicle weight, all of this can throw a vehicle, and its occupant, into the unknown data category. Thus, auto manufacturers do their best to try to keep the occupants safe and in the car. That’s unironically the safest place in an accident.

When a person is flying out of the window, nothing but the air resistance or earth of some sort is slowing down the kinetic energy. Glass, metal, and physics are not the compromising sort.

Edit: I reread your comment and you are exactly right. Old cars were protected by pure metal, no crumple zones needed. Great idea, until it wasn’t. Didn’t mean to lemmysplain to you. Hopefully this comment is useful to someone lol.