The Perfect Crash - or - a miracle?

Throwing out newspapers this morning, I came upon this article from the

11/02/03 L.A. Times:

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(watch the wrap-around) Anyway, if you can't get to the story, here are some text-pulls:

- "Tell me exactly what kind of accident you're going to have," a safety engineer once said, "and I can design the perfect protection."

- This truth and others were ringing in my ear when, a few months ago, I purchased a limpid-blue 1990 Miata.

- My dreams of a cut-rate sports car were realized. The Miata slipped through snarled traffic, narrow mountain roads and crowded parking lots like a gentle zephyr. It pitched and floated like my own personal ultralight on Sunday morning flings down Latigo Canyon Road. (My note: Latigo Cyn. on Sunday mornings is starting to get 'busy')

- How would a convertible weighing little more than 2,000 pounds fare, when push came to shove, in a world of vehicles often twice its size?

- I found out when the phone rang one recent Sunday afternoon. It was my wife, Donna. "I am so sorry," she said. "I think your car is totaled." She sounded shaky.

- Chewing the steering wheel, I inched through traffic toward the din, until at last I saw it: a tiny blue Miata sitting, convertible top down, in the middle of the intersection. The car was now shortened by two feet, the front end stove in to the wheels, air bag hanging from the driver's door, glass everywhere. Beside the curb lay the carcass of a huge black Chevy Blazer, crumpled and on its roof.

- Yet there was also the unmistakable afterglow of a minor miracle, for what had happened was clearly the precise application of energy that this sturdy little car was built to withstand. It was the exact opposite for the unwieldy, top-heavy SUV. The tiny car, a low wedge moving at 40 miles per hour, had slipped under the Blazer's frame rail, then stayed put as the big truck, levered off its wheels, went skittering across the intersection on its crumpled roof. Both vehicles were totaled.

Despite the wreckage, no one was bloodied. The combination of air bags, seat belts and safety glass had saved everyone in the Blazer. But the Miata was more impressive. One could see the seat belt had held with no slippage or movement at the buckle; the driver's compartment was completely intact. Even down in the foot well, the pedals still stood up, perfectly straight. And up front one could see how the car's plastic nosepiece had absorbed its limit of energy, with its crush zones, air bladder and closed-cell foam flattened, at one spot, to the thinness of a paper cup.

Reply to
McMahon
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Despite the sad fact that a Miata was destroyed, still a very uplifting story:

- Nobody was hurt. :)

- A Miata and a SUV went fighting and the Miata won! :)

- It sounds like one SUV was solidly taken off the road. :)

- One less SUV driver. :)

- And most of all: the Miata's top was down. :))

Happy Thanksgiving!

Le>Throwing out newspapers this morning, I came upon this article from the

Reply to
Leon van Dommelen

I am glad to hear that nobody was injured, even those that made the choice to ride in a Silly Useless Vehicle. I have always wondered what causes people to think that a vehicle that has trouble staying on it's tires is a safe vehicle to drive.

Now I'm just waiting for Dana, like a metronome, to mention his Trailblazer and to come up with some reason that it is *better* than the other unwieldy, top-heavy pieces of junk that now infest our roadways.

Shame on me. I'm a stinker at the moment. Please forgive me. ;-)

Pat '96M

Reply to
pws

The SUV driver wasn't killed. I would bet pretty high odds that they will be out buying another SUV soon. Experience has shown that image and keeping up with fads is more important to the SUV driver than safety and common sense.

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well,

Pat '96M

Reply to
pws

I too am sorry that no one was hurt but what makes you think there isn't a legitimate purpose for SUVs? Granted, most are being used by soccer moms but I've got a 03 4Runner that gets 19/20mpg, will transport five people (or my wife and I and my two hunting dogs) in comfort and will actually tow my other toys (jetskis on a double trailer) across the country during the summer. My Miata is my primary transportation because it is by far the most enjoyable auto I've ever owned but I couldn't survive without the SUV. Granted, there are way too many of them on the road but since we don't build body on frame cars anymore, towing pretty much requires something with a bit more guts.

Tom

92 Red

Reply to
Tom Howlin

Blah blah-de-blah.

Dana

Reply to
Dana Myers

Really?

Reply to
Per K. Nielsen

The towing argument gets thrown around a lot, and I guess it depends on what you are towing. Over here, you'd have a hard time convincing all the Dutch and Germans that a SUV is required. Every summer there is a mass exodus of the Dutch and Germans towards southern holiday destinations, and they are all towing maxi-camping trailers. I don't know the gross weight or tongue weight, but it's getting well up there. They are all using ordinary sedans to tow (Passat turbodiesels, Mercedes, Opels etc.). The farmers here all love to tow their horse trailers behind Subarus. There is the occasional Land Rover, but that's the exception. Personally, if I were to move back to North America, I think it would be quite fun to get the new TDi VW Phaeton, a properly engineered hitch, and tow something serious behind it. That monster motor has more torque than almost every other diesel out there.

My sister was quite irritated when I proved that my Focus wagon could hold as much stuff and people as her Explorer, and it gets 50 mpg+ (TDCi) and will cruise all day at 100mph+.

Stephen

Reply to
Stephen F.

In Australia you can buy GM or Ford rear wheel drive 4 door sedans and wagons which seat 5 adults and are rated to tow 2100kg or 2300kg respectively. The GM product has a locally built version of the 3.8 litre Buick V6 or the gen III 5.7 litre V8 from the Corvette. The Ford has a local 4 litre six or a 5 litre V8 from the US Mustang.

There are even ute versions - like the US El Camino of years gone by, and the GM is available as a coupe, which is sold in the US as the new Pontiac GTO.

These are the biggest selling cars in Australia and are mainstream family cars, sales reps cars, cop cars, taxis, etc...

Reply to
Graham

Gee Tom,

What did you do before there were SUV's ?

Not being able to servive must have been very hard! Did you just walk off down the road and die someplace then came back to life when SUV's cme out ?

Just think, once apon a time we did't have A/C & PS disc brakes and on and on .... Some how, I know this seems hard to take, but we "did" survive. How about putting your arm out the open window to signal you were going to turn ??? Nowdays when you see an arm out, they are drying their nail polish ! But, that was back in the 40's wasn't it. (you do know about the 30's & 40's don't you )

Bruce RED '91

Reply to
BRUCE HASKIN

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