Crash Test: 2009 Chevy Malibu vs 1959 Chevy Bel Air

TommyO

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Fri Dec-11-09 08:47 AM
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Crash Test: 2009 Chevy Malibu vs 1959 Chevy Bel Air

I hadn't seen this until today, but it's a graphic example of how fifty years of development have made cars safer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xwYBBpHg1I

Compare the Bel Air's passenger compartment video to the Malibu's. The segment starts at around 47 seconds.

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Gold Metal Flake

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Fri Dec-11-09 10:18 AM
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1. I saw this a while back. It is a dramatic test. The big, solid '59 just collapses.

It certainly flies in the face of common car culture assumptions about the strength of old cars. The frame buckles upward, the dog-leg A pillars offer no strength at all, and the solid steering shaft is a javelin aimed at the chest of the driver.

These Chevs used an X frame design with little support along the door sills to allow a deep step down as a way of achieving their low profile. Still, I doubt that my '58 Ford with it's perimeter frame would fare much better than the '59 Chev. Just a big, pretty coffin in a head-on accident.

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