Why do you guys do this?

[tizeye]

Wow glad that you are alright..

[soniccj5]

Wow glad that you are alright..

That was not my wreck(if that was directed to me).

[Prince Steve]

The old cars crumpled a bit too...and so did the drivers. Check out this video of a 2009 Chevy vs. a 1959 Chevy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xwYBBpHg1I

I can almost not believe that. WOW.. I would have picked the 59 Chevy to be in before this video. OUCH!!

[justinspeed79]

That's a great video. It's a common mis-conception, that old cars are safer, because they were "built like tanks". Along the same lines is the myth that old cars are heavier than new cars, when in fact new cars tend to be heavier "inch for inch".

[Lowgear]

Oh no not that video again. There was a good deal of controversy over it as rightly there should be.

They take a completely random old car and smash it into a brand new car and all of a sudden that makes all old cars death traps? You want to talk about ignorance!!

Sure, a lot of antique cars are death traps and it proves nothing and means nothing. Just like 50 years from now that car they smashed it into will be considered a death trap. Its all relative!

As you can see that video gets me worked up due to its shear stupidity.

[ROH73]

How is this video stupid? It, in general, disproves a very common misconception that older, larger cars from Detroit's golden years are safer. It also shows just how far safety technology has come: the 1959 driver would likely die and the 2009 driver may actually walk away. And I don't think the cars are random at all. It shows a typical 1959 Chevy vs. a typical (i.e. midsize) 2009 Chevy; that is a great comparison. I hope that in fifty years they do the same thing with a 2009 vs. 2059 just to show how much things have improved yet again. Of course, the 2059 Chevy may be flying .

[Lowgear]

I see where you're coming from but I've never been under the impression that the safety of antique cars was in such question that something had to be done about it. I think anybody with a little bit of car knowledge would figure that safety was an afterthought back then. Even if it was a priority they didn't have the technology or understanding to make it very good. Heck, seat belts weren't used in cars until the 50's and weren't even mandatory until the mid 60's!

The only thing this can be looked at if anything is an exhibition.