Destroyed Grand Prix

Back in 1995, I remember seeing a newspaper article in the Detroit Free Press about a couple of teenagers who were killed when a drunk driver T-boned their car at some insane rate of speed. The victims were riding in a teal, ‘93-ish Pontiac Grand Prix LE sedan, and that GP was completely torn in two discrete halves. I remember being a little freaked out by that, because a ‘93 Grand Prix was the exact car I had just been given the honor of owning, but decided to think about it logically. I mean, hey—any car can wind up chopped in half if you apply enough force.

Ironically, today on the website of the ABC affiliate in Detroit, I see a story about a modern-day Grand Prix that the exact same fate has befallen. This time, a couple of seemingly brain-dead adults were driving their silver GP at speeds of 105 MPH (according to the oh-so-creepy “black box” device GM hid in the car) when they slammed into a pole and split the car completely in two. According to the article that went with the photo I’ve posted here, one half of the car wound up in a ditch 50 feet away from the other half. The two occupants were both found dead, one wedged in each severed half of the Pontiac. Niiiiice.

Oh, here’s a little aside. Sergeant Bob Redmond (apparently of the local police department) was quoted in the article, saying: “Even if you’re wearing seatbelts, and all the airbags in the world, you can’t build a car to protect you at 100 mph.” Um…then how do NASCAR, CART, Formula 1, and other professional race drivers survive similarly cataclysmic crashes? Because you can build a car to protect you at those speeds, and speeds even higher, but of course doing so would completely remove any semblance of practicality or affordability from the vehicle. But the point is that it can be done. (Okay, I admit, it’s a pointless argument. But I had to make it, because I’m a car fiend and when the car subject comes up, there’s a risk I might stop acting rationally. Get used to it.)