Not built like they used to.....i think not

[Padrino90]

Hi all,

for those that still want to believe that a car made back in the day are stronger than today's so called "plastics"...think again..

From autoblog

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/09/17/v...-modern-malib/

[Bucknaked]

Nice find. I saw a doco once where they crash tested several old cars. Scary stuff. Vehicle safety research and development have come along way.

[Falcon Coupe]

Easy to see why the Malibu scored a 5 star crash rating.

[Padrino90]

Yeah its really interesting, although old school cars were built from all steel, it was was only steel, not like today where there isn't a piece of pure metal in the car its all high strength alloys..... gotta agree with the look of old cars though.....gorgeous

[XR Martin]

Id like to see a FG vs XY crash test.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Id like to see a FG vs XY crash test.

But which one would you want to be driving at the time of the crash?

[GT69]

Originally Posted by flappist

But which one would you want to be driving at the time of the crash?

If i was definately going to be in a crash, and I had the choice, FG please.

[Road_Warrior]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Id like to see a FG vs XY crash test.

I wouldn't, it would be a waste of an XY.

[PALE ALE]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Id like to see a FG vs XY crash test.

The FG is going to crunch the XY, it is a way heavier car than the XY. It would be interesting to know the weight difference between the Malibu and the '59

[MO]

Interesting,while I'm not doubting the findings.
I am wondering how much rust/metal fatigue was in the '59 also no airbags.

[torbirdie]

Originally Posted by PALE ALE

The FG is going to crunch the XY, it is a way heavier car than the XY. It would be interesting to know the weight difference between the Malibu and the '59

According to the manufactures specs about 80kgs out of ~1600kgs, which is basically supported by the vid with neither car getting displaced further than the other about the point of collision.
It is skewed a little bit towards the malibu moving through the belair due to the collision being off centre and the malibu moving intially through empty space in the 6cyl engine bay of the belair, whereas the malibu would be stuffed full of mechanicals right across.

[Bud Bud]

Wow very graphic! 2 things that really stick out for me that defines what era these cars come from-

1) For the Bel Air and from an era of excess, it just shows that style came well before function. Check out the reverse A pillar design. While it defines the style at the time, it also appears to be the weakest link in the crumple zone as well. Because of its shape, it was allowed to collapse which allowed the front door to pop from its frame which reduced the over all strength of the cell, leaving the occupants space to next to nothing. All this happens around the poor soul’s head. No wonder the driver would have been killed instantly.

2) For the Malibu check out how quickly the air bag deploys. I know we have seen this in slow mo before but when you match it to an old school car crumbling at the same time, you really begin to appreciate the real advancement made in the area.

[cant]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Id like to see a FG vs XY crash test.

As above, waste of an XY !!


On the other hand though, an FG up against a VY (dunnydore)
:

I know id be in the FG :

[Wally]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Id like to see a FG vs XY crash test.

I'd like to see an FG go head to head with a VE.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Wally

I'd like to see an FG go head to head with a VE.

I think you'd get the same result as if you crashed two FG's or two VEs. I'd be more interested in seeing FG/VE crashed into BA/VZs or even AU/VYs.

Even keener to see some of the Soft Roaders and 4WDs crashed into 5 Star sedans.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by GTP006

I think you'd get the same result as if you crashed two FG's or two VEs. I'd be more interested in seeing FG/VE crashed into BA/VZs or even AU/VYs.

Even keener to see some of the Soft Roaders and 4WDs crashed into 5 Star sedans.

Or ALL soft roader and 4WDs crashed into each other and resulting mess used as target practice for the RAAF

[Scott]

Originally Posted by flappist

Or ALL soft roader and 4WDs crashed into each other and resulting mess used as target practice for the RAAF

Ouch... just in the process of buying a Lexus for the wife, you better watch yourself with comments like that : apparently an XR8 with a tray isn't suitable for her anymore :(

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by flappist

Or ALL soft roader and 4WDs crashed into each other and resulting mess used as target practice for the RAAF

I am liking your thinking, this should be put into legislation, Vote 1 Flappist for PM!

[Wally]

Originally Posted by GTP006

I think you'd get the same result as if you crashed two FG's or two VEs. I'd be more interested in seeing FG/VE crashed into BA/VZs or even AU/VYs.

Even keener to see some of the Soft Roaders and 4WDs crashed into 5 Star sedans.

