A Salute to Cars Gone Before Their Time

[BumbleBee]

This is to the cars that...
earned us 100 mph speeding tickets,
kicked @$$ on the track,
showed us what speed really ment,
and gave kids something to dream about.
Cheers!

1985 Trans-am, stolen, chased by cops, who couldn't keep up, drove off road into a field, went airborne, and twisted the frame. Punks got away. The verdict totaled… a guy that races cars bought it, and fixed it up, she’s still giving mustang owners hell.



That's right, I had a mullet when I was little.

[BumbleBee]

2005 C6 Corvette, hydroplaned at 65mph, hit a guard rail, the battery got disconnected. The verdict totaled… Onstar e-mail us 5 days after the accident, there was a problem with the engine… someone hooked the battery back up.

[Georgianne]

Ahhh the days of old. I had a 1974 Cutlass that lost the cops all the time in the Pittsburgh suburbs. Totalled it twice before I retired her. I had great neighbors that knew I was out and would flag me in the neighborhood on my way home to let me know that they heard on the CB radio that the cops were sitting at my house waiting for me.... so I would wait them out in a neighbors driveway til they left and then would go home. When I left for college my brothers were always getting pulled over since the car was so recognizable(two tone paint job). I haven't thought about that in a while!

[TAG UR IT]

For all of those who never heard my story....

I was leaving work on a road that has a slight incline which curves to the left. At the top of the hill where the left turn is, there is a 90 degree right turn into a neighborhood. This isn't the safest intersection. Anyhow....I'm coming over the top of the hill, see the headlights pull up to the stop sign on the road to the right, the lights cease to move (complete stop), and I proceed thinking nothing of it (just another person who stops at a stop sign, right?).

Well, headlights start moving forward as I'm getting ready to pass. There's nothing I can do but smash on the brakes and swerve to the left. She hit me on the front right quarter panel and ripped it all the way down the right side as I spun out (backend out to the left).

When she got out of her car, she said, "I'm so sorry!" I asked what in the world was she thinking and she said, "I looked to the right but I never looked left, I'm so sorry!!" She was 16 years old, was grounded, she snuck out of the house taking moms car w/out permission, and she totalled two cars that night. Imagine the crap she was in after that.

[Georgianne]

Who hit the windshield- no seatbelt huh? Hope you weren't hurt.

[TAG UR IT]

^Oh no...I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt...and I preach it to everyone else in my car too. I'm not going to get a ticket for someone else not wearing their belt in MY car!!!

The reason the windshield was cracked was because both airbags deployed. The passenger airbag shattered the windshield. When we hit, I swerved to the left causing my body (inertia) to move to the right between the two airbags when they deployed. I got a great shot of two airbags going off as my head was between them.

Bruised up my wrist from the airbag hitting it, but nothing serious, thank God.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Got-Dam!! I heard the story...but I've never seen those pics!

She really destroyed HER car...and the Camaro is still badly hit, obviously - but I don't think as much as hers...
That must have been quite a view of the airbags, though Glad you're okay.

Wow.....

And Bumblebee...that Vette, so sad.

[GTAHVIT]

My tribute to the first Camaro in our family. My Mom drove it and was going to give it to me. I was gonna hand over the keys to my jeep to my Dad and he was gonna give me the Camaro. Obviously it didn't work out that way. I did get to drive it quite a bit. Hit by a lady who ran a red light.

[Moose]

A salute to my brother's 10th Anniversary Firehawk.

He was an awesome machine, who deserved to live a long, happy life, but met his demise when an irresponsible, %^$# chose to ignore a STOP sign and hit my brother. :(

[Silverado]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

For all of those who never heard my story....

I was leaving work on a road that has a slight incline which curves to the left. At the top of the hill where the left turn is, there is a 90 degree right turn into a neighborhood. This isn't the safest intersection. Anyhow....I'm coming over the top of the hill, see the headlights pull up to the stop sign on the road to the right, the lights cease to move (complete stop), and I proceed thinking nothing of it (just another person who stops at a stop sign, right?).

Well, headlights start moving forward as I'm getting ready to pass. There's nothing I can do but smash on the brakes and swerve to the left. She hit me on the front right quarter panel and ripped it all the way down the right side as I spun out (backend out to the left).

