Deadliest Test Drive Ever?

Alex Vickers
Sep 21, 2009 at 12:15 pm

It isn’t fake. I couldn’t find any shots of the front. In case you didn’t notice, I left a link at the bottom that goes to a news story done on the accident.

krid379
Sep 21, 2009 at 11:57 am

yup looks fake… no front shots? Come on.

bmxspeedracer
Sep 21, 2009 at 10:38 am

We all are responsible for what we do, we cannot blame authors. If someone says to you to jump in a flame of fire will you do that? Of course not you may say! If some ass hole say’s go ahead more speed than is up to you. My daughter of one year old die because off an ass hole, who thought that my drive way was a race way. The excuse off the driver was, this happen because the owner of the house did not close his drive way!!!!

Garage510
Sep 21, 2009 at 8:55 am

Bad!!! This is just too bad to have happened. I feel so sorry for the families of those two who died. Nothing personal…but maybe the best thing to do is put those guys (the driver and the salesmen) in crash test cars in place of dummies. Let’s see how they will fair out.

KustomKiely
Sep 21, 2009 at 4:25 am

What a fool. I feel sorry for the victims & their familys. As far as the driver and the people who encouraged him to drive like that should get some form of punishment.

ericwells7777
Sep 21, 2009 at 2:20 am

The problem here is every single one of us that gets behind the wheel of a muscle car thinks we know exactly how to handle it under any condition and at any speed… I dont know what it is about us men that makes us believe this but Just how many of us have taken professional driving classes, on professional courses under extreme conditions??? maybe 2 percent…even that may be pushing it…Also, Although I have little sympathy for the driver of the Challenger, c’mon guys… Think about what you would have done if you would have been in this brand new muscle car with 2 other people encourageing you to take it to the limit??? No it doesnt make it right but we all know as human beings we are easily influenced in situations like this… I dont know what the answer is… Its sad really, 2 people died for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time… All I can say is use your head… 100 miles an hour on a public road, in a car you dont know or have a feel for…not a good idea!!! Just really sad for the driver, for the victims and their family, even the dealer who now has to live with the fact that his encouraging to drive the car fast has killed 2 people… Well in the end if nothing else maybe this makes a few other people think before they do something stupid behind the wheel!!!

Ford_killer86
Sep 20, 2009 at 9:18 pm

Well Bryan Lee (piece of shit) I hope u like suckin dik, cuz were ur goin ur gonna be doin alot of that u piece of shit

Alex Vickers
Sep 20, 2009 at 7:50 pm

Xoffroaderx, I can see where DrifterZ31 is coming from. Would YOU want someone or something recording every last move you make, regardless of whether or not you’re acting like an ass? I wouldn’t, which is why I’m glad the car I drive on a regular basis is sixteen years old, too old for such techno-stalking.

PIchillin456
Sep 20, 2009 at 5:48 pm

When you’re shopping for a new car it’s actually a good idea to find out how well the car handles, how quickly it accelerates, and how well the brakes work at high speeds just so that you can find out if a car meets your expectations or requirements but really what this guy did was stupid and dangerous. You can test all of those aspects of the car without driving at 100 mph. I’m not saying that I’ve never driven my car in a dangerous way but when I do that no one else is around me or in the car with me so that I’m the only one who has to live with the consequences. But I gotta feel kinda sorry for the guy. He’s gonna have to live with the fact that he killed two people for the rest of his life. That’s a lot of baggage to carry.

xoffroaderx
Sep 20, 2009 at 5:20 pm

And this guy DrifterZ31 admits to driving like an ass on roads repect the road respect others and shit like this won’t f***in happen i hate responding to a scene that some moron that was either test driving or mr. money bags don’t give a shit when they drive, thanks dicks this is why insurance companies love us

xoffroaderx
Sep 20, 2009 at 5:17 pm

95BlckFirebird thats the same story dude

dlschooley987
Sep 20, 2009 at 12:58 pm

dont you hate it when the IDIOT who caused the crash isnt the one who died?

XTZTwinTurbo
Sep 20, 2009 at 11:51 am

IDIOT!! Good job tard. Thanks for making insurance for male car drivers stay high, and especially in the police state of KY, where you can’t go two blocks without seeing a damn cop. Oh. And good job on the cold blooded kill. Hope it was fun, driving that piece of crap, head on into an innocent couple. U+Life, = FAIL

raymond33
Sep 20, 2009 at 11:03 am

yeah this happened in my city. What i don’t understand is you pick a busy road to test drive a sports car. the express way is 5 minutes from where they crashed!

