59 Bel Air vs 09 Malibu IIHS crash test

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by 66olds442

This is the ONLY video I've ever seen where a modern car slices through an older car like butter. I have a strong feeling the entire engine and transmission was removed from the bel air.

We don't build 'em the way we used to...........


THANK GOD!!!


Go watch the video again - the 59 Bel Air is a 6 cylinder........

How do I know?


Watch the last two shots - the 'right side' shot of the Bel Air - and the "overhead" shot - and note the air cleaner flying out of the engine compartment - it's a 6 cylinder air cleaner enclosure - not a V8.......... Yup - engine and trans is in the car.......


We tend to talk about the old cars being 'tanks' - part of the problem is that 'crush control' hadn't been discovered yet.

Go look at the underhood of most modern cars - notice the 'notches' built in - that's done so that the hood will 'crush' in a controlled manager - helping to dissipate the energy from the crash. Put your Camaro in the air - and you'll find that the floorpan is designed to do the same thing.........and that's part of what makes modern day cars so much safer.

Earlier today, there was an announcement that 2010 was the lowest traffic fatality rate in over 50 years! (......and that's even more remarkable when you realize that there were substantially less autos on the roads back then......)

We have no plans to do something like that......esp. with a classic Camaro!!!!

We DID - about 20 years ago - produce a short film from the Milford Proving Grounds - and in there were some old test films.....but the film starts out with a modern day crash test of a 1920 Chevrolet impacting a solid wall at a relatively low speed - the entire body comes off the frame! The driver flies out of the door opening as the door flies off!

[Hall of Fame]

BS video. The front frame of the Bel Air would have cut the little cars driver in half. Rusted up metal fatigued bel airs don't count. Let's hit that malibu head on with a dually.

[greenrail]

I saw that video a couple of years ago. Really puts a light on the way modern engineering has made today's vehicles much safer.

A car is replaceable, a human life isn't. I love a lot of the older cars as much as anyone on this Site, but, I gotta tell ya, for day-to-day commuting and general driving, you can't beat the features of modern autos regarding safety for the Occupants!

Worth every darn penny!

[SleepWarz]

mmmmm rust dust!

[MillerTime]

Originally Posted by Hall of Fame

BS video. The front frame of the Bel Air would have cut the little cars driver in half. Rusted up metal fatigued bel airs don't count. Let's hit that malibu head on with a dually.

Your not comparing apples to apples with that last statement.

As said before these new cars dissipate the engergy transferred into them by objects. The two here are similar in curb weight so it's a decent comparison.

A Malibu and a dually... well You know who's going to win that one Sherlock...

Great Video!!

[Lynnspeed]

WOW thats unreal.... I woulda assumed the older car was more protective...

[mcotton]

Thank you GM for helping me get home safe to my family

[kmcd]

Originally Posted by stand-al0ne

I think they should wreck every car from '69 and older. Old ass dino-guzzlers...




Juuust Kidding! April fools!

You got me. I was getting ready to train all my heavy guns in your direction.

[66olds442]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

Go watch the video again - the 59 Bel Air is a 6 cylinder........

How do I know?


Watch the last two shots - the 'right side' shot of the Bel Air - and the "overhead" shot - and note the air cleaner flying out of the engine compartment - it's a 6 cylinder air cleaner enclosure - not a V8.......... Yup - engine and trans is in the car.......

Ya, you're right. When I was looking at this at work I watched half of it as it took days to load. Well I will say that cars today are obviously much safer at high speeds. I'd much rather be driving an old car in any colision under 40 mph. That way I'd have a dented body panel instead of a totaled car.

[GbrilliantQ]

Very cool video. RIP Bel Air.

[SuperFly03]

So 50 years of metal fatigue and y'all are surprised the bel air falls apart? I mean you literally see the rust dust fly everywhere.

I'm not saying engineering hasn't come a long ways... but I don't think it is as easy as the video makes it seem.

[kmcd]

Rust and metal fatigue notwithstanding, cars of that era were not nearly as crashworthy as todays are. I fly an EMS helicopter, and I've seen a lot of car wrecks over the last 20 years. Todays cars are designed to to collapse without compromising the passenger compartment.

Trust me. When it comes to modern designs vs. the old land yachts, I'll take the Malibu over the Bel Air every time...in a wreck, that is.

If I get to choose which one I can have in my garage, I'll take the Bel Air, hands down!

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by 66olds442

Ya, you're right. When I was looking at this at work I watched half of it as it took days to load. Well I will say that cars today are obviously much safer at high speeds. I'd much rather be driving an old car in any colision under 40 mph. That way I'd have a dented body panel instead of a totaled car.

And you'd be wrong........to a point.........

You'd be surprised at what happens to older cars in collisions at 20mph!

(......and I say this because I've seen vintage crash testing film..........)

Now - what IS true: Aerodynamics (as a result of fuel economy standards) has changed how the fronts of cars are designed.....cars now have 'fascias' - and those are costly to replace......

[daveagogo1]

HOLY SHIT the dummys arm is hanging and dragging out the door in the bel air early in the video at :45 to :50 Ripped off???. YIKES