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1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu crash test

I had seen the first part of that sometime ago but I never seen the inside shot. Man, that spear a matic is scary.
 
Being a Chebbie guy, that video sucks big time. I commuted to college in my roommates flat wing mobile. Good ole days.
 
Honestly, that video scares the hell out of me. Man I hope to never be in a head on crash in my fastback. I think if it does happen I'm fooked.
 
That video isn't entirely accurate when it comes to later classics. In the video, the Malibu hits the Bel Air above the frame and completely crumples the Bel Air. The body of that car has almost no structural integrity of its own, other than what it takes to keep the passenger compartment in roughly the same shape. In later cars, especially in unibody cars (like our Mustangs), the body is a key structural component and would fare much better in a collision than the Bel Air. Not that m car is anywhere near as safe as my Corolla or my gf's Camry, but it's not exactly the death trap that video would have you believe.
 
I'm living proof that our cars fair better in head on crashes. My car was totaled but I'm still here. Maybe I was just lucky.
That Bel-Air sure looked nice though. Even the dash was immaculate. What a shame.
 
"sgtjunior" said:
Is that sand or rust flying out of the bottom of the 59 at the 1 minute mark?
Click to expand...
That would be rust. When this first appeared some years ago there was quite a debate about how much the rusted out structure of the old car had to do with the resulting damage. It did fold up much more than I had expected.
 
"Starfury" said:
That video isn't entirely accurate when it comes to later classics. In the video, the Malibu hits the Bel Air above the frame and completely crumples the Bel Air. The body of that car has almost no structural integrity of its own, other than what it takes to keep the passenger compartment in roughly the same shape. In later cars, especially in unibody cars (like our Mustangs), the body is a key structural component and would fare much better in a collision than the Bel Air. Not that m car is anywhere near as safe as my Corolla or my gf's Camry, but it's not exactly the death trap that video would have you believe.
Click to expand...

Great point, thanks!
 
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