95BlckFirebird
Sep 20, 2009 at 9:34 am

http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=10980877

simlair story, could’nt fine anything more…sorry guys.

95BlckFirebird
Sep 20, 2009 at 9:29 am

I feel so sad for the love ones that have lost their lives in such a horrific crash…..but where is the rest of this tragic story?

CH3VYBOI
Sep 20, 2009 at 4:51 am

i believe the car salesman should be in trouble also. i mean if you are caught watching a street race you get in trouble. this guy was in the car egging the guy on to race the car. the salesman should be in some trouble but not much. i mean he wasnt driving. and well when your in a car with someone and they are speeding usually you dont tell them to slow down. because we are car guys we allow it and we love doing it ourselves.

JayPe3
Sep 19, 2009 at 11:29 pm

It’s too bad some people don’t think while they drive, or at all for that matter.
I feel bad for the families of the others in the Mercury, and personally I would put the salesman to court. Yes, he wasn’t the one driving. But he infact was instigating it on a main road, on any road for that matter. We all beat the cars we test drive, that’s how you do a proper test drive. But I hope everybody does it a little more carefully, like on an empty/deserted road. To put your own life in danger is stupid, but we all do it. To put other peoples lives in danger aswell, is unjustifiable.

I personally think it was a pretty decent article, it wasn’t long and rambling, it was short, interesting, and got to the point. This is something that “newer” journalists should do until they feel comfortable enough to write a big, long article.

DrifterZ31
Sep 19, 2009 at 10:27 pm

This is why I don’t plan on owning a 21st century vehicle, I don’t need a “black box” in my car recording everything that I do.

The_Cordia_Kid
Sep 19, 2009 at 9:41 pm

Several folks here have already pointed out that, given the fact that we’re all a bunch of car enthusiasts here, there’ve been times when any one of us could have easily wound up in the same boat as the guy that caused this tragedy.

One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is what Mr. Vickers, and the article he linked to, said regarding this Challenger’s black box and the crash data it recorded, which gave the lie to the driver’s and salesman’s claims that the car had only been going 60 to 75 MPH at the time of impact.

Doesn’t it make any of you a bit nervous, knowing that if you’re involved in a collision, your own late-model car might be a witness against you?

Obviously in this case, the driver didn’t own the data contained in that black box, ’cause it wasn’t his car that he crashed.

But what happens if you find yourself in a similar situation, and it was your car that you were driving?

Do the police need a warrant or a subpoena or something to access your crash data recorder?

Do you have the legal right to withhold it?

How difficult would it be to disable such a device preemptively, just in case something like this should happen?

Would doing so affect the car’s operation?

Would doing so be legal?

Could doing so be construed as damning evidence, because, a prosecutor or police investigator might say, you wouldn’t have disabled that function unless you were up to no good?

These are all some very serious issues that every motorist, but especially enthusiast motorists such as ourselves, ought to be thinking about.

Chris Borrelli
Sep 19, 2009 at 5:43 pm

See, I agree the salesman was in the wrong, but the driver was driving it wasn’t like the salesman was holding a gun to his head. Now don’t get me wrong everyone in the Challenger were idiots, but the driver was the biggest moron for doing it.
-I look at it like this, you got good drivers, regular drivers, and idiots. Good drivers follow all the rules from 10 and 2 on the steering wheel to signaling a 100 feet before the turn. Regular drivers occasionally max the speed limit by 10-20, and have some fun while they are driving. Then you got the idiots(our Challenger trio here) that think that gunning it to 100 MPH on a busy street is just A okay.Personally I think many of us are near the regular driver area, but there is and always will be that idiot out there.

CH3VYBOI
Sep 19, 2009 at 4:45 pm

HAHAHA At least we know which car to race in from now on. I mean the chances of survival are great. This is good sales advertisement on dodges part. I love the new Challengers to. Badass ride if you ask me.

bigbad4runner
Sep 19, 2009 at 3:42 pm

everyone is trying to act like they have never done anything in a car that could have likely got them or someone else killed. anyone who has been in a fast car has done atleast one thing that could have resulted in serious injury or death. this is simply a tragic story about someone who had no business driving a fast car and a recession effected salesman. it is unfortunate that anyone had to perish over another mans stupidity, but its almost as tragic that justice was only half served because the salesman deserved charges as much as the driver, they were both idiots wheather it be for speed or suggesting speeding. this kinda thing happens every day in america all we could ever do to stop it would be to outlaw cars, and i dont know about yall but i’m not giving mine up. have some sense is the long and short of my rambling.

