It's TOTALED!

[Shep]

NOT my DeLorean! (Hence the Open Discussion). Funny story about Egull actually -- I hit road debris on the turnpike that caused the engine to overheat on Sunday, so she's been out of commission and at DPI for the past couple of days. More or less expedited a process that I was planning for the upcoming weekend by six days, so it all works out. In the meantime, earlier today (about 7:30-ish), THIS happened:

http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/resized/turulend01_640.jpg
Link to fullsize (http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/turulend01.jpg)

http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/resized/turulend02_640.jpg
Link to fullsize (http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/turulend02.jpg)

http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/resized/turulend03_640.jpg
Link to fullsize (http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/turulend03.jpg)

http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/resized/turulend04_640.jpg
Link to fullsize (http://vin559.com/images/events/drives/2014-10-18/turulend04.jpg)

That's Turul, my brand new 2014 Subaru Impreza. Bought it in January after getting rid of my old 2001 Civic. Here's what happened:

Someone who lived on the left side of the road stopped (and had their blinker on, which I saw) to make that left turn. No dedicated left turn lane, so they were in the usual flow of traffic. The guy behind them stopped, and was slightly to the right as if he wanted to pass, but was too close to do so. I stopped behind this guy in the center of my lane. A few moments later, something just caught my eye, and I looked in the rearview mirror, and noticed headlights that were about an inch apart to start, but were getting wider and bigger all in the matter of ONE single second. At the instant the lights met the outside of the rearview mirror, BAM, my car gets shot forward and left a bit, somehow managing to miss all oncoming traffic, but propelling me so far forward that it wouldn't have mattered if I were a full car length (or even two!) away, I would've hit the guy in front of me regardless. Clipped his right side, but his car was drivable.

The whole thing was VERY surreal, but here't he excellent news: I survived with very minor injuries. I got cuts on my hand, a scrape/bruise on my leg, and my neck is sore from the whiplash, but other than that I'm A-okay! :thumbup: The person behind me didn't have any injuries that I could tell, and the person in front of me drove off before I had a chance to even say "hello", so I'm assuming they're fine. I could sit here and be negative and say "why did this happen to me? what kind of idiot-" etc. etc., or I could be positive and realize that dude, I'm alive! If there's one thing I'm taking away from this whole experience, it's this: When life throws you a curveball, just make the best of it. :biggrin:

[Delorean Industries]

Glad you are alright Mike. You are lucky to have torn the hose clamp on egull. It was a beautiful day and I'm sure you would have had the D out today. Glad you didn't pick it up last night!

[novadmc]

glad you're OK!
another testament to the safety of Subaru (both my wife and I daily Subarus and love them) sorry to see your Impreza lose its life, but at least it did its job at protecting yours.

[TTait]

Glad you are okay man. Thursday you may be pretty sore. Don't take a dime less than full replacement cost for new including tax, title, tags - everything.
Glad there were no serious injuries.

[Domi]

Very impressive, glad you're ok and safe!

[Dangermouse]

They survived !

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wc3DEL04bVg/maxresdefault.jpg

glad you are OK

[Shep]

Seems to be a recurring theme of "Glad you're OK". Amen to that, bruddahs! :biggrin:

Believe it or not, I'm actually feeling much better than yesterday. My leg isn't as sore, and my neck isn't nearly as stiff as it was (manually stretching it helped quite a bit I'd imagine). The hilarious part about Dermot's reference is that it seems to be a common first reaction :hihi2: Who knows, maybe Turul and I can be on the next commercial! :wiggle:

[ALEXAKOS]

Wow! Must have fell like a heck of an acceleration...
Glad you are good/hope he is insured! Get better soon buddy.

[TheDutchTexan]

If you where in a DeLorean you would have undoubtedly fared a whole lot worse. Got to love modern technology when it comes to absorbing lifetaking newtons.

[Timebender]

Full moon yesterday and saw two pile-ups on the way home nearly 50 feet apart from each other, about 4-5 cars in each one.

