Two cars I wouldn't want to own. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jim B. · #1 10-01-2007, 12:24 AM

Inarguable reasons to stick with a Mercedes Benz

Pontiac Grand Am

Other car was a Mazda something-or-other

..

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Complete intrusion of the steering wheel and dashboard into where the driver's body should be. The roof shouldn't collapse in like that, that is the weak point that allowed everything to move in.
The speedometer was pegged to the maximum....

Brian Carlton · #2 10-01-2007, 12:34 AM

At those speeds...........having a M/B isn't going to matter much..........I'm afraid to tell you.............even M/B can't violate the laws of physics.

cmac2012 · #3 10-01-2007, 12:46 AM

I'm sure there are limits but once I came across an accident in Seattle, a head on on a street where 30 to 35 would have been the normal speed -- I forget the model of the car, some average looking Ford, I think, but one lady, the one not at fault, had her legs pinned in the wreckage of her car. They were using the jaws of life and when the did the last maneuver that got her free, she let out quite the cry of pain. I imagine it was pushing metal in any number of directions and gave her a little extra pinch in the process.

Looked like she might have had a compound fracture.

PaulC · #4 10-01-2007, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

At those speeds...........having a M/B isn't going to matter much..........I'm afraid to tell you.............even M/B can't violate the laws of physics.

Precisely. Princess Diana was in a W140 sedan.

davidmash · #5 10-01-2007, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulC

Precisely. Princess Diana was in a W140 sedan.

She was not wearing a set belt as I recall.

davidmash · #6 10-01-2007, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

At those speeds...........having a M/B isn't going to matter much..........I'm afraid to tell you.............even M/B can't violate the laws of physics.

Vehicles are built differently. I would much rather be in a Mazda than lets say a Yugo. I would much rather be in my 190 or E300 than a Mazda.

I got rear ended a few years ago in my 190. The trunk got creamed pretty good. Doors still opened and closed like the day it came off the assembly line. They still do to this day.

MB may not be able to beat the laws of Physics, but they along with several other manufactures, can tip the odds in your favor.

yal · #7 10-01-2007, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidmash

She was not wearing a set belt as I recall.

Yeah she wasn't and the guy at the point of impact in the front passenger seat was. He survived.

I agree at the speed depicted in the picture above nothing short of an M1 tank would have helped. Having said that though, Pontiac Grand Am flunks the offset car crash that the IIHS uses big time. Also if you buy a Mazda without side airbags God help you in a side impact.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx

I seriously used that website before I purchased my car after a friend of mine was involved in a serious side impact when she was driving her Toyota Prius. I looked at the pictures of that model on the IIHS website and the damage to her car looked exactly the same and the injury she sustained was exactly as described by the IIHS. Luckily she had picked up a model with side airbags or she might not have been here today.

BENZ-LGB · #8 10-01-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidmash

She was not wearing a set belt as I recall.

Precisely. Seat belts do save lives.

Hatterasguy · #9 10-01-2007, 01:03 PM

You should see pictures of the accidents they have on the Autobahn at triple digit speeds. I remember seeing a 3 series that looked like that Pontiac. Nailed a bunch of tree's at 150mph.

Instant death.

Having a good car certianly helps, but at those speeds luck is what makes the difference.

raymr · #10 10-01-2007, 03:10 PM

Are speedos designed to stay pinned at the impact speed? That's pretty incriminating, since you can't really blame it on the other guy then. Not that it matters either way, from the looks of it.

cmac2012 · #11 10-01-2007, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BENZ-LGB

Precisely. Seat belts do save lives.

I had a nurse in my cab one time (as a passenger, as a passenger) and she told me she had worked on the para/quadra-palegic ward for some time previously. She said you'd be amazed how many people were there for low speed (35 mph or less) car wrecks w/o seat belt.

cmac2012 · #12 10-01-2007, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

You should see pictures of the accidents they have on the Autobahn at triple digit speeds. I remember seeing a 3 series that looked like that Pontiac. Nailed a bunch of tree's at 150mph.

Instant death.

Having a good car certianly helps, but at those speeds luck is what makes the difference.

I really can't see the point of driving much past 90 on any public roadway anywhere. At 120 mph plus, so much can go wrong really fast.

Hatterasguy · #13 10-01-2007, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

I really can't see the point of driving much past 90 on any public roadway anywhere. At 120 mph plus, so much can go wrong really fast.

Its fun. If I lived next to the Autobahn I'd top out my car every day.

catmandoo62 · #14 10-01-2007, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymr

Are speedos designed to stay pinned at the impact speed? That's pretty incriminating, since you can't really blame it on the other guy then. Not that it matters either way, from the looks of it.

something probably shorted out in the crash.that thing looks to intact for a 120 mph hit.