Kelechie2384
Sep 19, 2009 at 2:57 pm

This is why I stopped street racing. Its
irresponsible,childishwreckless and just plain stupid. If you are test driving a car and the dealer says floor it…. you might do it but then stop after you reach 50 mph not 100 and keep going. DUMB ASS! Then whats really messed up is that the speed limit was 45!!!! OMG not 100 mph. And what tops it off is that on the new report his father had the nerve to say that it was the salesman fault. “He made him drive that fast”. LMAHO are you really serious. If a salesman told you to floor it how fast would you go until you let of the gas on a street that is 45 MPH.

road_monster
Sep 19, 2009 at 2:54 pm

Alex.
.
It’s crap and you know it.
.
Other than it’s a bad topic…
.
You don’t even have the FACTS straight.
.
It’s not BIG TALK.
.
Just the truth.
.
The blog has been getting worse and worse
since Rob got rid of Jen, and made John
part time…
.
Your sorry ass contributions are an
excellent example of this mediocre
work…
.
I cannot wait to see your next
poorly chosen, and terribly written
masterpiece of plagiarized blog rubbish.
.
Seriously, go back from the start,
read all the posts, and your article.
If you don’t believe me about your
facts.
.
I am sure that there are at least
a couple of people who are interested
in seeing you write inaccurate articles
about something that you found online
by someone else, that you can safely
jump on the bandwagon with the other
crap media writers, and attack some
poor soul that made a mistake.
.
It’s journalism like this Rob,
that sent MANY of us LONG TIME
CarDomain readers AWAY from the blog…
.
I used to visit daily. Heck, Rob
and John have sent me over a dozen
t-shirts, hats, license plate frames,
and more CD stickers than I can remember.
.
I stopped by today to see if the
content of the blog has improved.
.
I am sorry to say that it has not.
.
Again, just my opinion.
.
Oh, and Rob…
.
At least you know how I feel
about the blog since the
“reorganization” occurred.
.
Most of my friends just left,
and did not, and would not
say anything…
.
Alex, sorry about this,
but really, Karma is a
bitch. Maybe you’ll
find out first hand some day…

fixdaserver
Sep 19, 2009 at 2:33 pm

thanks for posting this Alex. i would never have heard about this tragedy if you didn’t.

StickShiftRick
Sep 19, 2009 at 1:59 pm

I’m kinda with TOPlamborghini on this one; it’s unforunate but why is this one garnishing more attention than any other crash that happens any minute anywhere in this country. Now I’m no civil engineer, but this road APPEARS that the three most prominent lanes in this picture are all one way, while the other three in the left of the picture on the other side of the less-than manicured median looks to be heading in the other direction. Sure the guy in the Challenger shouldn’t have been doing 100mph when ANYONE was on the road, but I ask this: Why was the Sable going towards the Challenger? It seems to me as if they were going the wrong way, where’s their blame in the accident too?

shadowfox1761
Sep 19, 2009 at 1:05 pm

i agree with alex where you do this makes a big difference. in traffic means your an idiot. on a highway with no traffic is competley different.

as for journalists writing story’s on other people misfortune? its how american news does it get over it.

TOPlamborghini
Sep 19, 2009 at 12:29 pm

Alex, dont mind road_moster.

Alex Vickers
Sep 19, 2009 at 12:05 pm

And you forgot the $ symbol, asshole. Go cry on someone else’s shoulder.

Alex Vickers
Sep 19, 2009 at 11:50 am

Wow, big talk now?
-
Crap journalism, you say? If you think you can do better, be my guest. E-mail Rob about becoming a blog contributor and show me up. I haven’t been a journalist for but five months, now, so I obviously don’t have much experience. I could have done better, MUCH better. I don’t need your criticism to realize that.
-
Since you’re going to make yourself look like a jackass when you haven’t a say in what I write or how I write it, why don’t you get off your high hill and go to someone charge? They thought it was good enough to get posted, and good enough to make the exclusives. Tell them how you feel, maybe they’ll even remove me as a contributor? Come on, I dare you.

