I love ‘50s full-sized cars, but the GM X bodies were not the best of the lot from a structural standpoint. A hardtop version of this car was used to show how unsafe they were. An Imperial would have fared better.
Have you seen this crash test? 1959 vs 2009. You would think that big monster Chevy would have beat out the smaller, modern version.
Nope:
2009 Chevy Malibu vs 1959 Bel Air Crash Test | Consumer Reports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPF4fBGNK0U
There is even a follow up explaining why things happened the way they did. A lot of people really have no idea just how poorly made those old cars were.
Thoughts on the Impala Crash - 1959 vs. 2009 V8TV-Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ3Y0lxGz6s
Those cars were as good as they needed to be in a world where the last word in safety was, “Well, try not to hit anything and you’ll be safe.”