Ford escort vs tree

[Handruin]

All I can saw is wow.

http://www.drivelinechatter.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=&TOPIC_ID=1368

[jtr1962]

Something similar happened to one of my cousins on a bicycle. He was doing 45 mph and went off the road. The bike ended up wrapped around a lamp post and he walked away.

I guess the fact that this guy survived shows that Darwin's Law doesn't always work. :mrgrn:

[e_dawg]

Hey, maybe good luck is in his genes: his whole family may be a bunch of dumb shit lucky bastards, thus proving Darwin right :)

[flagreen]

That's one tough tree!

[Fushigi]

Escorts can do 100MPH? :D

[Handruin]

That's one tough tree!

That is what amazed me! That little tree doesn't even look like it cared. The car ran into it, and the tree said FU.

[e_dawg]

Don't f... with mother nature :)

[blakerwry]

Escorts can do 100MPH? :D

Maybe 100... But they couldn't do much more than that if they were falling off a cliff.

[Buck]

If the Escort had hit the tree head on, the tree would not have survived so well. In this case, the Escort hit the tree with one of its weakest sides at a very high speed. The B-pillars and roof are very weak on those vehicles -- you can imagine the danger of being T-boned by a Ford Excursion in one of those soapbox cars.

[e_dawg]

I am similarly scared of those Toyota Tercels. Maybe a little stronger structure than an Escort, but those things are small and low to the ground. If an SUV is sitting beside you at the lights, all you see is their wheels. I know a lot of friends who drive Tercels and I am honestly scared of riding in them.

[blakerwry]

howabout a miata? have you felt how thin the metal is on those things? My girlfriend is sincerely scared of being a passenger in the car with me when i drive it.

She drives an Accord and I normally drive a Toyota Camry. I feel very safe in the Camry, I know it would take alot to tear it in half. :D

[e_dawg]

True, a Miata is a small, light car, but at least it's "worth it" -- a nimble fun roadster that started the retro/roadster trends that others followed since then. The Tercel, well... it's an uncool, cheapo econobox that has few redeeming qualities. If you're going to risk your life in a car, it'd better be a sexy/fast/(insert redeeming quality here) ride.

[timwhit]

There are plenty of cars that would not be safe in an accident such as anything less than 3000lbs. My Sentra only weighs 2700lbs and I don't think it would fare very well in a collision with a Ford Excursion or some huge monstrosity like that. At least I have a lot of air bags if that ever does happen. Another thing to take into consideration is that a small sports car will be much more likely to avoid an accident before it ever even happens. You might end up tipping an SUV if you try to avoid an accident. But, I don't think you will ever be able to tip my Spec-V unless you hit a curb while sliding sideways at 45mph. Ford Escorts and Toyota Tercels just don’t have the right anything (tires, suspension, engine…) to avoid accidents.

[Pradeep]

Some of the turbo equipped Escorts are very fast indeed.

[timwhit]

Some of the turbo equipped Escorts are very fast indeed.

I don't think those are available over here in the States.

[Mercutio]

I had an Escort ZX2 as a rental car once. Speedometer went up to 120. No idea if the car is that fast. My (former, now belonging to someone else) ' 97 Contour could do at least 105.

[jtr1962]

I still remember from reading loads of Car&Driver road tests in the 1980s that even the most miserable econoboxes(i.e. diesels with 30 second 0 to 60 times) still maxed out at least in the mid eighties. Nothing made in the last ten years is even remotely that slow so I'm sure practically everything on the road nowadays, including Escorts, can top 100 mph with the exception of heavy trucks and buses. Also, no mention of whether the person was on a downgrade or not.

[timwhit]

My sister has the the low model '95 Escort and it maxes out at about 85mph. At this speed the car starts to shake fairly badly. The Escort ZX2 is not as bad as other Escorts, but it's not that fast either.

[Will Rickards WT]

car shaking... hmm... you aren't going fast enough!

