2009 Chevy Malibu vs 1959 Bel Air

[Rogue Hawk]

The Bel Air driver is 6 feet under.

https://youtu.be/fPF4fBGNK0U

[canamjhb]

Eye opening! Shows that a bigger, heavier car is not necessarily safer. Looks to me like even if the older car had seat belts and air bags that it would still loose

[ARtraveler]

Those older cars with the metal dashboards, the rib cage breaking steering wheels, no seat belts, no headrest, etc. etc. etc. were definitely deficient in safety features. You could buy that car new for around $2000.

Back in the day, I read Ralph Naders book: Unsafe At Any Speed. That book took out the Corvair.

Safety is good, but not cheap.

[canamjhb]

I never owned a Corvair but a friend had one. I always thought they were kinda cool. By the early 70s the NTSB found the Corvair was no less safe than any of the other cars of that era. But Nader's crusade killed them anyway. I attended a presentation by Nader back around 1970 and he would not declare what model car he drove/owned. But no doubt, today's cars do help keep us safer in accidents. I remember that long ago Volvo seemed to be the pioneer advertising crash safety.....

[GuruSMI]

Of course a modern crash structure is more rigid than an old one. Nowadays they calculate a crash structure with different Steel alloys at different positions to reduce the weight whilst increasing the rigidity. The name for that calculation is infinite elements. The safety got higher each year and the weight got lower. Nowadays i.e. also the panes of glass are integrated into the security structure. Nowadays the compatibility ist one of the most important items. When a new small car crashes into a big one.

A Video that shows different aged car crashes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TikJC0x65X0

Compatibility in detail (Audi Q8 vs. Fiat 500)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58zqJCtUjSI
I'm sorry that i got that Video only i german language. In the end the passengers of that Fiat 500 would be really injured the testing manager said.

[Saluda]

Always liked the Corvair.

[EdMat]

Had 3 Corvair's, 1 being a Spyder. Loved the turbo, wish it had been a convertible.