Yeah but, yeah but, yeah but, I just wanna see the crash. Don't care about the brand.

Hypothetical, would Henry Gibson drive a soft roader or four wheeler if he was still alive in the Illinois Nazi chapter?

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Wally

Yeah but, yeah but, yeah but, I just wanna see the crash. Don't care about the brand.

Hypothetical, would Henry Gibson drive a soft roader or four wheeler if he was still alive in the Illinois Nazi chapter?

No he and Luke Skywalker would be driving X wings to Hogwarts.....

[Scott]

Originally Posted by Wally

Yeah but, yeah but, yeah but, I just wanna see the crash. Don't care about the brand.

Hypothetical, would Henry Gibson drive a soft roader or four wheeler if he was still alive in the Illinois Nazi chapter?

Ok, so random just found a new level... he would be in a Touareg of course.

[Buzz Box]

This clip even made the news.

Scary stuff when you look at the windscreen isnt even broken or removed in the Malibu.

[Bud Bud]

Originally Posted by Buzz Box

Scary stuff when you look at the windscreen isnt even broken or removed in the Malibu.

You right, check it from the top view, there is so much laminate on the glass that it appears to warp and bend like perspex!

[Fairlane]

Scarey stuff.

I know for sure that i was in an accident id much rather be in my BA than my HX for sure.

[Antwon]

Am I the only one that thinks the old American cars like that are hideous?

One of the comments said that the new car is a FWD, so the engine would be east-west, so in that case the engine would have taken alot of the impact. So does that mean the FG would act more like the Impala or Bel Air or whatever?

[Ryan]

Now run a 59 Bel Air into a Smart Car.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by Ryan

Now run a 59 Bel Air into a Smart Car.

What about the Smart vs an Original Mini?

[Barry_v]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

What about the Smart vs an Original Mini?

I think you missed the point, probably deliberately, so you can feel better about plastics.

ramming 2 cars together only proves that at that angle, at that speed and under those conditions a possible real world result might happain if those two cars were to meet. it doesnt prove that new cars are stronger than old cars, far from it. in any case the belair's cabin although distorted was more or less intact, the fact they chose not to put a seatbelt on the dummy was the main cause of it looking so dramatic. its more an advertisement for seatbelts than anything.

personal experience tells me that the specific attributes of each car have far more to do with accident outcomes than how old they are. a family member rear ended a torana in an EL falcon. the EL came off with barely a scratch and the torana had a severely bent bumper and a crumpled quarter panel which effectively wrote it off. By the same token I had a mercedes CL180 rear end me in my P6 and I had to drive him to hospital because the mercedes was so badly damaged. my car's chrome bumper didnt even have a scratch on it, although the fibreglass corner piece was destroyed.

overall the video wasnt that spectacular, lets crash a hummer into a mini, followed by a '59 tank fairlane into an echo... doesnt prove anything but would be fun to watch!

[irish2]

Originally Posted by Barry_v

I think you missed the point, probably deliberately, so you can feel better about plastics.

the fact they chose not to put a seatbelt on the dummy was the main cause of it looking so dramatic. its more an advertisement for seatbelts than anything.

The bel air only came with front lap seat belts. They were not equipped with lap sash. Most cars did not see recoiling lap sash belts for over a decade later.

[outback_ute]

Originally Posted by Barry_v

the belair's cabin although distorted was more or less intact

Don't think so, the solid bits of the Malibu nearly reached the B pillar! Arguably this was a worst-case scenario, being an offset crash with an inline 6cyl engine so the engine would have barely been involved, and the reverse angle A pillar being useless in a crash, but the result would not be a lot better in other similar cars. However the offset test is what is used today, and the chassis rails in the '59 would still have come into play.

Even the standard crash test speed was raised from 56 to 64km/h in recent years - cars that did ok with the earlier one would be horrible with the higher speed one.

There a quite a few crash tests between different types of vehicles done by the Fifth Gear tv show that are worth looking at.

mrbaxr6t - the XA & XB doors didn't have intrusion bars. I've seen them on some new car ads also, quite strange really when they have been in cars in this country for 30 years - simply Australia has been ahead of other places in some areas.

XR6 Martin - even with a lap-sash seatbelt you can hit the dash/steering wheel with your head, passenger included. I remember crash test pics from EB/ED era where this was clearly shown (they paint the dash or similar, then marks show on the dummy's heads).