A new side impact component test apparatus has been developed to recreate, in a cost-effective, repeatable, test environment, the kinematics of the intruding door, seat, and occupant as experienced in a full-scale side impact test. In this component test, a fixture-mounted door structure, complete with inner trim, is accelerated from rest using a pneumatic ram. The occupant is seated in a standard automobile seat that is mounted on rails to allow translation in the lateral direction. The onset and deceleration pulses of the seat and door can be tailored using programmable hydraulic decelerators in order to reproduce the velocity time history of intrusion as seen in a full scale test. A MADYMO model of the apparatus was developed to facilitate comparison of this test method to other side impact component tests, address design issues, and to demonstrate the effectiveness of this type of device in studying padding, spacing, and injury parameter development issues.