[jtr1962]

My sister has the the low model '95 Escort and it maxes out at about 85mph. At this speed the car starts to shake fairly badly. The Escort ZX2 is not as bad as other Escorts, but it's not that fast either.

This (http://www.totalbike.com/news/article/472/) might make your sister feel even worse about the Escort's top speed. Yes, that 80.55 mph under human power alone in the article is not a misprint. 8)

[blakerwry]

car shaking... hmm... you aren't going fast enough!

that's one thing about those fords... you just get too damn scared to take their coffin boxes over 100mph... the vibrations alone would throw you off the road... now get a nice acura and you can probably take the thing over 120 if it its tires and shocks aren't worn out or its wheels out of alignment.

[Stereodude]

I routinely kiss 100MPH on my drive into work when I get a little of an open stretch of freeway.

[Clocker]

I routinely kiss 100MPH on my drive into work when I get a little of an open stretch of freeway.

Let me guess...you're on I-696? :)

[Stereodude]

I routinely kiss 100MPH on my drive into work when I get a little of an open stretch of freeway.

Let me guess...you're on I-696? :)Worse, M-14.

I've gone 140 on 696 before. 2am on a weekend coming back from a buddy's house. This was between Telegraph and Orchard Lake Rd.

[Clocker]

dude (um I mean Stereodude) that's nuts!

My buddy and I did 135 in his dad's 911 on M53 (Van Dyke Freeway) somewhere north of 21mile but that is about as fast as I have gone on public streets. This was really bad though...2 girls in the back seat (you know they we're fat to fit in a 911 backseat!) and a 12-pack of bud in their laps. Was that bad....or good?! :lol:

I've peaked a little higher than 135 at the track at work but not by very much. When you're on a track that is so smooth and perfectly banked that you can drive for hundreds of miles without touching the steering wheel if you want...it's a little easier.

C

[Clocker]

um...that should have read they WEREN'T FAT!!! :oops: 8)

[jtr1962]

I was with my brother once driving back from our grandmother's house in Rome, NY. It was the middle of the night. He covered the 270 miles, which included about 20 miles on slow local streets and expressways, in under three hours, including a gas stop. The speedo was hovering between 110 and 125 most of the way. The car was a heavily modified Delta 88(I forgot the year, I think it was a 1968 or 69). He hit 137 once in his 1966 Toronado(thankfully without me), and he said it was still pulling but he didn't want to push his luck with the crappy tires he had on. He also had his Mark VIII up to 128, which is the maximum the stock chip lets it go. He says some people sell a modified chip that ungoverns it, and then max speed is claimed to be 155ish. I'm not sure if my brother would be nuts enough to attempt that on a public road but I wouldn't put it past him. Everytime he's modified one of his cars he sometimes asks me to take a spin to show off. This usually consists of running at up to 100 mph on some local streets, some of which have stoplights. :o Although I always get back safe since he knows when to go fast and when not to, I'm usually as white as a sheet.

Just my opinion but it doesn't seem like you're moving on most Interstates until you get past about 110. That's one reason I like TGVs. 300 kph(186 mph) is not only legal, but required to stay on schedule. 8)

[blakerwry]

makes me wish I would have pushed my camry past 125.

[timwhit]

When I had my '97 Mustang GT I got it up to 136mph on I-80 in Illinois. The car might have gone faster than that but the traffic was getting kind of heavy so I decided to slow down. The fastest I have had my new car up to is 110mph.

[Howell]

My sister has the the low model '95 Escort and it maxes out at about 85mph. At this speed the car starts to shake fairly badly. The Escort ZX2 is not as bad as other Escorts, but it's not that fast either.

In 92, my Dad had a Volvo 240 (the boxy one) and it maxed out at 95MPH. At this speed the radiator boils out all the coolant and leaves you on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

I DDed a Subaru Imprezza WRX last weekend but not the most current model. Around the Atlanta motor speedway that is I-285 at 2AM. The nice thing is that traffic is already doing 85-90. The owner in the passenger seat kept pushing me to test the car out. Nice tight handling. I did have to slow down from a run at one point and although I don't know how fast I maxed I was coming back through 110 when I glanced at the guage. I'm guessing I maxed at 120 or so.

