Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post - Has anyone here gotten into a crash with a Geo Metro or some other fuel efficient car?

funkhoss · 12-30-2021, 12:51 PM

As a vote in favor of the later model Metro...

We (our family of four) had an accident earlier this year on the interstate in our green 2000 model. The interstate we were on (I-81 in VA) is two lanes in each direction, with a median in between.

We were driving along at 60 MPH in a 60 MPH speed limit zone, in the right-hand lane, when a tractor-trailer comes up from behind in the left hand lane and starts moving over into our lane (he apparently didn't see us or wasn't looking). When he clipped our rear bumper it rotated our car sideways(!), perpendicular to the flow of traffic, and we ended up with the driver's side of the car resting against the truck's grill/bumper--and were pushed sideways for several hundred feet (with our tires smoking and squealing) until the truck came to a complete stop.

None of us were injured.

The DS front fender, door, and rear quarter panel were all dented, and the DS front strut was bent slightly, giving the front wheel excess camber. But otherwise the car was OK, and we drove home from the accident. I replaced the door, fender, strut, and tires (the treads were ruined, obviously), pushed out the dents in the quarter panel, and had it aligned. That was all it needed.

The replacement door just bolted on, and works perfectly. In other words, the structure of the car wasn't bent or affected at all.

It drives just like it always has, and we made a decent profit from the check we received for the "totaled" car.

We found another low mileage 2000 Metro (a blue one) a few weeks after the accident and bought it, and eventually sold the Caprice wagon. Now we've got two Metros. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is!

The funny part is that we almost never take the interstate, and we took it on this trip specifically for the purpose of seeing how much time we would save and how much extra fuel we would use if we did--in other words, to see if taking the interstate was "worth it". Well...we got our answer! We're back to sticking with state highways as much as possible.

-Funkhoss

12-30-2021, 12:51 PM	#6 (permalink)
funkhoss EcoModding Lurker Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Edinburg, VA Posts: 95 The Little Car - '00 Chevrolet Metro 90 day: 91.08 mpg (US) The Big Car - '94 Chevrolet Caprice Wagon 90 day: 44.9 mpg (US) Thanks: 11 Thanked 165 Times in 52 Posts	As a vote in favor of the later model Metro... We (our family of four) had an accident earlier this year on the interstate in our green 2000 model. The interstate we were on (I-81 in VA) is two lanes in each direction, with a median in between. We were driving along at 60 MPH in a 60 MPH speed limit zone, in the right-hand lane, when a tractor-trailer comes up from behind in the left hand lane and starts moving over into our lane (he apparently didn't see us or wasn't looking). When he clipped our rear bumper it rotated our car sideways(!), perpendicular to the flow of traffic, and we ended up with the driver's side of the car resting against the truck's grill/bumper--and were pushed sideways for several hundred feet (with our tires smoking and squealing) until the truck came to a complete stop. None of us were injured. The DS front fender, door, and rear quarter panel were all dented, and the DS front strut was bent slightly, giving the front wheel excess camber. But otherwise the car was OK, and we drove home from the accident. I replaced the door, fender, strut, and tires (the treads were ruined, obviously), pushed out the dents in the quarter panel, and had it aligned. That was all it needed. The replacement door just bolted on, and works perfectly. In other words, the structure of the car wasn't bent or affected at all. It drives just like it always has, and we made a decent profit from the check we received for the "totaled" car. We found another low mileage 2000 Metro (a blue one) a few weeks after the accident and bought it, and eventually sold the Caprice wagon. Now we've got two Metros. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is! The funny part is that we almost never take the interstate, and we took it on this trip specifically for the purpose of seeing how much time we would save and how much extra fuel we would use if we did--in other words, to see if taking the interstate was "worth it". Well...we got our answer! We're back to sticking with state highways as much as possible. -Funkhoss __________________