I also had a '91 Civic and was happy to "upgrade" to a '97 at least because
it had front airbags and ABS. My '04 Accord has front, side, and side
curtain bags, and ABS... I wish it had traction control, and will look
forward to one day having a car with that feature. So it does appear later
model cars are safer. I often hear Tom and Ray advising against an older car
for new drivers for that reason.

I have a 1991 Honda Civic and it runs well, but I feel like I should
probably buy a newer car with airbags for more safety in a crash.
Another reason I might want to buy another car is that mine is small.
A larger car would probably provide additional protection.  On the
other hand, if I keep my current car I'd save money.  Does anyone
think it's not necessarily worthy spending the money for a bigger car
with airbags?