Believe it or not, modern cars look terrible in wrecks because it's better for the vehicle body to crumble and absorb damage instead of the Passengers.
the shock is mainly absorbed in the crumbled part instead of the vehicle holding strong and the people within the vehicle absorbing it.
Also pro tip! If you think you're about to get rear ended take your foot off the brake and just let your car absorb the hit, if you drive a standard, throw it in neutral.
the less impact the better.
Even if there is a car in front of you, you stand a better chance of not risking injury by letting Newton's laws kick in than absorbing a full rear end collision at a complete stand still.