1959 Bel Air versus 2009 Malibu - NMC but at least car-related

It looks phony to me.

Was that sarcasm? If not, I will bet you $1,000.00 at 10 to 1 odds that this is not phony.

Hell, I can come up with $5,000.00, I will bet it against your $500.00 right now, as r.a.m.m.m. is our witness. :-)

Pat

Ah, well. At least usenet is better for this post having been ignored by you and other Google Groups detractors!

Tim

Good for you Tim! Thanks for the direct link. Mr. XS11E must not have watched many crash test videos. I've watched allot of them (they are hugely interesting to see which vehicles do better and which do worse) and never even crossed my mind that this could have been faked and I'm one of those 'conspiracy theorists'

Chris

Ah, well. At least usenet is better for this post having been ignored by you and other Google Groups detractors!

Tim

Here is another video that shows the inside of the cars, and the effects on the crash test dummies during the crash.

Pat

While it did ,ook pretty nice inside, here's the scoop ont he car:

"when the institute went looking for a 1959 Bel Air to crash-test there was one thing the organization didn't want and some things it did.

"We didn't want to crash a museum piece," Mr. Zuby said. "We were not looking for one that had been restored for museum or show quality." But the vehicle had to have a solid structure, although a little surface rust would be acceptable.

They found what they wanted in Indiana. "The frame was sound and all the body panels were sound," he said. It had a 3.9-liter 6-cylinder engine and was in driving condition.

The car was bought for about $8,500 and had about 74,000 miles on the odometer, which was broken. It was trucked to the test center in Virginia."

It's phony, it was very carefully staged to prove the point they intended to prove. Very much like a certain "News" network blowing up trucks.

phony or not, wouldn't you rather die behind the wheel of a '59 bel air then be seen alive driving a 2009 malibu? ;)

Neither. Notice they didn't mention that both cars were junk BEFORE the crash, the only difference was they were mangled junk after!

You do bring up a good point, and I am not even a big classic car fan. ;-)

I'll definitely take death in my Miata over a life of driving almost any American-made car, especially American cars manufactured from about 1970 to the present, with the possible exception of the Corvette.

Pat

Whoosh! That one flew right over me. :-)

I am guessing that the news network being referred to is Fox, but what is this about the staged blowing up of trucks?

Pat

I would be interested to see how a 2009 Miata holds up against a 1959 model lead sled.

I would like to see that in a controlled crash video that is, not with me driving either car.

"It'll buff right out" - lol

Patrick

Fox has never been that dishonest, NBC has.

The following Dateline NBC producers were dismissed: Jeff Diamond, executive producer; David Rummel, senior producer; and Robert Read, producer of the report on the pickups. Michele Gillen, the reporter involved in the segment, was transferred to Miami station WTVJ. Michael G. Gartner, president of the news division, resigned under pressure.

Keep reading past this to more of NBC's questionable tactics.

I'll set it up but you have to drive the Miata, we'll get someone to drive a 1959 model. Since you didn't specify the make, chose between Greyhound, Mack or Peterbuilt. ;-)

This might be the most reasonable point yet ;-) Chris

I want a 1959 Chevy El Camino (based on the Bel Air chassis) but modified like this:

The 2009/2010 Chevy Malibu is a world class family car that beat the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry heads-up in most comparison tests; the first domestic car to do so since the original Taurus in 1986. Maybe a boring car from an enthusiast's standpoint, but certainly not junk!

It's junk as are all Chevrolets. CR once rated all Chevy models from

"The 2010 Chevrolet Malibu reliability score of 5.0 out of 10 is the Predicted Reliability rating provided by J.D. Power and Associates."

Pathetic.

Hmmmmm, that's a fairly slender inline six, which as I recall left lots of open space on either side of the engine compartment. I wonder how the '59 would have fared had it been equipped with the wider 283 V8, or even better, the much wider big block 348. I'm thinking it would've fared better.

--Geary

Consumer Reports, on the LT 4-cylinder and the LTZ 6-cylinder 2009 Malibu: "reliability of the 4-cylinder has been above average and the V6 average."

Consumer Guide: "Chevy has taken Malibu from the realm of rental fleet darling to a must-see Best Buy in this highly competitive segment. This midsize sedan stands out for its refined powertrains, smart interior design, and value pricing. We especially like the smooth, quiet 4-cylinder engine and frugal Hybrid. Considering a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry? Be sure to add Malibu to your test-drive list. "

Consumer guide awarded the highest placing mid-size sedan in the entire market at 73 points. That would be the Chevy Malibu Hybrid. The Malibu LS and LTX 4-cylinder models scored 69 points and the LTZ 6- cylinder model scored 71 points. The class average was 63 points.

JD Powers lists the Chevy Malibu at 5 stars for Overall Mechanical Quality; the Toyota Camry at 4.5 stars. The Malibu gets 4.5 stars for powertrain.mechanical quality, the Camry gets 3.5 stars. The Malibu gets 5 stars for body and interior quality - mechanical, the Camry gets 4.5. In fact, in every JD Powers quality rating there is, except interior design (styling), the Malibu outscores the Camry.

Doesn't sound like junk to me, nor does it sound "pathetic."