IIHS 50th Anniversary Crash Test

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a '59 Chevrolet Bel Air was crashed into an '09 Chevrolet Malibu.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• insurance
• ANPAC
• American National
• IIHS
• car crash
• crash test

[gp75motorsports]

@Vl4D39000 That's because they didn't have crumple zones. Trust me, the cars don't look bad, but there were a lot of occupant deaths because the cars didn't absorb energy quite as effectively, and a lot of them didn't even have seatbelts.

A hit on the left fender isn't particularly strong evidence for your case either, because that would leave the passenger compartment virtually unscathed due to the energy going in a different direction.

So yes, new cars are much safer.

[myphonyaccount]

@Vl4D39000 Old people love to lie about how safe their old cars were because they were "made with metal". In reality, millions of people died in old cars before laws forced automakers to make them safer.

[snipinggod29]

@wgfinley ah yea, and i guess that gigantic cloud of rust that was unleashed upon impact wasnt a pointer that the entire '59 was structuraly unstable because of corrosion. a rust free fully restored '59 would never collapse like that, i read the report, and they bought it from a 3rd party who restored it. and take a look at 1:10, at the lower corner of the door on the bel air, and you tell me that it's in the same condition as the malibu. too many variables for a reliable test

[wgfinley]

@PunkbeerandCortinas That's not rust, if you look at the pictures you can clearly see good sheet metal on this car after the crash. I would guess this was probably a desert car and that is dust flying off of it. The Chinese can't currently meet crash standards, and we'll see Indian cars before those.

[wgfinley]

@dalejrrules881 You don't line them up head on because hardly any crashes occur that way. Most head on crashes, and the most torturous test of a vehicle's integrity is the offset head on collision in this video.

[wgfinley]

@snipinggod29 You're kidding right? Wouldn't have done too bad except for the whole firewall and cowl coming back and the steering wheel knocking the driver into the collapsing roof? Nah, no biggie there.

[wgfinley]

@mrwhaleywhale You mean rebuild it with a bunch of modern technology that it didn't have? The point of the video is how modern technology and engineering have changed safety in 50 years.

[unknownunknowns]

That's progess. However, gas mileage for the average model seems to have STAGNATED over the past 30 years. It's not about people choosing an SUV over a sedan. It's about the fact that they gain weight after each redesign. So, gas mileage and safety seem to be inverse.

[efvee351]

@husskat Old cars were junk then and are junk now. I know, I own one.

[evinrudeboy6601]

Great Grandpa and Great Grandson Fighting, Great Grandson Winns

[mrwhaleywhale]

who really cares about the crash test all you have to do with the old car is have it rebuilt using modern car metal and airbags or maby a crumple zone then the car wouldnt be that bad in a crash but even know chevy dodge and ford can easily bring back there classic cars with new safe technology they arent going to try because they dont think anyone will buy the cars if this comment gets 100 likes ford chavy and dodge will bring back all there cool cars

[PacificEdibleSeaweed]

The most revealing image was taken from an over head camera. Note that the '59s cowl, windshield trim, and dashboard move about two feet back on the impact side. The dog leg A pillar invites collapse. The Malibu's cowl, and dash remain perpendicular to the roof. This vast improvement in chassis design, and the modern restraint systems have saves thousands of lives every year.