Crash test video: 1959 Chevy Bel-Air VS. 2009 Chevy Malibu - WOOF!

[NYCMille]

This test is downright frightening - man... me thinks a BIG OLE' cage is going in the Charger and Daytona over the winter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CU-k0XmLUk&feature=player_embedded

[moparstuart]

wow 

[b5blue]

 

[Go Hogs Go]

 

[Hemidog]

Our unibodys aren't much better 

[mikepmcs]

 

[Brock Samson]

i agree with the comment in the video that there isn't much evidence of a motor in the '59, if you examine the overhead shot in particular. anyhow that was very interesting to see. Thanks for the link, i agree about the roll bar especially in that bad boy Mike. 

[LoneStar Mopar]

So much for the idea that an old 50s behemoth will just rip thru a new car like it's a beer can!

[694spdRT]

I'd like to see how the new Impala would do against a full size 1970's Caddy, Olds, Buick, Lincoln, or Chrysler. 

[FLG]

I agree it looks to me like no motor, also ALOT of dust in the air that looks like rust..the Bel Air might have been trashed...not to mention they aim for the weakest spot on the car since its really just a big fender and nothing else. Id like to see a head on with a motor in the car and see what happens.

[73chgrSE]

Can I put an air bag in my "Tuff Wheel"

[tan top]

I agree it looks to me like no motor, also ALOT of dust in the air that looks like rust..the Bel Air might have been trashed...not to mention they aim for the weakest spot on the car since its really just a big fender and nothing else. Id like to see a head on with a motor in the car and see what happens.

yeah was thinking along the same lines 

[1BAD68]

Just incredible! The '09 didn't even crack the windshield.
At 1 minute you can see all the rust dust come out of the rocker panel.
If you watch closely around 1:03 something flies out of the engine compartment, maybe an air cleaner?

[PocketThunder]

Remember these guys!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjIud8zYRbI             

[Silver R/T]

First thought I had is that 59 doesn't have drivetrain in it. Drivetrain would've absorbed most of the damage. There's no way Malibu would've traveled that far into 59 if it had drivetrain. This is also not head on collision but more off-center

[bull]

The addition of shoulder belts in the Bel Air would have helped too. I know this was a stock vs. stock contest but still... I have to agree though; there's no engine in the 59.

[1970Moparmann]

Wow, may be thinking twice on a cage for the 68...

[WHITE AND RED 69]

Never really wanted a rollcage till now. always thought old cars were tougher.

[Landonsrt]

Also have to think in the Belair if it had taken a direct hit, the engine would have caused more damage to the person inside. Since it would have been pushed back along with the rest of the car into the drivers compartment. Another innovation of new vehicles to have an engine rollaway system. The malibu did very well. But your also looking at 50 years of strict government regulations and guidelines....

[1969chargerrtse]

How fair is it to use a 50 year old car that looks shiny but has no engine and rust is flying around?
After watching again, I saw the exhaust and air cleaner fly off.  It said somewhere there was a motor. I think there was an engine.

[69bronzeT5]

I agree. Looks like the car had no engine and was rusty. Of course, that dosen't change the fact the new Malibu kicked the Bel-Air's ass!

[Silver R/T]

just a marketing video for GM, not much more.

[bull]

What's the weight difference between the two? I know there's about 800-900 lbs diff between the '69 Charger and that new thing they're calling Charger so I'm guessing there's a new car weight advantage in this Chevy crash contest.

[Mike DC]

             
I agree, the longer I look at it the more the Bel Air looks like a ringer.  Or at least a car that wasn't in as good a condition as it appeared to be. 

[1969chargerrtse]

             
I agree, the longer I look at it the more the Bel Air looks like a ringer.  Or at least a car that wasn't in as good a condition as it appeared to be.  

Did you see how the front fender trim flew off?  I didn't even see clips, what did they do glue it on.  Run a Olds Delta 88 from the 70's into that malibu and you would see a different story.

