They sure don't make 'em like they used to!

[Serk]

(Yes, this is admittedly propaganda, and the IIHS patting themselves on the back, but it's still pretty impressive just the same...)

Crash Test 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air VS. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu (Frontal Offset) IIHS 50th Anniversary

[The Anvil]

The results don't lie.

But there's still a contingent of rockheads out there that will tell you that cars aren't safer or that airbags and seatbelts have made cars more dangerous.

[PAVALKER]

Yea, but you would look a hell of a lot cooler riding down the road in a pristine '59 Bel Air.....   

[RainMaker]

They should do another test with a new Corvette vs a '58 Corvette.  Let's get a really expensive test going.

[czuch]

Seat belts and guard rails are the downfall of civilisation.

[Oss]

Dont know about the offset test

but I do know that I hit some stuff with my 57 Olds  I was 18-21 yrs of age and much more immortal back then

A guard rail in the snowstorm (just put a tiny scrape in the bumper and the bezel of the chrome headlight trim)
hit a rock wall while fishtailing on a dirt road after a big buck jumped across the road
(that one kinda pulled out the back bumper a bit and really p'd me off)
and read ended a caddy  (no damage to my car, wish I could say the same for the caddy)

My dad went to sears and put seat belts in front seat when I bought the car, always wore em and never hurt in any of those or other hits

crumple zone technology seems to save lives

[ricoman]

Seat belts and guard rails are the downfall of civilisation.

darn right
think of all the fewer demands on the dwindling suppies of stuff we need, if there were a lot less people to use it up.

[laserpat]

Impressive and interesting!

[musclehead]

The results don't lie.

But there's still a contingent of rockheads out there that will tell you that cars aren't safer or that airbags and seatbelts have made cars more dangerous.

cars are safer, people however AREN'T  I drive with these fools everyday.....

airbags/ seatbelts, I'm all for them especially in todays lighter smaller cars.

I used to tool around in a '59 chyrsler 88' that thing was like driving a fishbowl it had so much glass, and no seat belts 

[ricoman]

The results don't lie.

But there's still a contingent of rockheads out there that will tell you that cars aren't safer or that airbags and seatbelts have made cars more dangerous.

cars are safer, people however AREN'T  I drive with these fools everyday.....

airbags/ seatbelts, I'm all for them especially in todays lighter smaller cars.

I used to tool around in a '59 chyrsler 88' that thing was like driving a fishbowl it had so much glass, and no seat belts 

and any time you turned a corner your butt was sliding across the seat!
the good old days, gone but not forgotten.
dave

[bentwrench]

Improvements to the automobile are truly amazing.But we really need to start teaching people real driving skills and stiffen the penalty for both drunk and distracted driving.I'm really tired of dodging these morons everyday.I know people with 2-3 dui's and they still have a DL.
BW

[bigdog99]

i saw this a couple a years oag and thought the same thing.
i run a cold reducing mill in NW indiana and i can tell you that with all my horse power and 2300 tons of roll force per stand, the steels are getting lighter and stronger. we are being challenged to make steel lighter and stronger to make cars lighter. they are truly that much stronger in the "cage" if you will than they ever were in the old days. i use to think a 1959 "tank" of any kind would destroy these new things. not even. that steel was a very low carbon steel and would bend easier even though it was twice as thick.

[Russell Rice]

with all the new and improved safety improvements in cars of today, people think they can not be hurt and there for are more careless when driving an automobile. As a child I remember riding on the back seat dash. How about standing up in the front seat while going down the road and your Mom slams on the brakes and at that very same time she throws her arm out to try and catch you. I wear fall protection everyday for my job, 10 years ago fall protection was not that big of a issue. Because of the fall protection I find myself reaching a little more than I should or I find myself climbing one bar higher in my basket. I have that false since of safety  because of all the safety  gear that I am required to wear.
No matter how new of a car or truck I am driving I still remind myself that I am at the controls of a 4000 pound weapon.
I am the guy that you get ticked off at because I drive the speed limit or slower if the conditions call for it. You will not see me talking or texting on a cell phone and I do not ever drink and drive.
I wish the younger generation of drivers would pay more attention to driving and understand that there vehicle is a weapon and that it is a privilege to drive not a right!