People drive crazy during full moons for some reason.

[DMCMW Dave]

Full moon yesterday and saw two pile-ups on the way home nearly 50 feet apart from each other, about 4-5 cars in each one.

People drive crazy during full moons for some reason.

Too much texting.

[Shep]

Full moon yesterday and saw two pile-ups on the way home nearly 50 feet apart from each other, about 4-5 cars in each one.

People drive crazy during full moons for some reason.Since the accident, I've personally witnessed three people in front of me gun it early on a red light and go right through the intersection on red. Once they make it through, then it goes green. I don't know what it is, but there's bad drivers all over recently. Just glad my encounter with one damaged my car and not me (as of yet, anyways).



Too much texting.The sad truth to this is that just yesterday I saw a report that said that a whopping 98% of drivers use their cell phones while driving. 98%!!!!! This is one of the few times where I am so proud to be in the 2%, i.e. the portion that doesn't use cell phones while driving at all. When I was in college and smashed my sideview mirror against the rear of a semi truck, I pulled over to call my parents, who didn't pick up. They called me back when I was on the road, and I missed so many turns on the way home I knew it wasn't a good idea. Tried once or twice since then, and have never been comfortable even using hands-free. Takes way too much concentration to do for a guy like me. I'm just happy singing along with a good song on the radio or one in my head. No need to do something that can wait :thumbdown:


(And yes, I have intentionally ignored very important calls because I was driving, on numerous occasions. I simply do not feel that ANY call is worth more than my own life.)

[louielouie2000]

(And yes, I have intentionally ignored very important calls because I was driving, on numerous occasions. I simply do not feel that ANY call is worth more than my own life.)

Does the Impreza not come standard with bluetooth? My '13 Legacy did.

You thinking about getting another Subaru? I've owned 2, and they've been the most reliable vehicles I've ever bought.

[Shep]

While this is aimed at no one in particular, I figure I'll share this anyways for those that want to listen:

USAA sucks major, MAJOR balls to deal with. There's a TON of bureaucracy, everyone pointing fingers at someone else, only giving you 1% of what you should know, trying to blame their own incompetence on YOUR insurance company, it's just bullshit all around really. I've talked to least 5-10 different people there and every single one tells me something different. One guy told me the rental car limit was $30 a day, followed by someone else who told me they were "only legally required to give me $26 a day" and would add in an extra 99 cents "as a courtesy" (I mean seriously, your driver gives my car a sudden anal probing and you're bitching over paying me a dollar a day?). Then they tell me they'll appraise the car on Monday, no wait Tuesday, no wait your insurance called and told us not to, so it'll be a couple days and they'll have to issue an override. Goddamn USAA, get your shit together, seriously. Worse yet: every single time I call (during business hours no less), I get that "every single operator is busy, please wait" message and am put on hold. I have yet to avoid that, even when direct-dialing an extension (which always goes to voicemail). At this point, if USAA doesn't get their shit together and give me a reasonable value on the car, I'm shopping for a good lawyer. I don't care that they're bigger than I am, I'm not afraid of them and they need to learn their lesson. Period.

[/venting rant]

Anyways, back to responding to people :)


Does the Impreza not come standard with bluetooth? My '13 Legacy did. It does, but as I said, I "have never been comfortable even using hands-free", so that's out. I may opt for it just for the sync capabilities, but definitely not for the phone calling or texting.


You thinking about getting another Subaru? I've owned 2, and they've been the most reliable vehicles I've ever bought.Indeed I am, and if I can get the timing worked out, I'll probably get a 2015 Impreza. My parents have told me I can borrow one of their cars until they come out, but it all depends on finances. We'll see how that goes.

[dmcerik]

Does the Impreza not come standard with bluetooth? My '13 Legacy did.

You thinking about getting another Subaru? I've owned 2, and they've been the most reliable vehicles I've ever bought.


