What car would you rather be in?

[DalesCarpentry]

I fould this interesting. What car would you rather be in? I bet that old 59 even weights 1,000 pounds more than the new car. If it was me I would rather be in the new car. Until now I pretty much thought that the old cars being made of heaver steel would be safer. I no longer think that. Dale[yt=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_xwYBBpHg1I&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_xwYBBpHg1I&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/yt]

[mirage1988]

I would rather be in the old car, and  I would be paying enough attention to oncoming traffic that the sixteen year old oncoming driver on a cell phone hits the car behind me. I ride my bike with the attitude that every cager is trying to run me over.

[Hairtrigger]

New cars have so much better brakes and handling, quieter and more user friendly.
Plus they have better occupant restraint devices

[Cabin4]

You would have been killed by the steering wheel in the old chevy. That was before the invention of the colapsing steering columb.

[Cheesehead]

I would choose the new car. It is by far the better choice for obvious reasons.

Cheese

[Badnews Bob]

Depends on what mood I was in and what I have in the driveway, You are gonna survive or not based on one thing and he don't care what you are driving.

[mirage1988]

To each their own. I would have thought that you cheese would think that accident avoidance counts for more than airbags. I WOULD RATHER NOT BE IN THE ACCIDENT.PERIOD.

[Sourdough]

Collapsible steering column, crumple zones, reinforced survivable passenger area, air bags, seat belts.  I have to go with the new vehicle.

As a teen (back in the mid 60s) my buddies Dad had the only ambulance in town.  If he was unavailable (Usually drunk) my buddy Greg and I would make the run.  We picked up some people that were either dead or severely injured.  The same accident in one of todays vehicles, they would have walked away from. 

By the way, after a year Greg and I no longer thought it was fun and exciting to make ambulance runs.  Especially after picking up someone, and realizing we knew them only after we got them to the hospital. 

[Skunk]

The engineers have the crush-zone worked out perfectly on the new car. If this were a real accident, it appears from the video that the person in the new car walks and lives to tell his grandchildren about his infamous accident, while the person in the 58' BelAir either goes for a ride to the hospital and 10-years of rehab relearning his name and address, or takes the short route to the morgue. With that said, the old Chevy would be a trip to own and drive around in on sunny afternoons; but I'd rather transport my children to school in the new car.

[mirage1988]

I was not bragging, just stating facts. I have worked in construction and farming over 25 years. When something doesn't feel right,or safe, then it probably isn't. If I am driving a classic car  down the road (or my harley) I am much more aware of other drivers than if I am surrounded by airbags. This is a stupid question anyway- of course I would like to be wrapped in airbags if I got in that accident! Actually an ejection seat would make it feel even more like 6 flags!

[DalesCarpentry]

I really do think new cars are built better. I can tell you this. I have opened up many old houses and the saying they don't build them like they used to stands. There were many old homes that were sagging because they did not understand simple engineering practices and there is a reason for failiure in these homes. Dale

[mirage1988]

I really do think new cars are built better. I can tell you this. I have opened up many old houses and the saying they don't build them like they used to stands. There were many old homes that were sagging because they did not understand simple engineering practices and there is a reason for failiure in these homes. Dale

You are right Dale, they don't make em like they used to! I have tore out old trim from the early 1900's, the corners are all rabbet and dado joints to keep them tight during seasonal expansion and contraction. 

[Questor]

New cars all the way for me! But I still like them to be more massive than a SmartCar.

[DalesCarpentry]

I really do think new cars are built better. I can tell you this. I have opened up many old houses and the saying they don't build them like they used to stands. There were many old homes that were sagging because they did not understand simple engineering practices and there is a reason for failiure in these homes. Dale

You are right Dale, they don't make em like they used to! I have tore out old trim from the early 1900's, the corners are all rabbet and dado joints to keep them tight during seasonal expansion and contraction. 

Yea they go and do that and in the next breath on the same home they span 20' with 2x8'S. Or they do not even put jacks under their headers. They rely on nails to carry the load. Or they put in a 2x4 header over a 10' opening carrying a floor above. Yea we are better off they did not build them like they used to. Dale

[DalesCarpentry]

I really do think new cars are built better. I can tell you this. I have opened up many old houses and the saying they don't build them like they used to stands. There were many old homes that were sagging because they did not understand simple engineering practices and there is a reason for failiure in these homes. Dale

You are right Dale, they don't make em like they used to! I have tore out old trim from the early 1900's, the corners are all rabbet and dado joints to keep them tight during seasonal expansion and contraction. 