[Howell]

car shaking... hmm... you aren't going fast enough!

that's one thing about those fords... you just get too damn scared to take their coffin boxes over 100mph... the vibrations alone would throw you off the road... now get a nice acura and you can probably take the thing over 120 if it its tires and shocks aren't worn out or its wheels out of alignment.

Maybe it's just mine but the front end gets light at around 110.

[Mercutio]

You guys are all pansies! 110mph is nothing if you're going forward. Real men try for speed records in reverse.

:D

[blakerwry]

don't imagine you'd get too far that way, gearing is all wrong on most passenger cars... y

ou might be able to go fast if you had a two stroke motor cycle and ran the engine in reverse. I know it's possible.. but I don't know what kind of preventative measures have been taken to stop this from happening on its own.

[Mercutio]

My Grand Marquis can do 40 in reverse. :)

[Handruin]

My Grand Marquis can do 40 in reverse. :)

Good lord! :o

[e_dawg]

Wanna know why you shouldn't go that fast? Even at 5 mph, collisions are severe enough to cause thousands of dollars in repairs:

http://www.storageforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=38709#38709

The impact forces are HUGE at higher speeds. Yes, the car may sacrifice itself to dissipate some of the energy to protect you, but there's only so much it can do. At 110+ mph, you are asking for a lifetime of paraplegia or death. At those speeds, all it takes is one accident and you're screwed. When you're flying by people so quickly, they may not see you in their mirrors or when doing a shoulder check. Next thing you know, they switch into your lane right in front of you and it's GAME OVER. And unlike a video game, there's no more credits. You can't play again.

I thought it was bad enough worrying about drunk drivers. Now we got sober folk doing the same thing? </soapbox>

[blakerwry]

I don't drive reclessly any more... only during my highschool days.

When i was driving at 100+ in my Camry I wasn't near any traffic and it was after midnight with a clear view of both infront and behind for a good ways.

[jtr1962]

Wanna know why you shouldn't go that fast? Even at 5 mph, collisions are severe enough to cause thousands of dollars in repairs:

The impact forces are HUGE at higher speeds. Yes, the car may sacrifice itself to dissipate some of the energy to protect you, but there's only so much it can do. At 110+ mph, you are asking for a lifetime of paraplegia or death.

You're right of course, but an accident at 65 will kill you just the same as one at 110. Past about maybe 50 mph, collisions just stop being surviveable with current restraint systems. That's not to say we can't do better, but most drivers wouldn't tolerate the systems used in race cars.

Most collisions involve smaller speed differentials anyway. Considering that most Interstate traffic these days moves at 80 to 90 driving at 110 only represents a 25 mph speed difference. Certainly survivable, and slow enough that you can hopefully react to avoid an accident all together if someone swerves in your lane. The biggest problem on Interstates are the drivers who insist on going right at the speed limit, or even under it. How they do this without falling asleep is beyond me but they are a bigger hazard than experienced drivers doing 110 or 120. Another big problem are kids just getting their license who really can't handle high speeds but drive fast anyway just to show off. Despite my brother's penchant for speed, he definitely won't try doing 110 on a crowded road where everyone else is doing 65. That's suicide, plain and simple.

What we really need are to set reasonable speed limits based on a road's curves and the capabilities of modern cars. Many cars today, especially foreign ones, are perfectly capable of cruising safely and economically at 110 or more. I would like to see speed limits set around there, and perhaps up to 125 on very lightly traveled, straight roads. Also minimum speeds that are maybe 20 mph under the speed limit to keep the half-assed drivers who think 60 mph is moving off the highways. Besides the obvious increase in traffic flow efficiency, we might finally start to see proper lane discipline in this country, and remove the plague of SUVs from the picture. They just aren't stable or economical at 100 mph so they might not even be allowed on most Interstates once the minimum speed was raised to 90 mph or more. As their utility decreases, so will their attractiveness to the general public.

