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So what were the causes? I was a Saab fan so I'm curious.


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It was multiple cars that broke down as opposed to an isolated incident.

The car could no longer drive. Short of bursting into flames that’s about as bad as it gets.

I'm pretty sure that was found to be caused by people accidentally hitting the accelerator.

That engine is totaled.

Today in news: a car broke down.

That might explain what happened to an old Benz 240D I used to own.

It could be the result of an explosion near the engine.

That hurts.

Slight difference though, this is an 'offset' crash, the volvo is straight, makes you wonder how well the V60 would have fared in an offset crash.


There was an episode of Top Gear where they dropped a Saab and BMW on their roof from 8 feet in the air. IIRC, the Saab survived, and was able to even open it's doors. The BMW was basically flattened.

They said the engine fairing ruptured. That is most definitely mechanical damage.

There are part/system failures in cars that result in death, just as with nuclear reactors.

Or it might have just malfunctioned because of other fatal malfunctions leading up to the Crash.

amazing that such a tiny manufacturing error could lead to complete engine failure, associated damage, and near catastrophe.

A similar situation devastated Audi in the '80s. Hopefully Toyota will learn from history. The Audi problem was more severe because acceleration happened during the transition from park to drive, which is a far more dangerous situation.

[ http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1987/05/wat... ]


Apparently they had to do major repairs on the cars every night, because the jumps were so brutal. In one shot, you can see a large plume of oil appear as the car hits the ground and its oil pan is destroyed. :-O

Interesting read, I remember the crash but never heard what happened.

Quote of the day from the article about the early days of Autos:

>Car fires are a common enough occurrence along America's freeways. A gas line breaks under the hood and soon the engine is engulfed in flames. The cure? Pull over, get out, find a long stick, and start roasting marshmallows.


Achievement unlocked I guess? A tragedy. But no you’re right, that is a Way to cause lots of damage with a car. Still involves Heavier vehicle tho

It's not that the metallic debris has caused the failure, but rather it indicates a serious failure has occurred inside the engine.

Maybe it's the cars that are doomed.
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