Old vs New

[gonepecan]

I know it's probably been posted before, but it is a neat video.

I am usually a proponent of everything old. But in the case of vehicle safety, the victory definitely goes to the new.

 

[JWG223]

I think when it comes to vehicles, other than style in some cases, newer is almost always better.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Awesome video. Fender bender...old wins. But in a serious impact they become death traps.

That said...of the two I'd take my chances with the Bel-Air.

 

[03protege]

I can't believe they wrecked such a nice car. I'd drive the 59 chevy over an 09 any day.

 

[del4]

Reliability is also much better today. More Fuel economy per horse power as well.

 

[gonepecan]

It was for the 50th anniversary of the IIHS. This test was taken in 2009, and they wanted to see how a car from the year they started (1959) would handle an impact with a car of the current year (2009)

I hate to see a Bel Air get totaled too! They said that the IIHS employees were very surprised at how bad the damage was on the Bel Air.

 

[JWG223]

Reliability is also much better today. More Fuel economy per horse power as well.

+1

I get around 26mpg on the highway with over 500 horsepower and a 100K mile warranty.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Reliability is also much better today. More Fuel economy per horse power as well.

Better fuel economy...absolutely. Reliability I disagree though. Carbureted cars are hard to kill. They may require more frequent tuning to run at peak potential, but you could also drive one for hundreds of miles with half of the parts missing under the hood. Cars these days will shut down and cry if any one of the dozens of sensors goes bad.

 

[JWG223]

Better fuel economy...absolutely. Reliability I disagree though. Carbureted cars are hard to kill. They may require more frequent tuning to run at peak potential, but you could also drive one for hundreds of miles with half of the parts missing under the hood. Cars these days will shut down and cry if any one of the dozens of sensors goes bad.

Very true, there are more sensors under the hood, but how many carbureted motors are G2G for 3-400K miles? Of all the older EFI cars I have owned (not many), I had:

1995 Trans Am: 170K miles
2001 WS6: 149K miles
Infiniti G20: 133K miles

So far the sensors replaced between all 3: Two 02 sensors (did not affect performance that I could tell, just turned the CEL off), TPS, IAC. Total cost was less than $300 between the 3 cars and the sensors. The '95 I owned for 20K miles, the WS6 for 50K miles, and the G20 for 20K miles so far.

I also owned a Mustang GT, 5.0 with EFI that was converted to carbureted. It was faster, had much more power under the curve, and didn't reek of fuel at idle nearly as much when it was EFI. I will go EFI Every time after owning both in the same platform.

Further, OBDII is great! Something goes bad, it tells you what and you replace it. Carbureted, you have a limited amount of things under the hood that can go wrong, but what about the tq converter lock-up, and all sorts of other business that OBDII can tell you is glitching out before it grenades other things. Love me some OBDII.

______________

Of further note my Dad always bought used police cars, drove something like half a million to 750K miles a year in them, and I cannot remember him ever replacing a sensor on them. Of course, he just needed the car to "A" to "B" it reliably, so a CEL didn't bother him.

Mainly, he replaced water-pumps and transmissions. Engines would go for 200-300K miles before he viewed them as un-reliable for cross-country driving and would retire the car or relegate it to around-town use.

This was with the 4.6L Crown Vic from '92-'95. He greatly preferred them to the 5.0 late 80's iteration, and the 460ci Grand Torino's he used before that.

 

[XD45ACP]

+1

I get around 26mpg on the highway with over 500 horsepower and a 100K mile warranty.

What are you driving?

 

[Suburbazine]

My 320rwhp 11MPG tank will generally win any crash test.

The economy/horsepower improvement is debatable, though.

 

[leVieux]

Thanks, Capt B...................

 

[alpinehyperlite]

I got hit by a 2005 accord in the rear. Put a 4in by 5in dent in my metal bumper. Totalled out the honda. It didnt even knock off my back up sensors. lol.

 

[LACamper]

I hate to see a car like that get wrecked. They could at least found one that needed some work or something... Good news is that someone (probably an IIHS employee) probably took the remains home and restored it.

Most interesting accident, as far as body damage goes anyway, that I've handled was a 911 t-boned by an older (1980 or so) F150. The F150 hit on a diagonal into the drivers door. The driver walked away without a scratch, we replaced the door, and that was it. The F150 was a total loss.