In anticipation of the three-day Independence Day break with multiple opportunities for indulging in old car activities, I have spent several hours each evening this week in my garage fiddling with my old cars. 

Each time I pull the dust covers back, I am struck anew by the design, construction, and fine craftsmanship of the cars from the classic era that I am so fortunate to have stashed away safely in my garage.  I am certainly not unique in that reaction – we’re in this hobby because we appreciate those qualities of the classics.  Each has been the subject of countless articles and books; I would like to comment briefly on construction.

A few years ago, I got caught in a sudden violent wind storm in our modern car.  To protect the guilty, I’ll not further identify it.  Suffice it to say that it is a new-millennium vehicle of typical modern design and construction.  When the storm hit, visibility quickly dropped to zero, so I pulled over to the side of the road.  The trees overhead were whipping back and forth, and I wondered if one would fall on me.  Luckily, that didn’t happen; a few small sticks bounced off the hood, though.  It wasn’t until later when the panic was over that I noticed the two dents in my hood.  It was over in a moment, but really, the sticks that hit the hood were small, and I was surprised at the extent of damage they caused.  You may have already guessed that the hood is aluminum to save weight. 

Would that have happened in the same situation with one of my old cars?  I don’t think so, and I hope and pray to never be in a situation where that assumption is put to test.  The body is all steel, and of a more generous gauge than is typical of today’s more “weight-efficient” designs.  As you may know, forming flat sheet metal into shapes stiffens it, so those gorgeous, curvy, streamlined classic body shapes also had the practical effect of making them stronger. 

So, here’s the question, strictly hypothetical: God forbid, but if there’s an accident, do you think you’re better off in a big, strong, older car with thick all-steel sheet metal, or your modern transportation appliance with seemingly fragile aluminum hood?  The correct answer is increasingly clear; modern automobiles are infinitely safer in accidents than our beloved collector cars.  Videos of a test collision between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu have recently been making the rounds on the Internet – judicious use of Google or an equivalent Internet search engine will quickly find them.  [See it here - Webmaster]  Even if you have already seen them, they are worth another look, particularly if you missed the summary at the end that indicates the driver of the 2009 Malibu might have suffered a knee injury, but the driver of the ’59 would have died instantly (again, it was a test, with instrumented test dummies, so nobody was actually hurt). 

I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to become familiar with modern vehicle crashworthiness technology in my professional work (not automobiles).  Vehicle crashworthiness design, simulation, and test tools available today were not even science fiction in the classic era.  There have been tremendous advances in the last ten, and even five years, and that rapid pace of development promises to continue.  Now if we could only get them to work in a few those classic-era forms and shapes in the new cars!

So there you have it: beautiful, yes; crashworthy, not really.  This is not to discourage you from driving and enjoying your collector car during the Independence Day holiday and throughout the summer show season.  Just do what you always do – drive safely!

There are many great events coming up:

And as before, I would like to end by inviting you to join us at Otto’s in Horsham, PA on 20 July and the third Tuesday of every month for our regular monthly meeting.  We need your help planning and running the upcoming events, and your good ideas for future activities. 

Regards,

Please join us at our monthly meeting at Otto’s Brauhaus in Horsham, PA. We need your input. The meetings are great fun, and don’t worry, they almost never come to blows. Dinner starts at 6:00 to 6:30 pm, meeting starts at 7:30 pm, with all good intents to finish by 9:00 pm. A draft Agenda can by found here, on our website.