A video shows two cars crashing head-on at 35 miles per hour. (Don't worry, the drivers are crash test dummies.) One car is red, one is silver.

The red car crumples like an accordion. The dummy's face collides with the steering wheel as glass flies everywhere. Then the entire front of the cabin collapses in, pushing the dummy's knees up and crushing them against the dashboard.

The front of the silver car is also crushed. But the frame of the car is relatively intact This dummy flies forward in the seatbelt, but front and side airbags soften the blow. The windshield cracks, but doesn't shatter. They're both Nissan cars. The red car is a 2015 Tsuru, manufactured for sale in Mexico. The silver one is a 2016 Versa, made for the U.S. market.

Both are at the bottom of the line for price point. But there are crucial differences. Unlike the American Nissan, the Mexican model has no air bags, no antilock brakes or stability control to adjust tire speed and prevent skidding.

On crash safety tests run by the nonprofit Latin New Car Assessment Program, the Versa gets four out of five stars. The Tsuru gets zero.

Nissan isn't the only carmaker with different safety options for different markets. A 2017 Chevrolet Spark sold in the U.S. comes with ten airbags. The same version sold in Mexico doesn't come with any airbags, and like the Tsuru, it scored zero stars in crash tests.

Latin NCAP, along with its affiliate Global NCAP, has crash tested dozens of cars. Hyundai, Nissan, Renault, Suzuki, Datsun, Ford, Fiat, Kia, Volkswagen and others have all sold zero-star cars in middle- and low-income countries around the world. Many of the vehicles in question lack basic safety features that have been mandatory in the U.S. and European Union for almost two decades.

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