1953 Burnside Special

That wasn't rust that was coming off the Bel Air in the crash, that was actually road dust that got into the little crevices of the X-frame's channels. Try doing a little bit of research on that crash test, but I'm not bashing you for it.

Like, compare the pre- and post-crash shots of the '59 Bel Air:

 

Not sure if "had to" is a fitting expression here. They were just demonstrating it for people who are too stupid to just understand that's how it is. Also, the '59 Impala is, if anythng, an enthusiast's car. This test hasn't done anything, other than infuriate car lovers.

 

59 bel air 4 door post. it's relation to the 59 impala is to be stripped and used as a parts car because nearly nobody cares about low spec model 4 door posts. it'd be a waste, but the malibu was worth about 3-4x as much as the bel air. if anything, the malibu's the waste

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gotta love people who refuse to believe IIHS and think old cars are safe when they probably haven't even owned one.

 

Classic cars aren't safe, but most of them don't crumple as much as the car in that test. That is part of what made them unsafe, the car wouldn't crumple so the people would take most of the force from the accident. Here are some other examples of old car accidents, showing different models of cars. Most of them didn't crumple the way that Bel Air did.

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Spear-inspired steering columns also didn't help much.

 

My chest hurts just looking at these. A dislodged steering column in a modern car is something, a
dislodged steering column in a 50-60's vehicle is downright horrific and barbaric.

 

I agree with you. Just seeing the below picture is just downright horrific, barbaric, and gruesome.

Think that was worse? Just look at this mangled-up station wagon.

Note how the station wagon's structure collapsed in a way similar to the 1959 Bel Air's structural collapse. Despite this, the driver suffered serious injuries.

 

But not all 50s cars were unsafe.

This is the german Mercedes w120 aka. Ponton (officially first gen s class).
Althrough it looks rusted, it is still safe at such accidents.
But unlike some GM cars, the old mercs were built to last longer than other cars while having luxury components some cars today still dont have.
I <3 MB

 

Structural integrity isn't the only thing that matters.
Your chest would become well aquatinted with the steering column and your face would hit the windshield/dash.
You'd be lucky to not be a vegetable after a crash like that.

 

NO crumpling actually makes this highly unsafe.

 

I think we need a diagram.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoJqCsHAak8

1:20

 

Yes, but weren't Cadillacs always designed to be sturdy while still being luxurious? I also beleive the Hudson's were pretty sturdy up until the 2nd gen Hornet when it went horribly, horribly, horribly wrong weren't they? (I mentioned Hudson's cause this car looks a lot like a first generation Hornet.)

 

Yes, but again: 'sturdy' is part of the problem. The lack of crumple zones means that a vehicle is more likely to drive away from a wreck than its passenger is to walk from it.

 

true as they say "you are the crumple zone"

 

like it would be a diesel!

 

You have no idea what you're talking about, do you...

 

I reckon you ain't a big fan of puns.

I, on the other hand, found their comment quite amusing, to state the truth.

 

Have you ever seen a diesel race before

 

Slightly off-topic, but there are plenty of diesel race cars.


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