As a result of recent increases in fuel prices and the growing number of accident fatalities, the two major concerns of the automotive industry and their customers are now occupant safety and fuel economy [1,2]. Increasing the amount of energy and optimizing the manner in which energy is absorbed within vehicle crush zones can improve occupant survivability in the event of a crash, while fuel economy is improved through a reduction in weight.Axial crush tests were conducted on tubular specimens of Carbon/Epoxy (Toray T700/G83C) and Glass/Polypropylene (Twintex). This paper presents results from the tests conducted at quasi-static rates at Deakin University, Victoria Australia, and intermediate rate tests performed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee USA.The quasi-static tests were conducted at 10mm/min (1.67x10-4m/s) using 5 different forms of initiation. Tests at intermediate rates were performed at speeds of 0.25m/s, 0.5m/s, 0.75m/s 1m/s, 2m/s and 4m/s. Quasi-static tests of tubular specimens showed high specific energy absorption (SEA) values with 86 kJ/kg for Carbon/Epoxy specimens. The SEA of the Glass/Polypropylene specimens was measured to be 29 kJ/kg.Recently, automotive manufacturers have been under increasing legislative