Iihs Crash Test Footage - 1959 Bel Air Vs. 2009 Malibu

[SoCalChris]

I saw this on another site. I thought for sure the 59 would hold up better than it did. Damn.

 

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=8f9_1253308261

[txab]

Interesting

[WaterGuy]

Yea, I'm surprised.

Is it the car or the airbag for the Malibu's driver (test dummy)?

[SilveradoWV]

Not sure if I believe this or not. A few questions instantly pop into my head such as, what condition was the '59 in? Mostly rusted out behind other than what you can see etc...? How much can they manipulate the test as to where a significantly strong point on the Malibu lines up exactly with a significantly weak point on the '59? I assume the '59 has an actual frame that should have held up way better than that? I just get the feeling the test was a little swayed to prove what they wanted to prove...

[LawmanSS]

Wow. I, too, would have thought the '59 would have held up better. It's a land yacht compared to the Malibu. The "safety cage" of the Malibu didn't deform a bit...impressive.

[99silveradoz71]

That would've ruined someone's day

[HawkeyeOC]

Shocking, but if you look at the way these cars were built back then, there is only enough metal above the front frame to hold up the quarter panels, hood and radiator core support. These were body on frame cars.

 

I actually thought the frame dropped out until I saw that it was an offset crash. Thick metal yes, but lots of air in that engine bay too. Yikes!

[WaterGuy]

Yea, you are right about all of the air space.

In my '59 Chev pickup, with the original 283, I could just about stand on the ground while inside the engine compartment.

 

Should have kept that truck.

Long fleetside bed with big back window.

Someone before me had installed a rear axle that used 16.5 tires.

When some of the rear leafs broke I had more leaves installed since I used it to haul firewood. Whole logs stacked to the roof and THEN the truck rode level.

[wurgs]

Does anyone know how the weights of these 2 cars compare?

[oldschool327]

Cut and Paste;

 

How can this be? Just the mass and weight of the old car must account for something, right? Well, not as much as you might think. First of all, the Bel Air really didn’t weigh that much more than the Malibu. The manufacturer’s curb weight of the Bel Air was 3,615. The published curb weight of the Malibu was 3,436. A mere 179 lbs is probably not the weight differential you were expecting.

 

http://www.examiner.com/x-10974-Kansas-Cit...Morning-America