Crash test - 50s vs today

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SRV2LOW4ME

SRV2LOW4ME

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We've come a long way in car safety, and heres the best comparison between now and then. I thought the out come would be a bit different (imagined the Bel Air ripping the other car apart, or crushing it like tin can) but it almost appears like the other way around. :scared:

http://www.wimp.com/cartest/
 
It really goes to show how far we've come in 50 years and how much safer we actually are on the road now.

*Waits for someone to moan about destroying a "classic"*
 
Well, GM cars of the time in particular are kind of known for not exactly being safe vehicles. Granted, "Unsafe at Any Speed" was a bit of overblown rhetoric, Particularly in the venue of Rear-engine, Rear-wheel-drive, but there was at least some truth to it, especially when he DIDN'T talk about the Corvair.

In 1959, GM still thought it better to "eject" the person from the car*, thus was reluctant to adopt Seatbelts!!!



*Actually, I don't believe that a bit. I'll bet it was because they didn't want to add the extra cost.
 
dang, was there a engine in that Bel Air:confused:
now I wanna see a caddy vs a fit.....
 
How did it die for a good cause? There is no logic in that crash test. I mean the Malibu is not likely to ever come into contact with a car from the fifties.
 
Information. The point of the test wasn't to warn anybody, save for maybe classic car owners, but to show how far technology has come. It died in the name of human curiosity, and it's neat to see anyway.
 
As Diablo stated it was to show how far we've come in 50 years. A simply accident like that would have killed you back in the day but now with modern safety integrations you can walk away from that and even accidents that are much worse.
 
A decade or two has also heralded pretty amazing advancements too. I remember seeing an 04 Fiesta being up against a 94 Ford *small european wagon* which was much bigger and the Fiesta came off so much better.
 
Say, where's the Fifth Gear vid of the Renault vs the Volvo? Results were similar, I believe.
 
Joey D
It really goes to show how far we've come in 50 years and how much safer we actually are on the road now.

*Waits for someone to moan about destroying a "classic"*
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*waves* Hi. They don't make those anymore. :p



Poke nonwithstanding, I felt the Bel Air (I keep wanting to type Impala :banghead:.) would have suffered less structurally. It's a near-5000 pound car, the Malibu should have been toast. *mutters something along test being rigged for public comfort* Would the occupants results been different? No, definitely not. The modern car has airbags, crumple zones, and all that other crap designed to not let you discover the astral plane. I just think the people running the test enhanced the results a bit to drive a point home.

Cheers,
Jetboy
 
Jim Prower
Say, where's the Fifth Gear vid of the Renault vs the Volvo? Results were similar, I believe.
Click to expand...



GilesGuthrie
As an Espace owner, I pretty much have that video bookmarked...
Click to expand...

As a 940 owner, I try to avoid watching that video as much as possible. But then I remember I drive a Mini too and that's about as safe in a car crash as a wet matchbox.

Edit:



:scared:
 
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