How many times have we heard an old-timer saying something along the lines of “Back in my day cars were cars made of tough stuff, not these flimsy little tin cans we have today!” As their eyes get misty, they wax on about how solidly built cars of yore were, and how they’d much rather be in a big vintage American boat than anything modern. Those sure were the days.

Yeah, right.

To celebrate 50 years of smashing things, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put money to mouth, crashing a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air – about as big and heavy as they come, mind you – into a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. The results speak for themselves.

Wow. I mean…wow. The windshield on the Malibu doesn’t even crack. The Bel Air, however, folds faster than Superman on laundry day. So you can have your nostalgia. I’ll take the one that’ll save my life.