Whoa...cars are much safer now..

[SonnyJ]

'''than they were back in 1959...:scared0018:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF4fBGNK0U&feature=related

[PoppaW]

Just wow.

[outdoors forever]

Thats it! I'm not driving my 1959 Bel Air on the highway anymore!







:evilgrin:

[sparky660]

I will have to show this video to my Dad. He has the old school thought that he would rather be in a wreck with his 68 chevelle rather then their new intrepid. I love and drive the classics but give me a new car any day for any sort of collision.

[gitrdun]

Why with all the cell phones and text messaging, the new cars had BETTER be safer. :thinking-006:

[Bushrat]

It's a common misconception. Been in the collision industry a long time, while the new cars may have a lot of plastic, thinner sheetmetal, lighter weight and are smaller, they are designed a lot safer. There was not much thought for safety or structural integrity put into the older 'classic' vehicles.

[birchy]

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

Agreed. And thank goodness!

[sparky660]

It's a common misconception. Been in the collision industry a long time, while the new cars may have a lot of plastic, thinner sheetmetal, lighter weight and are smaller, they are designed a lot safer. There was not much thought for safety or structural integrity put into the older 'classic' vehicles.

My Dad sees the new car crumpled to nothing and thinks that they are garbage. Little does he know that crumpled tin can saved a persons life. All that energy from the impact was absorbed by the car and not its occupants.

[Grizzly Adams]

It's a common misconception. Been in the collision industry a long time, while the new cars may have a lot of plastic, thinner sheetmetal, lighter weight and are smaller, they are designed a lot safer. There was not much thought for safety or structural integrity put into the older 'classic' vehicles.

Still don't think I'd wanna be in a Smart Car, colliding with a semi.:lol:

Grizz

[Redfrog]

Drivers today are wimps. :snapoutofit: That's why they had to make tougher cars. When I was a lad that wreck would have just left a driver with some road rash and maybe a bump on the head from exiting through the windshield.:)

[timsesink]

Mn oh man, what a huge diffrence! My brother was just in a really bad wreck and seeing that just makes me shudder!

[BallCoeff.435]

The newer cars would be a lot safer if they had decent belts (wide, 4-point harness) instead of that narrow one-piece spaghetti belt which typically comes out of the factory.

You'll never see that in a rally car, quarter-miler, or general aviation airplane. Or, for that matter, air bags in those vehicles.

Half the reason the industry had to go to airbags and explosive pre-tensioners was the cheap lame belt needed to market vehicles.

[BallCoeff.435]

Still don't think I'd wanna be in a Smart Car, colliding with a semi.:lol:

Grizz

Or in any other car, short of a passenger train.

[Jwood 456]

I saw that video a year back and I was quite suprised from the results in a pleasant way. Before I watched the video, I always thought the old thick metaled cars ("tank cars") would of held up much better in a crash than the modern cars made out of much thinner metal and much more plastic. It's definitely amazing that technology can allow cars to be made much lighter, while being alot stronger at the same time than old cars. It's also nice how the modern cars have a crumple zone so if someone crashes, it would be from 100 to 0 in a couple secs instead of 100 to 0 in 0 secs.

[Tom Pullings]

Am I the only one upset at seeing a 59 Bel Air destroyed? :mad3:

[hayseed]

Still don't think I'd wanna be in a Smart Car, colliding with a semi.:lol:

Grizz

Wouldnt want to be in a smart car.......... anywhere.... no where to hang my chrome balls!!!...:sHa_sarcasticlol:

[jungleboy]

Still don't think I'd wanna be in a Smart Car, colliding with a semi.:lol:

Grizz

check this out .... I actually had a smart car for a while one of the safest cars in their class

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtOIfW2K2Hk

[jungleboy]

Am I the only one upset at seeing a 59 Bel Air destroyed? :mad3:

lol i was thinking the same thing when i watched that ....what a waste!!

[sparky660]

lol i was thinking the same thing when i watched that ....what a waste!!

Come on its a 4 door!!! If it were a 2 door I would have shed a tear.:mad3:

[jungleboy]

4 dr , 2dr still a waste , looked to be in nice shape

[ACKLEY ABE]

They have to make cars safer now. Most ppl can't drive worth sh**.

[Tundra Monkey]

I would have lost that bet......may sell my 69' Lil' Red now :scared:

tm

[Fisherpeak]

Hard to believe that as kids we would lay on the back window deck of the old man`s `63 Fairmont on road trips.

[TreeGuy]

They have to make cars safer now. Most ppl can't drive worth sh**.

OR..... are the modern cars making people 'feel' safer, thus leading to a false sense of security?

[Bushrat]

OR..... are the modern cars making people 'feel' safer, thus leading to a false sense of security?

A big yes to that. Air bags, traction control, antilock brakes, 4WD seem to make many people think they are invincible.

[RandyBoBandy]

I remember the 64 Chevvies, in crash?? no problem, wipe off the dash and keep driving!:) It is amazing how far we've come along with respect to deflecting the impact away from the passengers...you can thank F1 racing technology for all that stuff! Just say'n..

[Reeves1]

It's also nice how the modern cars have a crumple zone so if someone crashes, it would be from 100 to 0 in a couple secs instead of 100 to 0 in 0 secs.

All fine and dandy if you hit (or are hit) by a factory vehicle.
If you toss in a lifted "Rig Rocket" then it renders the technology useless.
New vehicles were not designed to be crashed from above.

[Alberta Bigbore]

My girlfriend works in the autobody industry... and says that today's vehicles are designed to crumple on impact and absorb it protecting the passengers inside..... but yet the littlest collisions can write off a car completely even if it looks drivable

[Jwood 456]

My girlfriend works in the autobody industry... and says that today's vehicles are designed to crumple on impact and absorb it protecting the passengers inside..... but yet the littlest collisions can write off a car completely even if it looks drivable

True IMO. My brother in law had a pontiac grand am that got driven into while out on the street. The grand am was push up onto the curb a bit though, and looked like it only had a small dent on the side. Sure enough, the car was a write off.:confused::sign0068:

[Jwood 456]

I also remember my mom had this 1987 ford tempo. When the car was only two years old, she told me that a big industrial truck drove into the front end of the car and nearly destroyed the whole front end. Miracuously though, the car wasn't a write off and the car and was able to run for another 16 years with the origional engine,motor and tranny until the car body pratically rusted off.