2009 Chevy Malibu Destroys a 1959 Bel Air — Literally

watch the video ,sad day for the 59


http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/a-2009-chevy-malibu-destroys-a-1959-bel-air-literally/?hp

 

Sorry Dude. Been posted at-least twice before.

 

I guess James Maxwell will be happy, they were both 4 doors

 

wonder if they accounted for rust....in the Maliboo??

 

well guess i need to check in more often,

 

still sux tho

 

Anyone have a brief explanation for those who didn't see it before and are too lazy or internet-speed-challenged to watch the video?

 

I've never seen it....pretty interesting. I was watching the old 60s GM crash test videos on Youtube the other night. Build like a tank? I ain't so sure.

 

It's a head-on collision between an '09 Impala and a '59 Bel Air with crash dummies.

The Insurance Ins***ute for Highway Safety is justifying its 50-year existence and the horrendous effect it has had on car styling by proving that people can now be idiots in a new Chevy and not die, unlike 50 years ago.

-Dave

 

thanks for posting the video, this is the first time that I saw it. I'm shocked!

 

i think the dude lived in the 59..
bummer thing to do to that 59

I think it was a stupid way to make a point..
coulda used a ford or somethin else..im J/K

 

Try 3 or 4 times

Before a person starts a topic on the largest most knowledgable automotive forum in the world this simple thought should p*** their beer addled brain "gee, I am on the largest most knowledgable automotive forum in the world, I wonder if anyone has posted yet about this national news story showing a 59 Chevy getting trashed? Hmmm I wonder?"

 

Heartbreaking video. I have seen an older "crash test" that destroyed an old Chevy sedan. 29 I believe. They prove the older stuff folds up more than the newer ones, but what a waste. Destroying new cars is no loss, but the destruction of vintage rides makes little or no sense.

 

Yep agreed, you would hope that we have made advances in safety in 50 fricken years! That's like saying my 20 year old son can beat up your 70 year old grandfather.

 

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Insurance Ins***ute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air has been crashed into a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu—in a head-on frontal-offset test, at 40 mph.
The result is not only interesting viewing for our inner gawkers; it's a lesson in how far occupant protection has advanced over the years.

Watching the modern Malibu, the hood area deforms significantly but the p***enger area looks almost entirely intact. Shift your eyes over to the 1959 Chevy and it’s the stuff of old highway-safety and shock-and-scare films, just melodrama and implied gore. There’s plenty of car gore though, with the Bel Air’s steering column slammed forward into the driver, the A-pillar completely mangled, and the dash pushed back to finish the punch. Trim pieces fly, shards of non-safety-gl*** fly forward, and…well, that’s probably enough of a spoiler.

In case there’s any doubt based on the description above, according to safety engineers at the scene, the driver of the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu would likely have suffered slight knee injury. The driver of the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air would have died instantly.

TheCarConnection.com gives the 2009 Chevrolet Malibu a score of 9 out of 10 in safety; its crash-test results have been excellent, with top five-star results in frontal impact, side impact, and rollover categories from the federal government and top “good” ratings from the IIHS in frontal offset and side-impact categories, blemished only by a “marginal” score in rear impact. The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu continues without any structural or major feature changes, so TheCarConnection.com expects that its safety scores will carry over.
Check out the video and see exactly how far we’ve come in five decades.
<EMBED src=http://www.youtube.com/v/5CU-k0XmLUk&hl=en&fs=1& width=560 height=340 type=application/x-shockwave-flash allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

 

WE all really do like Old cars, but we have to be honest,,they were and still are death traps.

 

What Would you do to YOUR hot rod so that it would be safer for your wife and kids in a crash?

would you install shoulder belts? yes or no?

waht else would you install?

arnold.

 

Hey look, another reason to add safety belts to your car!

 

Wow, I have to say that I have been put in my place. I drive a '62 Impala EVERY day, with my kids in it. I have always thought that the modern cars, with all of their crumple zones would, well, crumple if I got into an accident with one. My other cars wouldn't do any better I would suspect ('65 T-Bird and a '71 F-100). Maybe I need to sell some **** and buy a modern car.

 

Take a close look at the 59,I dont even see an engine,I can almost promise that if some of the front sheetmetal/door bolts werent completely left off,they were barely tight.

Look at the cloud of dust that blows out from under the 59...50yrs of rust and metal fatigue?this is probably nothing more than a junkyard car they threw a quicky paint job on so it looked somewhat new compared to the 09 model

Nothing more than a scare tactic to try and get old cars off the road,and to let the highway safety research guys make themselves look good.


Wanna see what happens when a mid 50s car hits a brickwall?I see a pile of bricks on the windshield,so I dont even think it broke out the front gl***,these cars are built like tanks,sure you can get hurt and even die in them,so if your worried,install proper safety equipment.In my 25yrs of driving I've been in 3 sererate collisions where my old cars drove away with scratches and the modern cars were completely totaled....

 

agreed JJ
yes, new cars are far safer, but i don't doubt the '59 was 'modified' to fair far worst than it should have.

after that dateline BS years ago with the gm p/ups fuel tanks, i don't doubt they played this 'test' in their favor.