road_monster
Sep 19, 2009 at 10:33 am

I disagree.
.
It’s poor journalism to write stuff like this,
and I use the term “journalism” very loosely.
.
It’s EASY to criticize and condemn.
.
Alex, apparently your hypocrisy has no bounds.
.
It’s a sad, poorly written and I
must say, a poorly chosen story.
.
I don’t condone what this guy did.
.
I DO feel that he is probably remorseful.
.
Hell, he probably wishes he was dead, and
not the people he killed.
.
Crap stories like this are easy to write/do,
but just because you CAN do something,
does NOT mean you SHOULD.
.
Seriously.
.
Crap journalism.
.
Just crap.
.
I hope for your sake, you don’t
ever make a stupid mistake that
kills someone, and that there
is a low-life-wannabe journalist
waiting to eviscerate you publicly.
.
Wanna make a name for yourself?
.
Don’t do it at other’s expense.
.
Again, just my .02.

Alex Vickers
Sep 19, 2009 at 10:11 am

Road_Monster, I don’t do this kind of thing on a busy street, or this close to homes and businesses. If anything, I find a big Wal-Mart parking lot and have my fun, or at least leave it to a low-traffic highway. If I feel the need to do something stupid like this guy, I at least make sure there isn’t a large risk of injuring others.

road_monster
Sep 19, 2009 at 7:39 am

Alex.

You freely admit to doing this same type of behavior,
and now you create a blog about how angry you are.

Sounds a bit like hypocrisy to me.

Sure I am bothered by this too.

That said, I am NO PERFECT driver.

I have made mistakes.

We ALL HAVE.

Get off your soap box and find something
better to write about…

Just my honest .02

minister2
Sep 19, 2009 at 7:18 am

Dang……SMH

rejybaby
Sep 19, 2009 at 5:29 am

That’s the nastiest rear end collision i’ve ever seen. My prayers go out to them and all lost persons. Why chance that on a buisy road?

ray214
Sep 19, 2009 at 5:09 am

WOW im going there for my next test drive

The_Cordia_Kid
Sep 19, 2009 at 4:01 am

Given that Bulldog and Mr. Vickers now agree that the Challenger probably rear-ended the Sable, it’s ironic that when I clicked on the video just now, it was preceded by a Kroger’s ad saying, “Are you ready for some TAILGATING!?”

This was in reference to the tailgate parties that sports fans apparently engage in, but it’s still a rather unfortunate coincidence.

BurnOutCustoms
Sep 18, 2009 at 8:29 pm

God Damn Dats Some Crazy Shit Dats Fucked Up We Maybe Go 100 MPH But We Are Fairly Aware Of Our Surroundings Hope Dat Fool Gets2 Hang Out With Our Homeboys In Da Penetentery

sarahsmile90
Sep 18, 2009 at 8:10 pm

This is a sad and tragic story. The salesman needs to be accountable here also, to allow this speed on a test drive and also encourage it?

iiFrankDii
Sep 18, 2009 at 6:55 pm

This is just my opinion and all, but I kinda think this might seem a little sad.
I think the only reason this crash was as big as it was, is because it was a 09 dodge challenger.
If it had been any other car, most of us most likely would have never even known it happened.
Am I getting my point across?
Didn’t mean to offend anyone at all because this is a sad story.

___nes___
Sep 18, 2009 at 5:02 pm

TOP did you not read the story?!

Alex Vickers
Sep 18, 2009 at 4:58 pm

Bull-Dog1995, I just watched the video on the link I posted. The story has made it to numerous news websites and attorney’s blogs, even Jalopnik. One person says head on collision, everyone else says something different, but in general the same thing. I was only paying attention to what I saw first, I didn’t even pay attention to the video. You’re right, my bad.

bulldog_1995
Sep 18, 2009 at 4:49 pm

hay alex look at the way the trunk is bent IN not out on what woulda been the drivers side it says the car was hit on the drivers rear corner in the same direction as the car was pointed also watch the vid on the tv page you can see the front of the sable is mostly undamaged and the damage is from the drivers door back also you can see the dodge and most of its damage is on the pass side front corner. front pass side dodge + driver rear sable = rear collision btw i work for a auto body shop i know how to read a car body after a wreck ‘couse when a car is on a unibody strecher you need to pull the same angle and direction as the hit so you learn to read the car also the combined hit if head on woulda totaled the dodge and killed all inside the se3atbalts would have failed in the dodge as well( they arent ment to take a 146mph jolt

