Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by gcheong on Wednesday September 14, 2022 @10:01PM
(#32846118)
At least you'll go out in style. Seriously though, it would be great see the older car styles brought back with modern safety standards or older cars in some way upgraded to modern safety standards.
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Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by blt on Thursday September 15, 2022 @01:18AM
(#32847351)
Not possible sadly. A lot of the appealing features on older cars (thin pillars, tall windows) are incompatible with current safety standards. Part of the reason why new cars tend to look clunky.
Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by Doxin on Thursday September 15, 2022 @03:03AM
(#32848125)
I get why thin pillars don't work with modern safety standards, but surely tall windows are fine? There's plenty modern cars with fairly tall windows, like the renault kangoo?
Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by DavidPeiffer on Thursday September 15, 2022 @08:43AM
(#32850948)
I'm not having success finding the requirements, but I am almost certain there are requirements on window size. Purely by logic, as the window size increases, side impact rating will decrease.
Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by blt on Thursday September 15, 2022 @08:40PM
(#32860473)
It's not the tall windows themselves that are dangerous, it's the accompanying low door sills. Higher door sills mean more of your body is protected by metal instead of glass.
Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by hef19898 on Thursday September 15, 2022 @05:52AM
(#32849443)
You need both, slim pillars and large windows, to have the same aesthetic as classic cars.
Re:Head-On Crash: 2009 Chevrolet Malibu vs. 1959 Bel Air (2009)
by Sohcahtoa82 on Thursday September 15, 2022 @02:15PM
(#32856163)
This came up recently in another thread on HN.
Safety stands dictate what happens if you collide with a pedestrian. These days, ever car has a sloped front-end. It's not just for aerodynamics, but it's designed to push pedestrians up and onto the hood, whereas the old "stylish" cars had completely flat front-ends, which made it like getting hit by a wall.
Even worse, some older cars had a front end that had negative slopes. If they hit a pedestrian, they'd be pushed down and under the car.