"They Dont Build Them Like They Used to"

A quick little eye opening video.

There may be a few other circumstances behind that, rusted frame, bad body mounts. They don't let the old chrysler imperials in demolition derby's for a reason. Take one of the new malibu's in and see what happens

In this case, older and solid is not necessarily better on the street. The biggest problem with a low-slung, full framed car is that in an offset head on impact, another vehicle is likely to ride up on top of the frame rail and sheer off everything attached to said frame rail. Those ol cars weren’t designed to absorb energy in a crash so the energy released in a collision is transferred into the passenger compartment, whereas crumple zones, and other designed in areas either absorb the impact energy or re-direct it around the passenger compartment.

Let’s compare the vehicle’s interiors. Newer vehicles have collapsible steering columns, padded steering wheels, padded dashboards that are designed to give under an impact, large, padded “A” pillars, windshields designed to be an integral stressed member in an impact, ergonomically designed seating all designed to absorb or re-direct energy along with a three point restrain system and airbags. The older vehicles (pre ’70) feature a solidly mounted one piece steel steering column attached to a skinny, plastic over metal steering wheel, an unmovable steel dashboard, skinny, unpadded “A” pillars, windshields that would pop out of their mounting brackets, a bench seat that offered a lap belt and secured with only four bolts along with lots of exposed metal trim.

I don’t know about you, but I have been in collisions (both over 50mph) in both newer and older vehicles. The difference was an ambulance ride to the emergency room, lots of stitches and some liberally applied plaster along with a bruised pelvis courtesy of the 1968 AMC Ambassador (a full sized, full framed car) that I was driving verses a pair of broken glasses, a cut across the bridge of my nose, a nice bruise on the outside of my right knee, some friction burns on my face and forehead from the airbag and a really spectacular multicolored bruise that stretched across my shoulder and chest from the self-tightening shoulder harness.

The collision in the ’68 AMC was from hitting a patch of black ice on bias-ply tires, losing control and kissing a tree head on…I mean dead center of the grill head on when I was a teenager. The other collision was in an ’04 BMW a few years ago when a speeding (70+ in a 55 zone by police estimates) drunk lost control and crossed the center line of a two lane road in the middle of a curve and we met almost head on in a textbook offset head on crash.

The skinned up face, sore knee, shoulder, chest, a shallow cut across my nose and a rattled constitution was a small price to pay in order to be able to walk away from what would have been a fatal wreck 20 or 30 years earlier.

Here's a better video of that test. Pay special attention to what happens inside of the passenger compartment from the 30 second mark on...scary stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g

I will agree with you about using those 'ol tanks for demo derbies though, they take a licking and keep on ticking...until the radiator gets a few good sized holes in it

Like most things the auto industry has come a long way, some if not most was so called forced upon it simply by Gov. required crash test. Then it was the quest for safety in nascar that brought a lot of the improvements along. The rust dust cloud coming off the old car brings back memories, I had a 50 chevy half ton that took a lower speed hit like that, two gal. of snow white & I think it was a 3lb. coffee can to mount a headlight in & I was back on the road. The VFC had to come out & clean about a wheelbarrow worth of rust from the road. Gas mileage picked up some as I remember.

It really depends on the hit. some times the older ones don't do as well as the newer "soccer mom" types...

Wow! I did'nt expect that at all.
Very impressive.

I don't believe it for a second. Video has gotta be fake. These new cars are designed to crumble at the slightest impact to absorb the energy from a crash. This fact has cleaned my wallet out once after tapping a tiny sapling at less than 5 mph with the rear bumper of my '07 Silverado. It not only folded the bumper up like a pretzel, but also creased the box right above the wheel well! Had to go on a frame machine! LESS THAN 5 MPH!!

About 11 years ago while living in Phoenix, I backed my '72 El Camino into a concrete parking lot lamp foundation at no less than 15 mph. It pushed the bumper & corner of the tailgate in 1/4". Stopped me so fast the engine stalled & I swear I blacked out for a second ......................... but that might have been the 30-pack ... can't be sure ...

Belive it ! The crumple zones do work but they cost you a lot. The slow low mile per hour crash that used to be a nothing to the old car will just about total most new cars.

I personally had a bad head on in a 1964 dodge polara and it was torn up really bad just like in the vidio! I was extreemly lucky to escape with just bruised ribs and a displaced shoulder.

What they don't tell you is you can actually have both a car that will not fold up like a pretzel or be torn up like the old chevy in the vidio and be capeable of driving away from the lower speed crash. They just don't want to admit to the fact that the human body can absorb the impact you would be required to if the crumple zones were not in place.

First, I want to say...Smitty, you crack me up like no one else on this board.

