http://www.youtube...v=joMK1WZjP7g&NR=1


I'd still rather die in the Bel-Air than shitty Malibu though.

Posted by bandi http://www.youtube...v=joMK1WZjP7g&NR=1 I'd still rather die in the Bel-Air than shitty Malibu though.

if its all the same to you, i'd rather not die at all regardless of the make or model.

Ok, valid point.

If I remember right, the Bel-Air did pretty good when it was tested against antother Bel-Air...

was it really necassary to destroy another classic car though?
stupid insurance institute......

Hm...this surprised me a bit.

I've always thought of old, classic cars as rock solid. Guess when compared to today's cars, they aren't all that good.

Still, I'd rather drive the Bel-air.

Posted by WarBird69 Hm...this surprised me a bit. I've always thought of old, classic cars as rock solid. Guess when compared to today's cars, they aren't all that good. Still, I'd rather drive the Bel-air.

They are built with heavy duty components but they never had the engineering that we do today. Modern vehicles are designed to absorb impacts and transfer the energy efficiently to lessen the impact on the occupants. if you crash an older car/truck you'll see damage up through the a pillars, doors, roofline etc....smashed windows exploding etc...
Now you can crash just about any car and the engine cradles will accordian, hoods have crumple zones, and you'll likely be able to open and close the doors even after suffering a massive front end smack because the a pillars and rooflines aren't getting damaged.

i think it was Big Dave that got in a wreck in a Cobalt a couple of years ago... i think he was hit from behind and the car was mangled... but him and his missus didn't really get all that banged up.

I know that Plymouth, and I think Oldsmobile did this too in the 30s, they would roll cars down hills to see what damage was done then make things stiffer. They realized that would be a bad idea because it didn't exactly help the passengers

The thing that always irked me about IIHS is that its funded by the auto insurance companies and they have been caught producing flawed research a few times. Back in the 70s, IIHS faked a Jeep CJ rollover by doing maneuvers not humanly possible.

Who was it that killed the Sammy? Its a short lil ute. Not a fuckin Lambo. Don't take corners at 70 duh!

Posted by jeepdave Who was it that killed the Sammy? Its a short lil ute. Not a fuckin Lambo. Don't take corners at 70 duh!

35mph actually.

Posted by Samurai i think it was Big Dave that got in a wreck in a Cobalt a couple of years ago... i think he was hit from behind and the car was mangled... but him and his missus didn't really get all that banged up.

Haha i remember that. Long Island, 2007. Funny thing is, the car was totaled, but you wouldnt know it by looking at it. All the plastic body panels popped back out, but the rear trunk and suspension were destroyed.

Posted by Samurai 35mph actually.

Either way lol. Its not designed to corner well. I had one, at 16 no less and drove the piss out of it. Never rolled it.

Posted by jeepdave Who was it that killed the Sammy? Its a short lil ute. Not a fuckin Lambo. Don't take corners at 70 duh!

Consumer Reports. It was criminal. They made up their mind it was very easy to roll, tried to roll it, and got mad when it wouldn't. A pathetic story that did huge damage to sales. Then they forced it to roll, if I remember right. Some Googleing should find the story.

On the Isuzu Trooper 2, not sure, they likely had roll issues, too bad, and the 3.2 engine. Great space inside, like a big Suzuki. Pardon off rail...

Okay. Just watched the vid. Sad, of course cars have improved, so has the Internet. Cnuts. How about crashing a Model T into a Taurus for your next trick? Maybe the Belair had rust?

All said though, it's an expected and damn good thing cars are safer now. Next: Much more rigid driving tests. If you can't speak English in North America. Don't even think of getting a drivers license

Posted by A. Lien Consumer Reports. It was criminal. They made up their mind it was very easy to roll, tried to roll it, and got mad when it wouldn't. A pathetic story that did huge damage to sales. Then they forced it to roll, if I remember right. Some Googleing should find the story. On the Isuzu Trooper 2, not sure, they likely had roll issues, too bad, and the 3.2 engine. Great space inside, like a big Suzuki. Pardon off rail... Okay. Just watched the vid. Sad, of course cars have improved, so has the Internet. Cnuts. How about crashing a Model T into a Taurus for your next trick? Maybe the Belair had rust? All said though, it's an expected and damn good thing cars are safer now. Next: Much more rigid driving tests. If you can't speak English in North America. Don't even think of getting a drivers license

i have my own hangups about consumer reports... the Samurai was only one of them. I drove a bone stock Samurai a couple of years ago and it handled exactly like what it was... a small 4x4 utility vehicle.
It also felt like you had to be a complete idiot to roll it over... i found that it gave plenty of warning when you were pushing too hard.

I know with the IIHS/60 minutes piece on the CJ-5; it took IIHS over 400 times to get the CJ to roll over only 8 whopping times!

Posted by Agent Skelly I know with the IIHS/60 minutes piece on the CJ-5; it took IIHS over 400 times to get the CJ to roll over only 8 whopping times!

remember the Dateline episode a few years back with the Chevy pickups? they had to actually detonate the gas tank to get it to burst into flames?

Posted by team haymaker was it really necassary to destroy another classic car though? stupid insurance institute......

Not at all, and it is a shame. I hate when they wreck classics in movies... in scenes that'd be just as cool if it was an Aveo getting mangled instead of a vintage Mustang or something.

Posted by bandi Not at all, and it is a shame. I hate when they wreck classics in movies... in scenes that'd be just as cool if it was an Aveo getting mangled instead of a vintage Mustang or something.

I thought that when the script called for the car to be wrecked, the car would either be a scrapper that was beyond all hope of restoration or was a reproduction. If that's not the case, someone oughta get their ass kicked!

Now for the insurance companies, they are notorious for these things and then hand the bills over to their accountants to maximize the tax write offs.

Posted by oddspot They are built with heavy duty components but they never had the engineering that we do today. Modern vehicles are designed to absorb impacts and transfer the energy efficiently to lessen the impact on the occupants. if you crash an older car/truck you'll see damage up through the a pillars, doors, roofline etc....smashed windows exploding etc... Now you can crash just about any car and the engine cradles will accordian, hoods have crumple zones, and you'll likely be able to open and close the doors even after suffering a massive front end smack because the a pillars and rooflines aren't getting damaged.

Exactly. The 2009 Malibu was built using 50 years of lessons and experience which the 1959 Bel Air didn't have. A lot would be learned along the way.