1959 Chevrolet Bel Air Vs. 2009 Chevrolet Malibu — Detroit “Iron” Challenge Video
By John C Dvorak Thursday September 17, 2009
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What a waste of a beautiful old classic car. Oh well, nothing GM has done lately has made much sense. Sorry, I’m still not buying one of your crappy new Malibus.
Sure now they salute the safety standards. At the time they fought tooth and nail to stop any safety legislation.
Please vote for John, he deserves this.
I think I suffered knee injuries just now watching that video. I dropped to my knees crying… not the way to let an old car die…
It deserved to rust in a field or to keep on drivin…
#1, from Car and Driver; “The latest Malibu looks great, drives well, offers good fuel economy in four-cylinder guise, and might just be the best family sedan ever brought forth by a domestic automaker. However, it might take some time for die-hard import buyers to be convinced that the Malibu is serious competition to the Accord, Altima, and Camry.”
But you’ll probably never give up your Daihatsu, huh?
Thank you Ralph Nader! Without your constant nagging the Malibu would have been turned into mush.
GM’s new models finally look pretty decent.
i like the text at the end…
insurance industry is protecting us! HA!
now a days after the accident then raise your rates (doesnt matter if it was your fault or not) , and since you are still alive you gotta pay em!
and with that knee injury your health insurance skyrockets too
weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee debt american style
I gotta go with m.c. in l.v on this one – ’59 Bel Air is a gorgeous car and this was a complete waste.
The Malibu looks like a Camry wannabe which probably means that it will sell well.
This and the childish ban on lawn darts is why health insurance is so unaffordable.
We need to expunge the weak, frail and stupid from America’s gene pool.
It’s no coincidence America was at it’s peak of world power and affluence when the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air was being sold new.
When you can’t beat the competition, beat yourself!
I’m surprised we didn’t get Dvorak’s usual anti GM bias on this one… bummer
The other day, I spotted one of the new Camaros.
Damn, that is one sexy car. Transformers did not overhype that beast. It looks as good in person as it does on the road.
I recently drove one of the new Malibus as a rental and I was surprised at the build quality. I own a new jetta tdi and was expecting crap but it was a nice car to drive and it looks like a decent car to drive drunk in and crush your enemies, just a thought but in all sincerity it was a nice car.
Fucking Americans.
I learned to drive a 1.8 liter fuel injection manual transmission car that could make blush a Hurst Camero or maybe Shelby Mustang.
You can see it in action in the movie “The China Syndrome”
What is the use of a 5.1 Litre Mustang? Not in my country. Not in Pennsylvania!
#5 Nope, keeping my old Silverado since it’s still in good condition with low miles. But I might pick up an electric version of the Smart car in the future for the commute back and forth to work. No Daihatsu for me thanks.
God god that was really disturbing!
Of course the new vehicle is safer! The old cars were made to stay in tact. The new cars are made to keep the occupants in tact.
Good thing we eventually got the seat belts and air bags despite AAA fighting against both in their respective times.
While in this video we see the improvement automobiles have made, they are by no means alone. They use a fraction of the fuel and emit even less pollutants.
Airplanes can travel much further on the same fuel, much safer, with many more passengers. So what if the steward isn’t as pretty.
Microwave ovens will do much more than burn your roast on the outside while leaving it raw inside in only a fraction of the time it takes in a conventional oven. They also cost about 1/100 the price.
Not nearly as many babies are suffocating by getting their heads caught in the crib bars.
Fewer people die every year from food contamination than in the past.
Almost every home appliance uses less energy and lasts longer.
And we don’t legislate that blacks must sit at the back of the bus.
I noticed a brown cloud coming out of that wreck. Would that be rust dust? Maybe that old beast’s frame was half gone already.
#20- so right. Not to mention improved reliability. I sure don’t miss having to set the points every 10-15K miles. As for pollutants- look at pix of LA from the 60s vs. today and compare the number of cars on the road. It is amazing. But as #2 noted- only after much bitching and moaning from the mfrs.
#10- I think WW2 had more to do with the state of the world in ’59. If the American auto industry had listened to Deming, Japanese cars would still be an also-ran.
The video made me want to cry. That is no way to treat a 1959 Chevy Bel Air.
Personally, I like my airbags, anti-lock brakes, AC, power windows and seats, and quieter road noise.
I had one of those old beasts and I don’t miss it.
# 22 pedro,
#17 And your point is?
And what was your point, oh pointless one?
Old cars, are like old women. They drink, fume, leak, are heavy and loud, impossible to insure, and kill everyone within 15 feet when they crash.
Pretty interesting video. Old cars may look nice but they are for looking at only. they are death traps.
#26, noname,
His point is required to keep his hat on.
But one would have looked so much cooler dying in the Bel Air compared to someone dying in that Malibu.
This might have gone a lot worse for the new vehicle if AAA had gotten their way when they lobbied heavily against seatbelts in the 60s and against air bags in the 80s.
Still though, older cars were designed to stay in tact in a crash. Newer cars are designed to keep their occupants in tact in a crash. There is a big difference between those goals.
There was no engine, in the Bel Air,also part of the front frame is missing.