LedZeppelin
Sep 18, 2009 at 4:03 pm

Also, everyone has noticed that the Merc was totalled beyond belief. And the Challenger was messed up, but faired much better. Remember that video that ran here with the 09 Malibu and the 59 Bel Air? Seems we’ve com a long way just in the last 20 years as well.
Damn shame innocents got caught dead at the hands of stupidity…

LedZeppelin
Sep 18, 2009 at 4:00 pm

@TOPLabo dude…I understand why it is unusual for this accident to be such a spotlighter. And you’re right. Crashes happen every day where people are killed.
This accident is gaining attentio quickly because the Sales person egged the potential driver to break the law in order to seal the deal. Then he lied about just how fast they were going. Well, Ojk, the lying part happens every day to. It is the nature of this particular event. If they had benn minding the speed limit, it would have made the pages of Car and Driver, and been a side note on this website about how a brand new unsold Challenger was destroyed in a test drive. Unfortunately, the line of events leading up to the collision makes this a problem for us who like fast cars. “….is Raising questions about the sale of fast cars…” is what the reporter dude said. Now we are going to have to give intent of purchase letters to the dealer, be put on a two week waiting list, and give our fingerprints…have our DMV print out before they hand the keys to that brand new 600 HP car we’ve been eyeing.

Here in California, many Chevy dealers already require more from a prospective buyer to try the new Camaro then they do for the Aveo…

Alex Vickers
Sep 18, 2009 at 3:41 pm

It wasn’t a rear end collision, The Sable was coming towards the Challenger. You people have got to remember that a nearly two ton muscle car was traveling at over a hundred miles per hour that had a total of three people in it, and he never hit the brakes, the speed of the Challenger combined with that of the Sable, and the fact that neither driver hit tried to stop, it can cause that much damage from a frontal impact. The car also spun a few times. When all three survivors are lying their asses off (that includes the salesman who was egging the potential buyer on), it raises an eyebrow. Crashes like this do happen everyday, but not at these speeds or under these circumstances.

gold94corolla
Sep 18, 2009 at 2:44 pm

Wow, how the heck did that happen to the Sable???? Half of it is missing…. like it was hit from the side or something…..

Chris Borrelli
Sep 18, 2009 at 2:21 pm

I completely agree with dgaf88.

drewstoycam
Sep 18, 2009 at 1:31 pm

So this was a rear end crash right, was the sable stoped? Cant figure out how all that damage occured with the sable moving along.

TOPlamborghini
Sep 18, 2009 at 1:15 pm

Not trying to sound like a dick, but these kinds of crashes happen everyday. Its nothing new. What makes this one special?

dgaf88
Sep 18, 2009 at 12:58 pm

I’m not sticking up for the guy but how many times have you “morons” gone over a c-note in your car on a public road. You all got lucky (myself included), this guy’s luck ran out. Remember that before you pass judgement.

NWSilverado
Sep 18, 2009 at 12:38 pm

Man, What a moron. I hope they throw the book at him… How absolutely terrible…

Alex Vickers
Sep 18, 2009 at 12:11 pm

And it wasn’t a rear-end collision, that much I was right about.

Alex Vickers
Sep 18, 2009 at 12:10 pm

sorry, guys, I meant to edit out the part about the head-on crash. I was told about the accident by a friend who said it was, and I didn’t fix it when I finally read the news article. Sorry!

bulldog_1995
Sep 18, 2009 at 11:22 am

101 in a 45 mph zone by the salesmans own admition he knew they were doing close to twice the speed limit wtf

dgaf88
Sep 18, 2009 at 11:04 am

Looks to me like it was the Challenger rearending the Sable, not a head to head smash up. People do stupid things. Don’t waste your time getting mad about it, just be grateful it’s not you with a toe tag or a court date.

bulldog_1995
Sep 18, 2009 at 11:01 am

if you look at the secomd photo of just the sable it was a rear end collision not head on look at the way the rear dash is buckeled and the fact that there is more left of the front then the back and if it was even close to a head on the pass front fender of the sable wouldnt be straight but all that aside this is the reson you should always race on the strip not the street and the salesman should be charged as an accesorie to the crime as he was responsable for the car

BoltZ22
Sep 18, 2009 at 10:21 am

I’m confused. I see a median seperating traffic. How did it end up being a head on crash? Was someone going down the road the wrong way?