[Road Dog]

I wanna see someone enter a new car in a crash up  derby. LOL Some of those late 60 c body chryslers were banned from certain derbys because of they are that indestuctible.

[Charger440RDN]

It would be interesting to see this Malibu go up against a 1970 Cadillac coupe deville, now THAT would be funny. The hood on this Caddy is longer than a Malibu 




 

[1969chargerrtse]

It would be interesting to see this Malibu go up against a 1970 Cadillac coupe deville, now THAT would be funny. The hood on this Caddy is longer than a Malibu 




 

The comments on the video after that crash would be " Where did the Malibu go? "

[Charger440RDN]

Or better yet how about if it went up against this 

[Big_John]

I'll bet there was a six cylinder in the '59. A lot of those cars didn't have the V8. The offset of the crash would put the front fender of the '09 just to the drivers side of the six so it wouldn't make a lot of difference in the crash.

[FLG]

I say they take a imperial and try that again...boy im sure there in for a rude awakening.

[Landonsrt]

Dont think anyone was talking bad about the driver. Just making light of a bad situation.

[mauve66]

we were wondering about it over here also, theres also a link to the interior shots

http://66-67charger.com/forum/index.php?topic=9170.0

[derailed]

Ive got no reason to doubt it. Technology has come a long ways. I would take that Malibu in a head on over an Imperial or a Caddy as well. My mothers 94 Camry that she owned awhile back saved her life with minimal injuries in a similar crash against an early 80s caprice wagon. The wagon came out far worse.

[elacruze]

What I originally thought was hunks of rust flying out of the '59 is actually all the plastic flying out from under the hood of the new car...tho you can see the brown cloud from the rust later in the clip.

[Charger RT]

look at the thread of the 69 GTO it crumpled just like the 59 did. I think the test was fair.
Tim

[Mike DC]

 
Look at about 1:01 in the video. 

Look in the 59's wheelwell, you can see a broken ZIP TIE flying off the car.      
   

[CB]

I can see two straps

[tricky lugnuts]

Yeah, despite "50 years of automobile safety improvements," I don't think I'd want to be in either of those cars. While Chevy engineers may have said so, it looks like the 2009 Malibu driver might have gotten a bit more than a "scratched knee" in that wreck. That new car crumpled back to the windshield just like the '59 Chevy did, though without some interior shots, it's hard to say just how well either held up...

Here's this compilation of old GM crash tests:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siT-SIfOnQw&feature=PlayList&p=3F16E5F92328F3C8&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=12

There's a great video out there somewhere about the evolution of vehicle safety crash testing. It goes back to like 1912 or something, really old cars with wooden cabs flying off at 25 or 30 mph and squishing people, later cars with dashes capable of fracturing skulls, all sorts of stuff.

It's amazing how "safe" our cars are today, with more people than ever being killed in car accidents. Great job NHTSA and Insurance Highway Safety Institute!!! I'm convinced the biggest cause of car deaths is irresponsible and careless drivers... And I'm not sure I want to pay $15K extra per car to try and save them all, not that I"ll ever buy a new car anyway.

[Charger440RDN]

The older cars are supposed to be less safe even with all of the sheer size and mass compared to a newer car. That may be true but I just can't believe that a new car will hold up in an accident like the old caddy's, Imperial's, Oldsmobile's from the 1970's

Most of those old cars could be repaired after a fender bender while a new car is always totalled out and it can be just a minor accident. New cars today are just disposeable throw away cars.

[Mike DC]

  
Remember this?  




If sheer frame stiffness alone was enough to keep us safe then Earnhardt Sr would still be alive.  
 
The disposable unibodies they build these days are mostly for our own good.  


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If you wanna REALLY be safe, then take a vintage (but preferably still unibody) car, and weld an extensive (and well-padded) rollcage into just the center cab of it.  That's more like the best of both worlds.