[Pradeep]

I once got a Toyota Corolla 1.6 to 180km/h. This was on a long hill.

Thread reminds me of the German guy who owned to McLaren roadcars, one was the road version and the other was for the track. Basically he would drive for three hours from one place to another for business. Routinely hitting 220MPH. Apparently the onboard diagnostics wanted him to hook up the modem so the car could talk to the McL engineers in England. They rang him back up and told him the data logger was screwed, because it kept saying 220, 217 etc. LOL he said no, no problem there.

One thing he did say was that for >200MPH, three lanes is a must, because with two lanes an idiot liable to pull out in front of you. It was a story in one of the car magazines. Oh yes, he was also a successful track racer.

[blakerwry]

jtr, not everyone has the skills that you posess. There are lots of people that seem to have a hard time at the current 55-70 limits.

Not to mention large trucks(semis and trailers) that aren't capable of fast accelleration or even fast speeds at some times.

Personally, i think it's the people driving 110 in a 70 that are the problem. As long as everyone is going the same speed then I think conditions are the safest. I usually drive with the flow of traffic for this reason. But if I get the chance I could easliy be driving 5 under the limit on both residential and highway driving. Honestly, I think current speed limits are a good reflection of the current condition of most drivers abilities, the cars that are on the road, and the condition of the road itself.

[Howell]

It's not the 25mph speed differential I would be worried about in a wreck. It's the stationary walls or tree in the way once the wreck occurs and control of the vehicle is lost.

[e_dawg]

Or worse, head-on collisions at practically double the impact velocity.

[jtr1962]

jtr, not everyone has the skills that you posess. There are lots of people that seem to have a hard time at the current 55-70 limits.

Not to mention large trucks(semis and trailers) that aren't capable of fast accelleration or even fast speeds at some times.


Actually for me it's cycling skills, not driving skills. I never had a license but I did read that certain types of people, like skiers and cyclists, as a rule tend to drive very fast. I imagine I would be no different once I got a license and racked up enough hours at "normal" speeds to feel comfortable at high speeds. It's basically what feels fast to you that controls your driving habits. As a cyclist I can say for a fact that speeds on a bike easily feel like a car going three to four times as fast. My normal level cruise speed of 22 to 25 mph feels like driving at maybe 70 to 80. The spurts to 35 feel like 110. I mentioned in another thread that I hit 65 mph once. I felt like that German guy who Pradeep mentioned probably felt when he was doing 220. For these reasons 110 on an Interstate is probably what would feel normal to me. However, I do agree with you about following speed limits on local roads with traffic lights. It's just not safe going fast when children on bikes or stoplights come up. I actually think it's kind of pathetic seeing the idiots who go at 60 on local NYC streets, and then only go 10 mph faster on an open highway. Not to mention the moronic jogging for position that everyone, especially SUV drivers, do around here. You actually get people who pass on the right(where parked cars and bikes usually go) just to get one car length ahead at the nearest stop light. Why? To save six tenths of a second?

I admit changing limits as I mentioned might present some problems, especially with heavy trucks and buses, most of which can't even go more than about 80. However, I was surprised to learn when I watched something on the autobahns in Germany that trucks do use them. The reason it's safe is because Germans are far better than Americans at practicing lane discipline. The trucks and slower cars always stay in the right lane. The faster drivers always pass in the left, and also go in the right lane whenever it's clear. However, in medium traffic conditions you basically end up with everybody who's doing 70 to 80 always staying to the right, and anybody going faster always staying on the left. The main thing you get ticketed for is passing on the right. Basically that's the key. The existing drivers who only feel comfortable at 70 would just always ride on the right with the trucks and buses, period. I just don't understand why people in this country, especially slower drivers, insist on hogging the left lane. And I hate people who decide to play traffic cop by going right at the speed limit in the left lane when the right lane is wide open and moving faster.