Oh and what good does that do when the rest of the house is sagging? Dale

[mirage1988]

So they relied on the trim carpenters to pretty up the hack work by the framers? Please tell me what has changed!? I was trying to be polite, but you started it!

[Questor]

DALESCARPENTRY:

My good friend owns a house in St. Paul that was built around 1918. It's a beautiful place, but the kind of work he has had to do to it, and what it cost is shocking. The biggest project recently was refurbishing the dining room. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but part of the job required jacking up part of the house because it was sagging. The floors are two-inch-thick Walnut but the basic integrity of the thing has required expensive work. He just re-did the front porch and it cost about ten grand to do it. These folks, like others in their neighborhood are sticklers for keeping the houses in that charming old fashioned style. That's expensive to do.

Another important thing is that virtually no home repair can be done with a simple trip to the Home Depot or similar place. The doors and everything else in the place are not to any modern standard, so everything is custom.

Another lady in the same neighborhood re-sheathed the roof on their porch. To keep it "historically correct" they used copper at its peak price. It cost them over 40 grand to re-roof a porch.

These are not wealthy people. They just have a lifestyle that revolves around their house.

[Cheesehead]

New cars have so much better brakes and handling, quieter and more user friendly.
Plus they have better occupant restraint devices

You cant steer or manuver or brake around anything in a 59 Chevy as compared to a new one. Hairtrigger makes some good points here.

Cheese

[45-70.gov]

my  51  plymoth  has seat belts.....[added]

my   son  found  out  at  16  how  easy  it was  to turn   over [10 years  ago]

he  was  ok  and  a rubber mallet  fixed  most of the dents
doors  and  glass  all  fine   $600  for  a new paint  job and  body  work....good as new

i  don't  think many  new cars would  flip  under that manuver  and  that speed

[Rustyinfla]

  Yep and I can remember when a car had 100K on it you would consider it totally worn out. My Dodge Datoka now has 180K on it and I'm still planing no keeping it another year or two. To drive one of those old cars the kind of miles we put on them today at the kind of speeds we travel at today they just wouldn't last that long.

[DalesCarpentry]

So they relied on the trim carpenters to pretty up the hack work by the framers? Please tell me what has changed!? I was trying to be polite, but you started it!

Give me a break!!!!! I did not start anything. I am simpley stating that many old homes were built poorly. Homes today are built much better and stronger. Now I will admit the detail of trim work has been lost and that is a shame. Dale

[Graybeard]

I would rather not be in either tho clearly modern safety devices work better than what we had in days of old.

I was once in that '59 Chevy tho mine was a hard top not sedan as the one in this otherwise it was the same. The car was totalled and I almost was as well. The only thing that saved me really was lower speeds at impact than in the video. Yes it was a head on and I was not able to avoid it as there was just no where to go when the other driver stopped blocking me. I did do my best to avoid it but there was just no where to go and no time to get there.

My mouth hit and broke the steering wheel in two places and while I lost no teeth all were loosened by the impact. My back was damaged and has never fully recovered. I lost much time from work and even when I was able to go back was not able to do the heavy lifting it required. I was a meat cutter in a meat market. I'll take a newer more modern vehicle over that old '59 Chevy of mine any day. I also drive one of the largest heaviest vehicles I can these days. I sure wish I'd had a shoulder harness in my wreck and an air bag as well but didn't.

[PartsMan]

Homes today are built much better and stronger.

A new addition in my town has pine "two by four" studs on 24" centers.
100 year old house my uncle has was built with true 2 inch by 4 inch hard wood studs on 16" centers.

We have the knowledge to build things better today. That doesn't mean we do.

Same with newer cars. We can make them much safer. Some of them are not.
You have to get the crash test ratings if you are worried about it.

[williamlayton]

I think you have to consider the facts.
Old things are nostalgic but as technology has advanced things have gotten better--wheather it be apples or airplanes.
I spent many years around the building industry---thru the era of the starter home industry. I have seen the remodeling effort ot takes on homes 70/80 years old--even 100 years old.
The only thing BETTER about the older homes was the wood.
New homes are square and level---I sometimes think those old carpenters made their own squares and levels.
I wish for a '57 T-Bird but this 2007 Expedition is so much better, quiter, safer---not to mention comfortable I would not take three T-Birds ( well, except for the investment ) for it.
 One saved my life in a dumb accident I caused 2/3 years ago.
 Blessings

[Questor]

One of the interesting statistics about highway deaths since about the time that '59 was made: Traffic fatalities are actually significantly lower now than they were back then. Then, about 60,000 people per year died driving. Now it's closer to 45,000. Considering vastly increased population, and more high-speed roads, that's pretty remarkable.