Second, I have been a fire fighter for ten years and I have seen some incredible wrecks. I have NO DOUBT that modern cars are better engineered for crashes at any reasonable speed. Recently a woman fell asleep at the wheel of her car and went into a tractor trailer on a curve. They were both traveling at 50mph or greater. The impact drove the car into the left front end of the tt and turned that tt wheel 90 degrees, shoving it back under the tt drivers seat. The car careened off the tt wheel. The engine was torn out and left in the middle of the road. The car cabin was crushed down on top and stoved in on the side. The woman lived but did have extensive injury. She recovered nearly completely after about 6 months.

Third, yes, the human body can withstand incredible impact and trauma. Last spring a 19 year old kid on a crotch rocket was riding a straightaway on a gorgeous day. He blew by a state trooper at an intersection who clocked him at 90mph. The kid gunned it to lose him believing the cop would pursue. At over 100mph he came into a slight curve. He was checking his rear view for the cop, his momentum and distraction didn't allow him to make the slight curve. He hit the guard rail on the opposite side. It tore off his left lower leg completely at the knee. It tore off all of the skin on his back. It gashed his helmet to the inner liner. He suffered a compound fracture of the other leg and broke his left forearm. When we arrived, he was fortunate enough to have had a combat experienced army medic tie off his legs. He was screaming in shock, his leg thirty feet down the road. He was in such shock that he didn't know his leg was severed until he heard the ground medics report to the Mercy Flight medics his condition. The young man did lose his leg but suffered no serious head trauma. In two months he was wheeling around, in good spirits at a public event.

Fortunately, they don't make cars like they used to. Unfortunately, they make motorcycles even faster than they used to.

mikeandgerry wrote: The young man did lose his leg but suffered no serious head trauma. In two months he was wheeling around, in good spirits at a public event.

Fortunately, they don't make cars like they used to. Unfortunately, they make motorcycles even faster than they used to.

At least the guy was wearing a helmet, otherwise they would have been picking up his head in a Zip-Loc bag. I'm guessing he wasn't wearing proper riding gear (i.e. leathers, protective jacket, etc.)? I'm pretty anal about my gear, but I don't even fall into the "motorcycle gear Nazi" crowd like some do. I always ride with helmet, gloves, 12" boots (Chippewa Rally boot - USA Made!), and protective jacket with shoulder, elbow, and back protectors built in. I really need to upgrade to protective pants, too - I usually ride in jeans or other heavy pants like Carhartt canvas duck carpenter pants.

More times than not, though, I see a "squid" riding a crotch rocket at insane speeds wearing no helmet, t-shirt, and maybe jeans and sneakers. Shorts and flip-flops have been seen, as well as no shirt. If one of these "organ donors" crashes, you won't need a stretcher, you'll need a mop.

europachris wrote:I really need to upgrade to protective pants, too - I usually ride in jeans or other heavy pants like Carhartt canvas duck carpenter pants.

Years and years (decades, maybe) ago, "Cycle" magazine did testing on different fabrics. They took a section of fabric, weighed it down, and dragged it behind a car on asphalt. As I recall, denim lasted about 1/4 inch longer than a cotton t-shirt. Neither lasted very long. Leather was, of course, the best, with metal plates winning out. I don't think Kevlar was in widespread use at the time. Wish I could reference the article, but it was a long time ago.

Whoa Mike, that is GNARLY. I still have a small sticker I got at a motorcycle shop that says:
" WARNING LEAN FORWARD AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 145 MPH. REMAIN PERFECTLY STILL AT SPEEDS IN EXCESS OF 200 MPH."
I had a girlfriend once who's relative was an EMT. She told a story about a girl who took some kind of medication, and couldn't put her tongue back in her mouth! They gave her some other kind of medication to counteract.

I like the Nissan for its commercials....

I don't care if the old car is not tested to be as safe as one of the new ones. I would take a Packard over one of these new ones any day. Taste and style have to count for something.

wsherrick wrote:I would take a Packard over one of these new ones any day. Taste and style have to count for something.

I used to work for The Packard Motor Car Co. The name had been bought by The Kanter Bros.

http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2008/01/01/hm ... ure20.html

I worked for them in their warehouse in Boonton, NJ, which is an ancient 1800's silk mill on the Rockaway River. I could write a book just on the building.

I was hired in 1980 to paint the windows, they hadn't been painted in decades. It took me a year. I did other maintenance there too. One fine morning I lifted a box of shocks and strained myself. I had to go to the hospital. The Kanter Bros fired me and cancelled my health insurance retroactively, ie., the day before I hurt myself. That was the last I saw of them and their "integrity".

anyhoo, we used to see the most spectacular Packards come into the property. We saw one once and the whole staff came out and ogled it. It was one of those 30's Packard Sport Phaetons, baby blue with matching leather. 99.9% restored.
They had a huge storage area in that place, lined with one of a kind vehicles. Facel Vegas, a 50's Chrysler prototype with a record player in it, wood wheel cars, a Munce Jet.
Dan Kanter used to send us to the store for a quart of milk for the coffee. It was 97 cents in those days, and he would put his hand out for the change when we got back.
I have a hundred other stories from that year.