1959 Chevy Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevy Malibu

[M GO BLUE!!!]

[GoldenEagle]

Mailbu FTW

[SteveMax58]

Glad they didn't waste a 55 on this.

Pretty cool video.

[fantom1979]

Pretty sure you are dead if you are in the Bel Air.

[fantom1979]

My wife noticed that the windshield flew out of the bel air. Its amazing the little things you can notice when watching the video over and over. The 50 years of safety improvements. Mostly, the ability of the Malibu to absorb the damage, while keeping the passenger cabin stable.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by fantom1979

My wife noticed that the windshield flew out of the bel air. Its amazing the little things you can noticed when watching the video over and over. The 50 years of safety improvements. Mostly, the ability of the Malibu to absorb the damage, while keeping the passenger cabin stable.

Amazing anyone survived anything in old cars. In my 67' Mustang, the trunk is the gas tank. In a rear end collision, basically the gas tank would rupture, flow down the back seat into the compartment, ignite and roast me alive.

I do have a lap belt to protect me though.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally Posted by fantom1979

Pretty sure you are dead if you are in the Bel Air.

I would say no. There probably will be a pretty good injury, but the driver was not rejected from the car or crushed.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

What I found amazing was the sheer difference in what I thought would have happened and what did. I would have assumed that a car as heavy as the 59 would have plowed through the 09 like a brick hitting butter.

And if they had used a 55-57 model, I think the WSJ would have had a mob on its hands.

[fantom1979]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I would say no. There probably will be a pretty good injury, but the driver was not rejected from the car or crushed.

I saw how the dummy in the Bel Air hit its head on the roof and appeared to roll its neck. Didn't look good. Might not be fatal, but its going to hurt.

[CU Tiger]

Interesting the rust dust that flew on impact....wonder if that changed the integrity any?

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by GoldenEagle

I would say no. There probably will be a pretty good injury, but the driver was not rejected from the car or crushed.

Crash test: '59 Chevy vs. '09 Chevy - Multimedia - MSN Money

Originally Posted by Article

The driver in the Bel Air, its engineers concluded, would be in sorry shape. The car lacked seat belts, let alone air bags, allowing the driver to strike the unforgiving steering column, unpadded dashboard and roof. The passenger compartment collapsed, crushing the crash dummy's legs. The seat was torn from the floor. The windshield popped out and the doors opened, possibly allowing the driver to be ejected.

On the other hand, the driver of the Malibu might have sustained an injury to his left foot, analysis of test data showed, but otherwise emerged unscathed.