One thing which may explain that: the '59 car is 50 years old It is more fragile than when it was brand new, it may be somewhat rusted, etc. But even if it was new, they improved cars a lot on that point.

The 2009-cars (not only Chevrolet, all other brands, too) can be safe as nothing else, it's no reason at all for me to buy one.

O.k., since I hadn't a long way to work any more, I can be relaxed about that problem, because I don't need a modern all-day-car any more.


@taxiguy: I was talking about this bulb-problem at the New Beetle with my Japanese friend, who owned one, and he told me, that so many customers were pissed about it, that VW has mounted later on a little lid on the inner side of the front fender to reach the bulb from the back side.

Really ugly shall it be at the Phaeton, as I've heard from a friend, who works at a VW-garage. For changing a bulb there, you have to go in an official VW-garage in every case, because you need special tools. The price for this- not to forget: changing a bulb- shall be around 180 €.

So I'll better stay with my historical Phaeton-predecessor. There you can change the bulbs and many other parts, too, by your own, without any special tools (o.k., you need one special nut for remounting the brake-discs, but this is all), even if you are a non-mechanic, even in the dark and even with a drunken head.

Land-Rover Range Rover "L322" stuck in the desert (bottomed out) has to be recovered by a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Proof that any 4x4 can get stuck when not driven properly (and why I need experience before trying my hand at dune bashing ... )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99cxjxBaNds&feature=related

Eeeh, when you are talking about stuck cars, I got immediately thim page in my mind:
http://www.carstuckgirls.com/

It's not unknown, it even won an award some years ago, for the craziest hobby or so.

@Neptune: last Saturday I saw REAL 4x4-cars, not just lookalike-show-SUV's, which are useless on outdoor-tracks.

It was on the ferry back from the Faroe-Islands, which came from Iceland. There the summer- and tourism-saison is ending, so several tour-organisators are coming back now (they are from many European countries). My Omega has shared the deck with real hardcore-4x4's. Many Land Rover's, "pimped" for the Icelandic glaciers and gravel-tracks, so with "balloon-tires" and high cabins with slanted backs, very similar to the conversions for Sahara-tourists. The others were Mercedes and Puch G, Landcruiser's, Unimogs, a 4x4-Mercedes truck from the 70ies, where the cabin was coming from a GDR-army-truck, Nissan Navara, etc.
The smallest 4x4 was a Suzuki SJ from the 80ies (Samurai in America). And some Swedish mountainbike-freaks had an old military Volvo-truck (model )
), which looks a bit similar as a oversized Puck Pinzgauer.

Sorry, but there was no Ford Expedition between them.


I was thinking about you later on again - I saw for the first time a Cadillac Escalade with German plates.
I thought a bit about its fuel consumption, when he passed me with over 180 km/h.

Nice to hear about your trip Ingo



That would be a Volvo known by most swedes as the 'Valp' (puppy or cub)

Cadillac shouldn’t sell the Escalade abroad, its embarrassing. Little or no off road ability (it has a car like all-wheel-drive system with no 2-speed transfer case low range gearing, not useful for off roading) and poor towing capability of 8,000 lbs (approx. 3636.4 kg) which is disgraceful for body-on-frame. Its more of a "big powder puff".

If rumors are true, It will be discontinued in the next few years I guess (I assume they are going to let it run until the end of it’s lifecycle)



You were closer to a Expedition than you were award of Ingo. There are 4x4 Expeditions in Iceland, the one here has floating tires. He uses it to drive over the Icelandic glaciers. It’s a UN93 (very popular with those who like to "mod" for off-roading as there are limitless off road accessories for it and it's parent vehicle the Ford F-150)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22372820@N08/3134446438/in/photostream/

The little girl was not injured:
http://www.spiegel.de/video/video-1023092.html

I was just going to post that here too, but you beat me to it.

Indeed the little girl (Jasmine) was not hurt. She must have had a guardian angel with her.
She said that she is scared of cars now.

I saw that on the news a few hours ago, unbelievable.

Damned, that looked terrible! I´m so glad the girl was not injured!
And I´m glad to hear the driver was sent off to jail. In Germany they wouldn´t do that.

What happened for that car flying like that there?

The (female) driver has got no driver´s license and was arrested for reckless driving.

You're just getting them now? We've had them for a good 20 years.

We have this cameras since many years, too, but only in (mainly civil) cars from the Autobahnpolizei (the German highway patrol), not in the police-cars, used in town or on the countryside.

This is a real problem over here, which make many people very angry. Indeed, in Germany the fees and punishments for reckless, agressively and/or drunken driving are, compared with many other countries, ridicolous low weak. Even if you have killed someone, and if you have a tricky lawyer, it will be done for you with paying a few hundreds or thousands of Euro and loosing you license for some months.

It happens not very often, that the judge confiscates your license for the rest of you life. And only sometimes, that you car will be confiscated and sold (for example here:
http://www.zoll-auktion.de/auktion/auktionsuebersicht.php?katid=191&erste_seite=ja ) or used by the police or other authorities, too.
I just had a short look on this page and I have seen, that the most offered cars or good were formerly used by the authorities, or they were confiscated, because the former owner couldn't pay any more their loans and debts (usually, when they were offered from a "Finanzamt" or so).

And if someone will be send to jail as punishment for his driving (than mainly, when he had caused the death of someone), this happens quite rarely in Germany, so rarely, that it's worth to be published in the newspapers. Very often a very shameful situation over here.

P.S. I guess, these two auctions are containing confiscated cars:

http://www.zoll-auktion.de/auktion/anbieter_auktionsuebersicht.php?anbieter_id=519&erste_seite=- ja

Here is a video I like very much. Great cars in scenic attractions. The belonging story is published in the Road & Track issue.

Minivan hits pickup truck while reporter is live on air.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHZSk_DwShE

Video of illegal road racing crash, 5 people said to have been killed in it .Very sad
May have already been posted here long ago, not sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhIsgxMs4iQ&NR=1