The relations between the deformation of the front crumple zone of a motor car and the velocity of a car impact against a barrier have been explored. To determine the parameters of the energy models employed at the vehicle collision analysis, results of 18 crash tests carried out with three motor car models were used. The crash tests represented frontal impacts of the cars against a barrier with velocities of 40 km/h, 48 km/h, and 56 km/h. The values obtained for the energy model parameters were considered in relation to the values given in the literature. The attention was focussed on the linear models that are used in the simplified, Campbell, and McHenry methods, with evaluating the effectiveness of such models when applied to present-day cars. The methods are based on the dimensions of deformation of the crumple zone. It was found that the method of determining the vehicle deformation caused by the impact against an obstacle could affect the results of calculation of the impact velocity. The relations between the velocity of impact against a barrier and the deformation of the front crumple zone of motor vehicles of various categories have been presented, based on results of several hundred crash tests. It has been indicated that the characteristics of the front crumple zone in present-day cars differ from those of the cars manufactured 20 to 30 years ago. Therefore, the changes having been introduced to motor vehicle construction must be taken into account when the values of the parameters used in the energy methods are determined.