Ouch! Check out pic.

[Lou 19028]

Heres a beaut. Two 50s convertibles head on(one Chevy & one Caddy). http://www.ephemeranow.com/photos/photos068.htm TARGET=_blank>http://www.ephemeranow.com/photos/photos068.htm

Nice site BTW,lots of cool pics.
Seasons Greetings all.

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Lou,

Sickening, isnt it.

I would have hated to have been in either of those cars at the time of the crash.   I wouls nearly guarantee that both drivers and or occupants were either killed, or sustained life-threatening injuries.

But, it does show the strength of the Cadillac Chassis.   The Chev just folded at the rear, just where the "X" member meets the Chassis Rails.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[Randall A. McGrew CLC # 17963]

Yeouch!  That poor 56 Cadillac was totalled.  I do not think the driver did well, but the 54 Chevy is a whole lot worse.  That was what happened to the 04 Toyota 4Runner we rearended in the Phford Excursion.  Broke the plastic grill on the PHford, but bent the whole Toyota up in half.  Even with air bags and safety belts, the driver was seriously injured.  

Now why did the Cadillac burn?  Id like to know what might have caused that.

Randall  and his 1956 Caddy 6219

[Jeff Maltby 4194]

Randall. The Cadillac gas tank is on the ground from impact.

GDay Bruce

:<)

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Gday Jeff.

And Randall, the Chev is a 55.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[John Tozer #7946]

Merry Christmas Bruce,

Judging by the two "stars" in the windscreen of the Chev, in these pre-seat belt/pre-sense to wear them days, the two occupants of this car didnt fare too well in the head department either.

John Tozer

p.s. for the sake of our northern hemisphere friends at Christmas, 37 degrees C (bout 100 F) here tomorrow.... and "Yep", we will still have a roast dinner for Christmas!

JT

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

Merry Christmas John,

As well as the sore heads, Ill bet they had smashed knees and the Drivers chest would have been totally crushed.

But, it got up to 34 C (98 F) here yesterday, then they forecast 27 C (84 F) tomorrow, and then rain and wind for Saturday and Christmas Day.   spose we will have to set up the Eski and the Barbie in the Lounge Room.

Were lucky we arent in the Alice tomorrow, as it is forecast to be 43 C (113 F).   Too hot for man or beast.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[Randall A. McGrew CLC # 17963]

Hey that was a mistype!!!  Rented fingers you know!!!

Ah dropped the tank, I see.  Very sad.  Not to mention detrimental to the health of the driver.

[Mike #19861]

 No matter waht we say bout our cars, there have been many advancements in safety in the last 50 years. The basic structure of the Cadillac was not compromised, witness that the doors still look aligned. But, the gas tank on the ground is a major structural faux paus. This no doubt caused the fire.

 That poor Chevy, no doubt, fared much worse. The car is structurally compromised, and may have prevented the doors from opening preventing a fast escape if it had caught fire.

 I dont think any of the occupants fared to well. Even basic seat belts were not part of the standard equipment of those cars. They would have been thrown forward like a tennis ball at a wall. The poor soul in the Cadillac looks like he submarined under the dash. The got fried by the fire.

 Mike

[Matt Mersereau]

Look at where the steering wheel ended up in the Cadillac. I bet that did some damage to the driver. I imagine he was thrown into the wheel, only to have the wheel throw him right back!

Ouch indeed!

[Randall A. McGrew CLC # 17963]

Mike, in this case, wouldnt that be sole instead?  hehe (black humor) sorry.  

No two ways about it, modern cars are significantly safer than those old behemoths.
In the sales literature, they talk with great pride about the new structural strength of the bumper guards (read here - Dagmars).  Obviously rigidity is not desirable in a crash, especially a head on crash, Volvo proved that during the 50s and 60s.  And no, I doubt the seat belts would have helped other than to hold the hips in place as the head slammed into the wheel.  Such force also causes one of the major arteries in the heart to sever due to the whiplash force.  Youre dead almost instantaneously.  The fire was adding insult to injury.   Can you imagine that Caddy with the collapsable zones we have in modern cars?  Interesting idea.  Well all I can say is I will do my utmost to avoid accidents by driving as defensively as possible.  

Now a similar event occured in Switzerland in 1960 when I was there, where a 1955 Chevy was rearended by a beautiful Citreon D7.  There was literally a quarter size dent in the Chevy, and the Citroen was demolished. The whole front end folded inwards. No one was hurt, though the Citroen driver was hopping mad.  I always heard that the French were advanced in their designs. Bet that was an instance of collapsable zones, not just thin metal.

[Tore Robert Klerud, CLC#20146]

Wow. Don´t want to sound morbid or anything, but pictures of old car crashes always make me wonder what happened, and how things turned out for the people involved. With two cars like these, today considered classics of great general car buff interest, I guess I am not the only one. Such photos more or less allways come from insurance company or newspaper files, and I would guess there is some kind of referrence numbers or something like that that could lead to more information about the accident - where and when it happened, how it happened, and how the involved people fared from the accident. It could probably be tracked thru that website that has it published, http://www.ephemera.com. TARGET=_blank>www.ephemera.com. Anyone care to give it a shot?

At the same time, let me send you all my best wishes for the holidays and the new year, and be careful out there, no mater if you are driving your winter beaters in snow and ice like us northern folks, or cruising top down under the sun! Blessings and best wishes to you all!

Regards,
Tore, Norway
76 Eldo conv, 78 Sev Ele