I grew up in the glass business. In the 50's your head went through a windshield and when the car stopped your body rebounded inward and the glass would peal your face off. In the 60's Libby Owens Ford developed the "Super Shock Absorber" windshield. The plastic laminate stretched but your head did not penetrate. In the 70's a Ford engineer discovered that if a glass was half as this it would weigh half as much. This could help meet new 'CAFE' standards for fuel economy by lowering automobile gross weight. In the 80's as CAFE became more stringent the glass became a structural element when the sealant bonding it to the body changed from poly-sulfide to urethane. This allowed the use of less steel. Cars are a bit more fragile today.

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