Not good: Tesla Roadster, Toyota Prius and VW Touareg meet with disastrous results
Posted Oct 23rd 2009 2:56PM by Sebastian Blanco
Ouch.
A three-way crash between a Tesla Roadtser, Toyota Prius and a VW Touareg didn't leave a pretty scene behind, but it appears that at least the Tesla driver walked away with only minor bruises. We don't know what happened to the occupants of the other vehicles. According to Autopia, it seems that the Roadster was allegedly stopped when the Prius hit it from behind – going about 50 mph – and pushed the Tesla under the SUV (note the piece of the EV in the VW's rear end). We'll just say it again: Ouch.
UPDATE: More from Autopia.
[Source: Autopia]
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
xyz 8:45PM (10/24/2009)
Well, how would you take that SUV offroad then? The opposite should be the case. Lift the bumper bar of the sportscar!!! ;o) But I guess some people don't like this idea either. I can just imagine how this would look like ;o)))))
KK 10:38PM (10/24/2009)
I don't care how you modify your vehicle when riding off-road (i.e. not on public roads). If you need to remove the bumper to get decent ground clearance, go right ahead. Just make sure you put it back on when getting back onto a public road.
And of course, the bumper height requirement should also apply to sports cars. And that probably means some sports cars would need the bumper moved higher than they are now. But I don't see why SUVs should set the standard for bumper height. The standard should probably be set to average height of passenger cars (sedans/hatchbacks).
Andy 1:05AM (10/25/2009)
When was the last time anyone took an SUV off road?
MikeW 7:11PM (10/25/2009)
No, they should be required to have air suspension.
When stopped, or coming to a stop, the Touareg can drop its ride height.
Some people like the higher seating position, so maximum ride height should be for around town driving, like 25mph, and the height progressively drops as you go faster.
xyz 2:14AM (10/26/2009)
@ Andy
"When was the last time anyone took an SUV off road?"
Last weekend going camping. Heaps of rough, unsealed "public" roads here in Australia, mate.
IAMXD 4:06PM (10/24/2009)
I think this is going to fuel the marketing effort at several companies. Everyone is now going to claim that EVs are perfectly safe. This crash only proves that Teslas are safe, and that makes sense. Lotus has been keeping drivers safe in high powered sports cars for a long time and Tesla made some smart decisions going with them.
I think we are going to see a different story when the Chinese cars hit the market. Every week I read about some new company that wants to take an electric motor and stuff it into some Chinese sedan. They definitely don't have a history of making safe cars.
I think we might see some really nasty stuff happen when those products launch. Maybe they can squeak by the North American and Euro standards, but there are many types of crashes that aren't tested for...
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David 9:01AM (10/25/2009)
So the driver has confirmed that the Prius hit a stationary motorbike and the Tesla which then rear ended the Toureg.
Everyone was taken to hospital but discharged after a few hours.
The Tesla wasn't even his. There's a test of friendship for you...
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Dasher 9:50AM (10/25/2009)
The Tesla was stopped? Out of battery power? I guess the snooty Prius driver head was tipped back to far to see the Tesla.
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Sollord 6:52PM (10/25/2009)
The Touareg looks like it just needs to be put into awd and driven off the tesla and a slight touch up on the bumper at a body shop and maybe a new muffler and it will be good to go... While the other two are total write offs.
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MikeInNC 8:19AM (10/26/2009)
"This just in...Prius driver inattentive while 'recycling' nostril contents. News at eleven"
PS: I do really hope everyone is okay. Looks like a pretty severe hit.
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dm789 8:57AM (10/26/2009)
The title should say
Hybrid vs Electric vs Diesel (if the VW is a Diesel)
OMG that is so funny to look at the low roadster vs the big and high SUV vs the ordinary looking car.
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Rich 10:23AM (10/26/2009)
The anti-everything brigade couldn't have staged it better:
1. Tesla runs out of juice ("ban EVs!")
2. Prius, driven by a blind old gimmer rear-ends it ("ban old people and hybrids!")
3. everybody gets crushed by the monster SUV ("ban SUVs!")
4. Wouldn't have happened if we had decent public transport!
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owlafaye 10:38AM (10/30/2009)
Aptera? You will regret the day you buy it for all your time left on earth.
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skagman 7:38AM (12/14/2009)
Shame that nowhere is the photographer of this copyright image credited. John Nuttall (you guessed it!)
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