Crash Test: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Chevy Bel Air

The Malibu demolished the Bel Air. Top Gear or Fifth Gear made a few of these test too. Old vs. new.

The test was clearly flawed. They did not use a vintage 1959 issue crash dummy. Crash dummies used to be a lot more durable back in the day.

Erin, maybe classic cars would be considered as to having a "pre-existing condition?" If so, probably insurance would be denied. ;)

Still better than crashing in a motorcycle.

That's pretty amazing.

Whoda thunk it... IIHS has a sense of humor. Fuzzy Dice hanging from the mirror of the '59!

Unreal how the cabin of the '59 folded up like a tent. Sure were lucky in the days of speeding along in the back of the '65 Country Squire, no belts, dad puffing on a Kent and trying to swat us in the back seat. Lucky any of us survived!

stephen987: "This should put to rest all those guys who think size equals safety."

Most of "those guys" think that size/weight is one of many factors in safety, not the only one. They're correct. I understand that there was only a 200lb difference between the vehicles. Even "those guys" would expect the newer car to spank the older car.

Ouch! Sadly, you just watched the death of of really nice looking classic Chevy. Just to prove what? That 50 years later cars are safer? Point made.

"Just to prove what? That 50 years later cars are safer? Point made."

Zoom, I think it has to deal more with the slogan "they sure don't build them like they used to". I cant tell you how many times Ive heard that.

People also have the mentality that if the car doesn't have a lot of damage after a severe accident then its a safe car. What they fail to realize is if the car doesn't have a lot of damage after a severe accident your body absorbs much of the force which can be fatal. That said, one would want the car to absorb all the energy it can before it reaches the passengers.

^+1 what hondacura4 said.

wjtinatl, the dice came with the car when IIHS bought online from an Indiana man.

And before anyone says the Bel Air was a rustbucket with no engine, you can read about it here:

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/ask-the-best-and-brightest-is-this-the-bel-air-the-iihs-destroyed/

Wow. I drove a 65 Mustang convertible for eight years. I'm even more thankful now that I was never in a major accident with it!

Oh, and to the motorcycle comment - I've crashed two different motorcycles, with nothing more than some small road rash scars to show for it. I feel that a smartly-ridden sportbike is safer than most economy cars, simply due to the accident-avoidance capabilities. (Unfortunately, most sportbikes are not smartly-ridden.)

It does not show whether the BelAir has a 6 cylinder or a V8. When you hit a Malibu at that angle the transaxle absorbs some of the impact. If the Bel Air was a six cylinder, the only metal where it was hit is the steering column. It appears to be a 6 because there are no badges indicating a V8.

I would like to see a test between the Bel Air and a 1959 Toyopet!

It isn't the size that matters in a car safety but energy distribution through the whole vehicle and how is this energy transfered into human/dummy. What a waste of money on this test. Basic knowledge of physics would be enough to prove a point.

I might agree with kingfish... if you look, the driver gets a faceful of steering wheel, and then just gets his head pinned against the ceiling. No way that's survivable.

Plus, look at when the driver starts moving vs time of first impact... much sooner in the Bel Air. The Malibu absorbs an amazing amount of energy before the passenger even starts moving forward relative to the seat/steering wheel.

For added fun, check out the way the Bel Air's windshield separates from the car and just kind of floats there. Sure, they may not make cars "the way they used to" in terms of "reliability", but the added features and the frankly astounding advances in crash energy routing are more than worth it. I was sad when I got tboned and crunched my new (to me) car, but I barely had whiplash the next day from a ~20mph impact (far side). Nothing is a substitute for that.

@iwatchf1,

What planet are you on? Here on planet Earth, we still have people, like kingfish4, hinting that a V8 would have done better. In fact, the most likely scenario there is that the engine would have pushed the dash even farther into the passenger compartment. I surely don't think a discussion of physics would have had any effect at all.

At 0:58, the car's eye pops out :-(

These test are so stupid. They never crash at real world angles and they are only going 30-40 mph. Just freakin retarded!

@tony_wilson: How fast do they have to be going for you to notice how dead the driver of the Bel Air would be?

I think they should have used an even smaller new car just to show everyone (a few still don't seem to get it) that engineering beats mass when it comes to safety.

Even if they used a new Civic (or even a Smart) the new car driver would have survived and the Bel Air's driver would still likely have died.

ya they should totally have pitted the Smart ForTwo against the Bel Air!