Suppose we revisit that "deathtrap" claim. According to statistics here:
The Odds of Dying | LiveScience the chance of dying as the result of an automobile accident is about 1 in 100. (That is, of all deaths, about 1% will be from auto accidents.) The linked FARS statistics show that all the automobile safety improvements (and other factors such as better roads & medical care) have decreased that only marginally in the 15 years shown.
Seems to me that calling any car a "deathtrap" is a great exaggeration, especially when you stop to reflect on how much the death rates from more common causes like cancer, stroke, and heart disease are increased by voluntary behavioral choices. In other words, if you're really interested in reducing your chance of premature death, forget about the car and invest your energy in things like quitting smoking, exercising more, and losing some weight :-)