1959 Chevrolet Bel Air vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu CRASH TEST

IIHS 50th anniversary demonstration test • September 9, 2009

It has been fifty years since the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has been recognized as the authority in automobile crash safety and to celebrate, the organization put together a little video showing just how much safety has improved and the results are astonishing!

As you can see in this 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and 2009 Chevrolet Malibu collision, safety is a “night and day” picture as the IIHS puts it. We feel bad for anyone who found themselves in that boat of a ’59 in a crash situation back in the day!

We would have thought that the heavy steel construction of the older car would aid in rigidity and help keep the occupants safer, but as you can see, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all! Wrinkle frames and other safety measures seem to be doing their job quite well!

Check out the video below to see how the new and old cars fare in the test. When someone tells you that “they don’t build them like they used to” you might want to send them this link!