Posted on 12/06/2017 7:49:25 PM PST by sparklite2
Unpadded metal surfaces, blunt knobs and rods, steering columns that impale—and seatbelts weren’t even on the options list. We may think highly of the 1955 Chevrolet, but like all cars of the era, it didn’t think much of its passengers; here we use it as a lens through which to view the state of automobile safety of the time. Yes, 62 years later, things have become much safer.
(Excerpt) Read more at blog.caranddriver.com ...
Let alone British Leyland.
People dream about owning a 55 Chevy. Nobody dreams about owning a Honda Accord.
And the cars became uniformly ugly and uninspired
The one and most important thing the author overlooks. The cars were built like TANKS! You could have a head on collision and both drivers would ligh up smokes and walk away.
“How did we ever survive in cars that did not all look like legless scarab beetles”?
As I stood on the seat next to him, my Dad would put out his right arm to keep me or my other brothers from falling when he hit the brakes. None of us ever fell or hit the dash.
It’s a wonder we didn’t get hurt but we didn’t.
I really don’t want to live in a safe world. I don’t. The quest for safety, the quest to make sure that no bad thing ever happens to anyone ever — that way lies madness. And socialism.
“How did we ever survive in cars that did not all look like legless scarab beetles?”
Our parents were good drivers?
And you’re sure right about the cars we grew up with having style instead of the boring junk cranked out today.
No surprise Ralph Nader was a driving force behind it.
In “Green Acres”, Mr Haney used a seat rope.
You could have a head on collision and both drivers would ligh up smokes and walk away.
Actually, the whole article makes a completely opposite case.
1967 Plymouth Fury III.
Five kids, all boys, the oldest one was 9.
No seat belts.
No Air bags.
No padding.
Drum brakes.
We survived.
L
Ya, but when a 70’s rice burner ran into my ‘57 Chevy, there was no damage to my Chevy, but $500 damage to the rice burner....this was in 75.
The steel saved us then.
It was the search for gas mileage that lightened cars and made them less protective of passengers.
And also the most beautiful, shit-hot pieces of automotive Americana that Detroit ever blessed these fruited plains with. God Bless The USA.
I think 1955 was the beginning of the best auto designs for all three automakers for the next thirty years.
I know, the newest member of the family, the baby, got to sit in the front seat in mom's arms and the rest of us, the other five, had to sit in the back.
That 1 foot by 4 foot shelf behind the back seat? I usually got up there first unless my brother called dibs.
love that movie!!
The road was wide open. Every town was different. We were free. Most of us made it. Some didn’t.
That’s life.
Wouldn’t trade it for anything they have today.
Safety in cars has come a long way but as someone who rents lots of cars I note that most new ones have replaced the old buttons and knobs on the dash (climate and radio controls) for a LCD touch screen which forces you to take your eyes off the road and look at the screen and navigate through menus to do something simple like change a radio station or turn up the fan. Really unsafe. At least the Edsel and the Pinto made it safe and easy to adjust the temperature in the car.
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