Old VW's Unsafe?

Does he have any interesting stories (or theories) dating from November 22, 1963?

Randall

I dated a guy in high school that had a Pinto... We changed the letters on the front so instead of saying Ford it said "dorf". I have yet to be able to look at a Pinto without calling it a dorf.

K. What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale? A northern fairytale starts out "Once upon a time..." A southern fairytale starts with "Ya'll ain't gonna believe this s*it..."

On Tue, 12 Oct 2004 23:22:17 GMT, Randall Post scribbled this interesting note:

He was not working that day. He was out buying a Jeep, as I recall the story. The rest I'll leave alone since we've had far to many OT discussions in this group already!:~)

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

There's one driving around town here... needs a paint job but looks okay otherwise! (Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada)

Despite Mr. Hoover's well-deserved reputation on the NG, I don't think you're a troll.

The article to which you refer probably is based on a consumer-watch report from the mid-80's (sorry, can't remember either the program or the exact year) that found VW Beetles up to and including 1972 models had a weakness in the front seat mounting rail design which would cause the rails to fail in the event of a rear-end collision of sufficient force. In such a collision the seat would tilt backwards violently, pivoting around the lower rear seat frame, and launch the driver/passenger into the rear seat, where his/her head and neck would then unsuccessfully attempt to prevent the rest of his or her body to bury itself in the rear seat backrest. The neck usually lost.

A number of para- and quadrapelegics were documented to have resulted from this little flaw. Evidently the seat mount redesign of 1973 corrected the problem. After the report came out, there were a few aftermarket fixes that surfaced. I recall a reinforcing clamp that went around the seat rail, and a strap gizmo that basically tied the front end of the seat frame down more solidly. Don't know if either solution was actually tested with crash-test dummies.

As this report came out long after my '72 Super had succumbed to entropy, I simply counted myself fortunate to have dodged that fate. I'm somewhat surprised that none of the long-time airheads on this newsgroup remembered it, though.

Regards, and safe V-dubbing, Lyle Beaulac '81 Westy

Probably. Same to be said for just about any car. Learn how to drive defensively. However, in your case I would just advise not driving at all. You seem to be a "few fries short of a happy meal" if you know what I mean.

Regards,

Chris

I was into Fiats even brought a 850 spider back from Germany, but I also brought back a son and a 2 seater wasn't practical.

came close once to owning a 2CV but I couldn't see my driving around a Duck.(a nickname for them in Grmany)

Mario

HAHAHA! I *so* give up my quote of the year for that one! lol

Kidd What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale? A northern fairytale starts out "Once upon a time..." A southern fairytale starts with "Ya'll ain't gonna believe this s*it..."

Well, I said I would post a link to the article, and here it is:

well you sure did put alot of stock in those two guys opinions, and now you have a bunch of other ones...now take that, do some research and form your own....

------------------- Chris Perdue "I'm ever so thankful for the Internet; it has allowed me to keep a finger in the pie and to make some small contribution to those younger who will carry the air-cooled legend forward" Jim Mais Feb. 2004

I apologize for thinking you to be a troll. I just used "Duck" logic and you fit. Sorry. Dennis

href="

Hardly conclusive evidence, espeically when before you were talking about Bugs and the artical was about Busses. A while back someone posted a link to an safety study done on Vanagons, another rear engined vehicle, and showed the result of a collision between a Vanagon and a Volvo. The Vanagon hit the Volvo head on and proceeded to ride up the hood of the Volvo right into its cab. Guess who "won" that encounter... So I guess that proves Volvos are unsafe. I will not argue that an antique Bus or Bug is safer than a modern car. You would have to be insane to suggest that, but then a few weeks ago we lost a former student at my school who was driving a brand new Mercedes and was killed when he went flying off the road at a high rate of speed and crashed head on into a boulder. No car is going to guarantee you safety, a good portion of that responsibility lies with you the driver.

--Dan E

indeed

------------------- Chris Perdue "I'm ever so thankful for the Internet; it has allowed me to keep a finger in the pie and to make some small contribution to those younger who will carry the air-cooled legend forward" Jim Mais Feb. 2004

...or the carelessness of other people's driving :-(

-- Howard Rose

Or it the carelessness lies with drunk people trying to cross the road at 2:30 am in an area where there are no street lights....

Kidd What's the difference between a northern fairytale and a southern fairytale? A northern fairytale starts out "Once upon a time..." A southern fairytale starts with "Ya'll ain't gonna believe this s*it..."