When she got out of her car, she said, "I'm so sorry!" I asked what in the world was she thinking and she said, "I looked to the right but I never looked left, I'm so sorry!!" She was 16 years old, was grounded, she snuck out of the house taking moms car w/out permission, and she totalled two cars that night. Imagine the crap she was in after that.

Not enough crap, I'm sure.

Just another reason why the laws are going to change more and more towards 16-18 yr olds getting some sort of "probationary" license and passing a harder test to get a full-fledged one. I'm almost totally in favor of that, but then I know a few 16 yr olds that are better drivers than most in their 20's, so it really isn't an age thing, it's a maturity/parental teaching thing.

[Moose]

Originally Posted by Silverado

Just another reason why the laws are going to change more and more towards 16-18 yr olds getting some sort of "probationary" license and passing a harder test to get a full-fledged one. I'm almost totally in favor of that, but then I know a few 16 yr olds that are better drivers than most in their 20's, so it really isn't an age thing, it's a maturity/parental teaching thing.

AMEN! I believe everyone should be re-evaluated at least once.

Besides the too exuberant youth, there are plenty of "older" people just as careless/reckless, ie; cell phones, applying makeup, etc.!

[Justin]

I also firmly believe everybody who lives in an area with snow should go out to a parking lot with plenty of snow and ice and throw the car out, then get it back. I can't even count how many times I've done that. Then again, I can count how many times knowing how my car handles in the snow and what works and what doesn't work to get it back in control has saved my butt.

[Georgianne]

Originally Posted by Moose

AMEN! I believe everyone should be re-evaluated at least once.

Besides the too exuberant youth, there are plenty of "older" people just as careless/reckless, ie; cell phones, applying makeup, etc.!

Leave my name off the list!
Just kiddin' We do have strict laws here with the kids being on probation but I don't think they are strict enough. My sons friend got stopped for doing 100mph on 270 on a probation license and they took his license away for 15days. When they reach 18 they are no longer on probation. If the kids go 180 days of careful driving they get an unrestricted license after that.

[Elkyboy64]

I had a 70 Skylark when I lived in New Mexico, I was only 14-15 at the time and not yet licensed to drive. We lived out in the country with dirt roads and that's where I would practice my driving. The hood latch didn't work so my Granddad had it chained shut.

One day I got brave and wanted to see how fast I could go, so I got it out on the big dirt road and hammered it. I got to about 65 and BAM, the damn hood lost the chain and flew open smashing the windshield and bending back the back corners of the hood. Scared the s**t outta me. I got up on the hood and was jumping up and down to flatten it back out. It didn't work so well.....that one wasn't fun to explain. Ended up selling it for a few hundred bucks.

Second one, when I was stationed in San Diego my wife and I came home to Texas on leave. We were in my new to me '84 Z28. We were a few hours east of El Paso going back to SD and I had the cruise set to 70.

There was a leak at the top of the drivers side window, so the wind was whistling in pretty loudly. I reached over and stuck a piece of paper in it to seal it. In the spit second I looked over at the window I managed to ease off the hi way into the dirt between hi way and access road. It never occurred to me to take it off cruise. I was going to ease back onto the hi way but there were metal reflector poles and I was afraid I'd hit them, so I decided to just ease onto the access road. Well before I knew it I came face to face with a concrete drainage ditch that was running perpendicular to me. It was only a couple feet deep, pretty wide and had a pretty tame slope to the edges. Unless you are in a Camaro doing 70..........we hit the bottom of the ditch and then jumped out of the ditch like the damn Dukes of Hazzard. I know we caught a good foot or more of air.

Once we landed I got the car stopped with no other trouble. When we landed I watched the dash, steering wheel, console, all move down a few inches. I managed to bend the frame, the shocks were pushed up through the fender wells and every panel on the car was mis aligned. I was able to get to the next town and get an alignment, didn't do much but it helped a little bit. We got into SD the next day after getting another alignment in New Mexico. I don't remember the total cost of repairs, but they didn't total the car. So we got it fixed and traded it in on my 454SS.