Safety Test of a 1959 Chevrolet versus a 2009 One

Car safety, both active and passive, has improved considerably, as we all know. The sums of money invested in making sure cars pass the EuroNCAP tests with five stars improve vehicles and save the lives of their occupants.

What is truly spectacular is seeing the comparison between a 2009 car and a 1959 one. Chevrolet has done it to compare the safety improvement across its range of vehicles by pitting a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air against a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The video is after the jump.

The first thing to say is that the Chevrolet Bel Air is beautiful, and the new 2009 version is much uglier than those classic, elegant American barges. The second is that if you want to drive a beautiful car and survive a crash, you’re out of luck.

The feeling of an unbreakable tank that old cars gave us takes a back seat. Note also that deformation of the passenger compartment is one of the areas that has received the most attention: the hood crumples, but the cabin remains unmoved