For a whole host of reasons, including the poor habits of most American drivers, the relative lack of any need to drive in NYC, and the intolerably low speed limits on highways I never bothered getting a license. Watching for cops in addition to all the other concentration needed to drive fast would both take the fun out of it and make it unsafe.



Or worse, head-on collisions at practically double the impact velocity.


Yeah, head-on collisions are a killer, ever on local streets with 30 mph limits.

[jtr1962]

It's not the 25mph speed differential I would be worried about in a wreck. It's the stationary walls or tree in the way once the wreck occurs and control of the vehicle is lost.

You're pretty much dead even at 55 if you hit a wall or tree. Besides, most highways are set up with guard rails to prevent that sort of thing. Going 100 on two lane highways with trees ten feet off the road is nuts. The guy in the Escort was unbelieveably lucky. If he has any sense he won't go anywhere near a car any more as his judgement and driving skills leave a great deal to be desired. The main difference between hitting a wall or tree at 55 vs 110 is in the degree of recognizability of the body parts. :mrgrn: The problem I see is that today's speeds are low enough that they make you think you're safe when you aren't. Also, since you generally don't need 100% concentration to go 70 on many highways, drivers tend to get distracted with cell phones and the like, which makes for a deadly combination. Remember, we still have 50,000 dead annually despite low speed limits and all sorts of highway safety measures. I heard the per mile death rate on autobahns is actually lower than here. Much lower. It's easy to see why. At the 110 to 130 that most drivers go you wouldn't even think of picking up a cell phone. You need to focus 100% on the task at hand.

[Pradeep]

I believe one of the reasons why the Autobahns are reasonably safe is that the automobile association or whatever they call it there funds many rescue choppers. So if you do get in a crash and survive, they can get you to a hospital pretty quickly. Add to that the relative newness of the cars, and the conditions of the road.

I think most of the traffic deaths in the US are due to alcohol, and too much of it. Unfortunately the people who die tend to be the innocent ones, with the drunk criminals surviving.

[Buck]

The main difference between hitting a wall or tree at 55 vs 110 is in the degree of recognizability of the body parts. :mrgrn:

Hence the need for seatbelts. It makes it easier for the paramedic to find the dead body.

Here in my area of California, increasing our speed limit would be crazy. In this state we are able to pass on the right, which makes the roads more of a hazard. Most people change lanes with out signaling (they usually signal after the lane change with their middle finger because I hit the horn for cutting me off). Our freeways have horrible surfaces. You could be traveling on a newly paved stretch for 1/2 a mile, and then wham! You've reached a crumbly patchwork of Caltrans mishaps. We have far to many dips and bumps, that if touched by Caltrans would just become worse in the end. Probably the best stretch of freeway we have is the 73 and 241 Tollroads, but they are patroled by land and air, and have the highest concentration of tickets for any stretch in South Orange County.

I have driven fast, and have been driven very fast, but around here, it would be suicide.

If I were to stand on my soapbox and talk about some stereotypical drivers, it would just exhaust me to much. But these horrible drivers plague our roads.

As for the comment about high speeds on the Autobahn in Germany: Some of the main reasons for their success, is that they pave very smooth roads with wider lanes then we have; they design and engineered the Autobahn to bypass cities and towns (you need to exit onto an auxillary highway to actually drive into a town); the automobiles must pass very strict annual inspections to be considered road-worthy; the quality of tires is much better; fuel is a much higher octane, thus more efficient; and driver training is much more elaborate then in the United States. Nonetheless, the Autobahn is being bogged down by traffic just like any other part of the Western world, and speeds are slowing every year. Most stretches of the Autobahn now have an enforced speed limit of 130 kph (~80 mph).

[Pradeep]

Having grog for sale at any servo along the road can hardly help in the case against drink driving either.

[e_dawg]

Pradeep, i did not understand a single word you said!

[Pradeep]

grog=alcohol
servo (Aussie)=service station=petrol station=gas station in American.

[blakerwry]

lol e_dawg.