bills_fan Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I was suprised watching this, figuring the classic 59 Bel Air would perform better than the 09 Malibu, needless to say I was mistaken. Now, if they could only design a decent looking car... http://www.businessinsider.com/beautiful-1...r-safety-2009-9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I'm surprised by that too. I'll readily concede that in "car vs immovable object" collisions the newer, safer, better engineered car would fare better. But in car vs car, I would think simple physics would take precedence. That Bel Air has gotta weigh almost a ton more than the modern version. I actually wonder if that really was a fair test, i.e. did they like remove the engines 1st. When I was a kid, I saw a car vs dump truck collision. The truck was basically unscathed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 No way! The old car I figured would be far worse. Off the top of my head, just to name a few features the '59 didn't have: Collapsing steering wheel Nice "soft" plastic interior and lines along the mirror, etc... Safety glass on the windshield Sure the guy who slammed into James Dean walked away from this Ford Custom, but James Dean was driving a small Porsche Spyder from the same period... IMO, it is kinda like athletes now and then... The game isn't any better, just bigger... Yet, if you put old vs. new, and played by the old rules with new tech and equipment... The new players would smear the old in size and power alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 I'm surprised by that too. I'll readily concede that in "car vs immovable object" collisions the newer, safer, better engineered car would fare better.But in car vs car, I would think simple physics would take precedence. That Bel Air has gotta weigh almost a ton more than the modern version. I actually wonder if that really was a fair test, i.e. did they like remove the engines 1st. When I was a kid, I saw a car vs dump truck collision. The truck was basically unscathed. Maybe if one is wearing safety belts... Were they standard on the 1959? Probably not... That is why it is a period thing. Even with the belts, you may be hitting the number one death causer back then... The static stearing wheel. Not cool being impaled on that. It isn't the big things that lead to say Volvo pushing safety belts... It is the small things with heinous results that were being seen in the ER room. Not cool if the stylized mirror kills you because it was imbeded into the brain. The simple things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?showtopic=97336 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 30, 2009 Share Posted September 30, 2009 http://forums.twobillsdrive.com/index.php?showtopic=97336 Bad thread title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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