[Sandy G]

There's also a video where a 1959-60 model 4 door Chevy gets smacked in the front by a more modern car. It made me SICK not only because the crash test dummies got a real workout-bouncing around all over the car, but because the Shivverlay looked to initially be in really good shape... Then when the impact happened, you saw all the RUST comin' out from everywhere.. The body, IIRC, deformed pretty badly too, not necessarily on account of the rust. We've all heard those older cars were built tougher & could "Take It".. Well the Chevy pretty much folded up like a Cheap Suit.. But, in '57, GM scrapped their decades old double channel frame design, that had 2 side members going from the front of the car to the tail end, in favor of a centrally mounted frame that provided little or no protection in collision, its basic duty was to allow designers to lower the overall height of the car...Some GM divisions didn't want to use the design, since it was felt it wasn't safe, & indeed in 1965 GM went back to on their "Big" cars to the double channel frame design that they'd used before..