It appears that engine compartment pushed in on the Belaire thus instantly killing the dummy. The Malibu engine compartment stayed intact and didn't crush the dummy.
1959 versus 2009 in car crash test
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RiverOtter
got any pics?
Wow :shock:
So we should purchase cars based on the ability of our heirs to repair them after we are killed in them due to bad safety ratings?
they just ruined a perfectly beautiful Bel Air...
RiverOtter
got any pics?
Yes, but it was a 1959, not a 55, 56, 57 or the beautiful but forgotten '58.
I haven't forgotten the '58. Loved that car! 
I haven't forgotten the '58. Loved that car!
Many things are safer now....
We had a 59 Bel Air for many years. My Dad was an engineer for the power company and when they added seat belts to their cars in 1961, he was so impressed with the study that they did, he had them added to the Bel Air.
In hindsight, that was a good thing. The part I didn't like, being 5 at the time, was that he also made me stop laying down on the deck of the rear window while we drove down the highway.
We didn't know as much about safety back then, I had a car seat very similar to the one in the diagram below (I couldn't find a picture) that hung on hooks over the bench seat next to the driver. My seat was a little more upscale and had a steering wheel.
I think in a sudden deceleration event (ie: a crash) the seat and I would have exited the vehicle through the windshield.
We had a 59 Bel Air for many years. My Dad was an engineer for the power company and when they added seat belts to their cars in 1961, he was so impressed with the study that they did, he had them added to the Bel Air.
In hindsight, that was a good thing. The part I didn't like, being 5 at the time, was that he also made me stop laying down on the deck of the rear window while we drove down the highway.
We didn't know as much about safety back then, I had a car seat very similar to the one in the diagram below (I couldn't find a picture) that hung on hooks over the bench seat next to the driver. My seat was a little more upscale and had a steering wheel.
I think in a sudden deceleration event (ie: a crash) the seat and I would have exited the vehicle through the windshield.
