Jam Handy on boxes, balls, and automotive engineering

Crash testing the 1955 Chevrolet. Still image from video.

In the 1950s, consumers eagerly awaited annual news of new cars from major automakers, and for Chevrolet, Jam Handy played a big role in de-mystifying the science and engineering that went into the revised products. For 1955, improvements to Chevrolet’s frame rigidity, suspension and handling were illustrated for consumers with objects that even a child knew well: the cardboard box and the ball.

This Jam Handy film clearly dates to an era before product liability lawsuits, as the stunts depicted (which include using an actual driver to ramp jump a 1955 Chevrolet into a parked car) come without the standard disclaimer of “Professional driver on closed course. Do not attempt this at home.” Though box frame design may have been advanced by the time this film was made, the science of crash testing was in its infancy, and it would take engineers another decade to realize that structural deformation (and with it, energy dissipation) was a key to crash survivability.

The move from body-on-frame to unibody construction ultimately led to modern cars that are lighter, more fuel efficient and safer (though far less impact-resistant) than the box-frame 1955 Chevrolets seen here. Some would argue that more modern cars lack style or presence, and that 1957, or 1965, or even 1972 was the last year that Detroit designed cars with passion, not regulatory compliance, in mind. What isn’t debatable is this: the world needs a modern Jam Handy to explain the science and engineering of new cars in the same simple-yet-elegant light seen here.