The strange thing about that modification is that it appears on the surface to be a legitimate safety improvement. Could the underlying test be subpar?
it sounds like it wasn't in the production vehicle.
Right, but I’m wondering if the notch was actually useful for legitimate passengers in the event of an accident.
why would that call into question the underlying test? Rather it calls into questions the design decision of the daihatsu team to know they could create a safer product but decide to not do so, and fake it on the safety tests.