+1

[TTait]

While this is aimed at no one in particular, I figure I'll share this anyways for those that want to listen:

USAA sucks major, MAJOR balls to deal with. There's a TON of bureaucracy, everyone pointing fingers at someone else, only giving you 1% of what you should know, trying to blame their own incompetence on YOUR insurance company, it's just bullshit all around really. I've talked to least 5-10 different people there and every single one tells me something different. One guy told me the rental car limit was $30 a day, followed by someone else who told me they were "only legally required to give me $26 a day" and would add in an extra 99 cents "as a courtesy" (I mean seriously, your driver gives my car a sudden anal probing and you're bitching over paying me a dollar a day?). Then they tell me they'll appraise the car on Monday, no wait Tuesday, no wait your insurance called and told us not to, so it'll be a couple days and they'll have to issue an override. Goddamn USAA, get your shit together, seriously. Worse yet: every single time I call (during business hours no less), I get that "every single operator is busy, please wait" message and am put on hold. I have yet to avoid that, even when direct-dialing an extension (which always goes to voicemail). At this point, if USAA doesn't get their shit together and give me a reasonable value on the car, I'm shopping for a good lawyer. I don't care that they're bigger than I am, I'm not afraid of them and they need to learn their lesson. Period.

[/venting rant]

Anyways, back to responding to people :)

It does, but as I said, I "have never been comfortable even using hands-free", so that's out. I may opt for it just for the sync capabilities, but definitely not for the phone calling or texting.

Indeed I am, and if I can get the timing worked out, I'll probably get a 2015 Impreza. My parents have told me I can borrow one of their cars until they come out, but it all depends on finances. We'll see how that goes.

Shep - you have another option - you can just use your insurance company - they will pay you themselves and then go after USAA. You will lose the deductible - but if they offer $4k more than USAA you came out ahead. It would be silly not to at least get your companies offer for comparison. Do that before hiring a lawyer.

By the way - check out the Chevy Volt. Its an outstanding car, off the charts in customer satisfaction, and about $25k net. I'm at 1000 mpg currently (25k miles on 25 gallons). Total fuel (electric-$950 and gas -$100) and maintenance costs ($69)combined are about $1100 for that distance. Best car I've ever had.

[Shep]

By the way - check out the Chevy Volt. Its an outstanding car, off the charts in customer satisfaction, and about $25k net. I'm at 1000 mpg currently (25k miles on 25 gallons). Total fuel (electric-$950 and gas -$100) and maintenance costs ($69)combined are about $1100 for that distance. Best car I've ever had.I'm sorry, but at what point did a thread about my car getting rear-ended with a 55 MPH difference that resulted in a total loss and minor injuries due entirely to the safety of my car become about fuel economy? :confused0: Gas is less than $3 a gallon here, it doesn't really matter what kind of mileage and distance I get from it. I'm sure the Volt is a reliable car, but frankly this:

- Chevy Volt 'acceptable,' Nissan Leaf 'poor' in new IIHS safety tests (http://green.autoblog.com/2014/07/30/chevy-volt-acceptable-nissan-leaf-poor-new-iihs-safety-test/)
- IIHS Tests Small Cars On Small Overlap: Volt Does OK, Leaf 'Struggles' (http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1093577_iihs-tests-small-cars-on-small-overlap-volt-does-ok-leaf-struggles)

Scares the shit out of me. Praise fuel economy all you want, but the fact of the matter is that cars (and yes, even the money in your wallet) is replaceable. Human lives are not, which is why I'm staying with Subaru.

[TTait]

Never mind Shep...

[Chris4099]

If safety is a top concern, then you want a Tesla Model S! ;) While not tested by the IIHS yet, it's the highest scoring car of all by NHTSA. Built like a tank and even cheaper to fuel then a Volt. Purchase price is another matter though. LOL

[Shep]

Damn it all, just woke up with MASSIVE muscle pain in my left calf at 1:20 in the morning. Managed to grab my phone and hobble over to the bathroom, but sweet merciful Jesus it hurts. Looks like this isn't over yet unfortunately... :(