[alfa] Re: alfa 147 Crash Test Pic

[SRomeoX@xxxxxxx]

Joe Elliott wrote:

>  I imagine that a 2-door chassis from the '70s would 
> do pretty poorly in a pole/tree collisions, but I'd like to read the 
> details.  Such impacts can be fatal in any car at 15mph, so if 
> somebody survived 50mph, I'd really like to know how.

I survived a collision with a huge elm tree in a 1971 1750 GTV back in the 
mid seventies. I was travelling at approximately 70 mph when I hit a patch of 
black ice. The tree was right at the edge of the road, so there was no time for 
avoidance and the impact was immediate and pretty much at full speed. 
Fortunately, although it was a head on collision, the direct impact was on the 
passenger side which was not occupied. The impact was so great that the right front 
wheel was driven through the firewall and into the passenger seat, and the car 
bounced end over end a couple of times, and landed on it's roof. The driver's 
side pillar held up but the passenger side roof was crushed (at an angle) 
almost to the door handle. The rear window popped out and landed intact about 100 
feet away, and when i came to (i was knocked out briefly), i crawled out 
through it. I walked away with only a half inch cut on the back of my hand. When I 
went to view the car the next day, the tow truck operator asked if i was a 
friend of the deceased, and at first didn't believe that i was the driver. Told 
me that he'd been in the business for thirty years and never knew of someone 
walking away from that kind of wreck. Somewhere I have a picture of the car and 
it certainly looked pretty nasty (although obviously the driver's side held up 
remarkably well). i also remember reading (i believe it was in an alfa owner 
magazine in the late 70's) about a driver who survived a drop off a cliff on 
route 1 on the california coast. if i remember correctly, he dropped about 400 
feet and landed on the nose of the car, and only broke a couple of bones. in 
both cases some luck was involved, but compared to most cars of that era, alfa 
sedans and coupes were pretty solid.

Steve Pelletier
Hartford, CT
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