Braggin on the Isuzu Rodeo

My 2month pregnant wife was rear-ended by a guy in a 2000 Chevy Cavalier.. there was about a 40mph speed difference in the vehicles at the time.. he hit her so hard his airbags went off, and his engine compartment crumpled.. his vehicle had to be towed away.

And guess what.. the *ONLY* damage to the back of our Rodeo was some of the galvanize on the trailer hitch... neither the hitch, nor the ball mount was damaged in any way. and his bumper folded all around the hitch and you can tell where the outsides of his bumper had impacted my rear bumper.. a couple of paint scuffs on the bumper, which wiped off with a damp rag...

Our insurance claims-adjuster was just astonished that there wasnt any damage, but he still wants us to take it to a shop, just to verify the hitch isnt bent somewhat.. but even if it is, he said that's a $35 fix.. so.. I'm sure glad she's drivin the Rodeo. :)

Oh, and the cavalier isnt exactly a light car.. the curb weight on that vehicle is close to 2,600lbs (a 96 Jeep Cherokee by comparison is less than

1,800lbs curb weight)..

So it's a tuff little vehicle.. Always said I loved my Rodeo, and now the wife can say it too..

(oh, and she had an ultrasound the next day to make sure the baby was fine.. and it is.. Im gonna be a daddy soon!)

Chuck Burns

I'll definitely say a big Class III trailer hitch is cheap insurance. :-) A few years back I was driving an old 79 Ford full size van and got rear-ended by 3 cars (at relatively slow speeds)...the little VW golf behind me went right into the hitch, and only slightly bent the bumper...wasn't worth the headache to get it fixed...didn't really even notice it until after the fact when the chrome had stress cracks around the bolts and caused very very minor rusting where it had bent and cracked. Most of the other vehicles didn't come out so well. I'll never forget the questions from one of the other insurance companies that called - "Was there any damage to your vehicle?" No... "Have you gotten any estimates to repair the damage?" Ummm...uhhh.... :-) They were probably looking at their client's repair estimate and going yeah right!

Dad's got a 90 trooper with a hitch on it, been hit twice! First time someone lightly bumped him and put a 2" square dent in their plastic bumper. The 2nd time they hit him pretty hard, sounds like what you describe, when he was sitting at a stoplight. Hit it so hard it sheared the bolts on the hitch and it was pointing down at about a 45 degree angle. Also messed up the bumper, but it was otherwise unharmed. Sounds like the Troopers and Rodeos are both pretty tough vehicles...though you didn't have to tell me that, it's one of the big reasons I own 2 Troopers...and the hitch works quite well for towing our 18' travel trailer... :-)

Wesley