1959 Chevy Bel Air Crash Dummy hit by 2009 Malibu: "He's Dead Jim!"

[Chuck]

While some people still think that the big steel bodies and sturdy frames of old cars meant stronger vehicles and good crash protection, the institute’s crash test shows that that just isn’t the case

Christopher Jensen - BLOGS - Sept 18, 2009

Those wanting to believe just adding more steel makes you safe have an eye opener. Also check Jack Webb's video --Ed.

It was no way to treat a senior citizen: sending a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air hurtling into a collision with a 2009 Malibu at 40 miles per hour. As the video produced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows, the outcome wasn’t pretty, either.

The windshield dislodges, the driver’s door opens and the front half of the Bel Air goes through something between crumbling and what looks like imploding as the dummy in the driver’s seat flies around like Peter Pan.

“The Bel Air collapsed,” said David Zuby, the senior vice president for the institute’s vehicle research center in Virginia. “The area in which the driver was sitting collapsed completely around him.”...[Read More]

[drimportracing]

I'm convinced!

(Smugly thinks the state of the art 1992 Geo Metro LSi convertible will decimate all cars older then it, all cars made by Hot Wheels, except for that one with the big tires in the back and the sharp pointy front end.) - Dale

[PaleMelanesian]

Holy Cow! Simply no contest between the two.

[Chuck]

One the crash video, the results are understated. The Bel Air does not have safety glass or padded dashes, so real life would be even more dramatic.

[ALS]

I had a conversation at my Volvo dealer a couple of years ago. One of the service writers was commenting if she had to be in an accident she wanted to be driving a 240.

The other service writer and I just stood there with our mouths open. I popped up and said if I knew I was going to be an accident I would want to be in my 960 or pointing to a brand new XC70 Cross Country AWD wagon or better yet that. I added that for the time the Volvo's of the 80's and early 90's were the cars that were some of the absolute safest on the road. Today those cars are mediocre at best compared to what has been built since 2005 in any brand. I even commented that my wagon wasn't the car I wanted to be in if I was going to be in a serious accident

Take a look at a video on youtube of a Volvo 940 and some small I want to say French car that Fifth gear did a head on crash demo. The Volvo was destroyed and the front seat occupants would have been injured seriously. It was a real eye opener to the safety of cars built just 15 years ago.

Crash-test Volvo 940 estate vs Renault Modus

[spitfiregirl52]

It seems as though the frames of newer cars are built to withstand a steel box hurtling towards it. The chevy just explodes, while the malibu absorbs the shock better. To be honest, I grew up with classic cars ('67 cougar and '63 valiant) and thought at one time that they were safer. This is definitely an eye opener!!

[Earthling]

And keep in mind the old cars didn't even have seat belts! Air bags were many years in the future.

The carnage in those days was unbelievable, and it's still way higher than it should be. Drivers seem to dumb down their driving to cancel out safety advances in auto construction.

Harry

[Shiba3420]

I'd like to see a straight on crash. I suspect his crash test was designed to show the car under a worse case scenerio, although I'd have to say its probably more typical of a head-to-head crash than straight on represents. Really telling would be to have the two vehicles both t-bone a similar make vehicle.

The one thing that probably makes a car that old safer, is that they are classics and no one wants them even scratched (except the beaters...can't forgot those coffins).

[greenrider]

On the + side, th3 '59 was built back in the days before hydraulic rescue tools to extricate crash victims. At least removing occupants was easier if the cars shredded and exploded apart rather than crumpling.

Every time I end up at an accident of any significance at work, I'm amazed at how well modern automobiles hold up at work, and how well occupants are protected as a result.
People walk away from crashes they never would have survived in the days of steel dashboards, no airbags or seatbelts no no safety glass or crumple zones.

[worthywads]

Those new cars are killers.