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'09 Malibu Vs. '59 Bel Air Crash Test
theodp writes "To celebrate their 50th anniversary, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crashed a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air into a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. Hate to spoil the ending of the video, but if you find yourself participating in a similar car-jousting contest, pick the Malibu over the Bel Air. (Not that you'll be complaining afterwards if you don't, or doing much of anything.) Guess there is something to those crumple zones after all."
I'd feel much more safe driving a Chevy Bel-Air than a new Malibu, feeling you dont bump and hurt yourself is just as important as knowing you "probably wont die". Because a Bel-air you feel you are driving something, whereas in a new Malibu, you just direct it. It can be compared to flying in an airplane, if you are not in control enough, you might fear flying no matter how much you know about how safe it is, compared to driving. Today Bel-air drivers do not crash, simply because they care about driving and their car, but that is of course irrelevant to this, but i state this nevertheless.
Actually, old cars do make me smile for having been better cars. I have a 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle and 1977 MGB Roadster as my daily drivers. In the winter, in really bad weather, I pull out my 1965 International Scout. On nice summer days I have a Bradley GT2 built up on a 1973 Volkswagen Beetle pan.
Having owned a few modern cars, I know that these run better than anything on the road today. They're cheaper and easily to repair as well, because they were made with such thing sin mind. New cars are made to be taken to a mechanic every few months because of cheap parts and overly complicated systems. They quickly reach a point of diminishing returns, at which time they basically become disposable. Oh, and they still don't get as good of gas mileage as any of the properly tuned classics sitting in my garage.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
It's useful for training ROFL muscles.
As a driver, I think they need to point out that the idea is to NOT CRASH.
You are a fucking idiot.
This is one aspect of education for people. This isn't the only thing they are doing. Or do you think they should only do one thing???