Glad I didn't find this thread until after you added that BOTT link, Dave. Just having the images of the Vario camper van crashing in my mind w/o knowing there are safer ways to store things would have been pretty unsettling.
Maybe I'll keep my cargo partition afterall! Probably not actually, I didn't want it (it was installed when I got it and is the only thing I really didn't want, so ...) and was/am(?) planning to remove it this weekend, but now I may not get rid of it (wish there was a door in the partition though).
Zyzzyx, spot on regarding the fridge. Having that 100+ lb hunk of metal hitting you from behind as you bounce back from the airbags, would definitely leave a mark. And, that Vario camper test van was going less than half the speed limit of most US highways.
FCA should get together w/ Bott and the people who design the chassis in these cars (watch the driver in the first video's hands as his car comes to a stop -- apparently a million dollar steering wheel):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK1SHu78v-0
And,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtrzvwayniM
That's 186 mph for us 'yanks', almost straight into a concrete wall, w/ only a slight deflection from a water barrel to one of the front wheels as he goes airborne.
What seems to be a thumbs up sign from the driver as the car slides on its side to a stop is a testament to the 'it is possible to make these vehicles safe' notion.
Hey, MB has a couple of F1 teams, don't they. Maybe they could get the ball rolling w/ their Sprinter and FCA and the other van manufacturers could take note.