Just because it's in print, it must be 'true' and other lies electronically flying around the web.
A reader sent me a copy of Quicksilver, the magazine of the International Mercury Owners Assn., whose winter 2012 issue contains a piece by John Harvey claiming that the well publicized offset crash test between a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu and a 1959 Bel Air was rigged. The crash test was conducted at an event to celebrate the contributions of auto insurers to highway safety progress over 50 years since the 1959 founding of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. IIHS was making a simple — and to me indisputable — point. In a real collision similar to the test, occupants of the newer model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy. It is Harvey’s contention that the Bel Air did not have an engine in it when IIHS crashed the disparate Chevys in a spectacular 40 mph impact.
This is pure, unadulterated hooey from Harvey. The Bel Air was in running condition, and the offset crash test was conducted in the presence of the news media. The Bel Air – its engine forced rearward into the occupant compartment, has been on display ever since at the IIHS Vehicle Research Center in Virginia. No, it’s not the April Fools issue, but should be. Maybe they should stick to Mercurys…
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
