R50/53 What's the 'oddest' thing you've hit...
I was driving my (lowered) 2000 Golf TDI. (The tdi oil pan is closer to the ground than on any other VW engine) I am clipping along on a nicely plowed state route at the speed limit.
So I see a guy who decided he had just enough time to push the plowed ice from the end of his drive into the street with his jeep and back back into his driveway before I got there.
Traffic in the left lane, semi behind me so straight through I go. It was about a foot high and solid. Kept going because I made it and didn't get any warning lights. Driving home I had to stop and get under the car to yank out the plastic skid plate. The 6 inches of snow that fell that day was pushing it under the passenger wheel.
So I see a guy who decided he had just enough time to push the plowed ice from the end of his drive into the street with his jeep and back back into his driveway before I got there.
Traffic in the left lane, semi behind me so straight through I go. It was about a foot high and solid. Kept going because I made it and didn't get any warning lights. Driving home I had to stop and get under the car to yank out the plastic skid plate. The 6 inches of snow that fell that day was pushing it under the passenger wheel.
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 538
Likes: 0
From: Houston, TEXAS
My MINI -
1. Ran over a hoop of wire and got stuck on something under the car, what an awful noise. No damage.
2. Everyone in front of me was dodging right around a large box except the idiot in the Range Rover directly in front of me decides to cut some people off and dodge left. I nailed an extremely large Pier One box that stuck to and completely covered the front end. I had to pull over and yank it off.
My Dodge Ram 4x4 (Prior to MINI)
1. Driving down the road w/ female friends. A cat runs in front of the truck and then the truck rocks and it sounds like I ran over a glass bottle. We stop down the road to get some ice cream and notice blood all over the side of the truck. Women start crying. Go back to the scene and find out a dog was chasing the cat and hit the rear wheel well edge, spun into the rear quarter panel, spun across two more lanes and landed DOA on the sidewalk. Two little girls are crying, one has rope burn on her hand where the dogs make shift leash pulled out of her hand. Some jack_ss is yelling at me for killing the dog (supposedly a family friend). The police stop and tell him to shut his mouth before he cites the little girl for not having a leash, no dog tags, and trespassing on private property. Then tells the man he should be nice to me before I claim or sue for the damage to my truck!
2. This could be a long list so I'll just list the highlights - Shot w/ BB gun while driveing down road, Ran over large mirror falling out of truck in front of me, 2x4 through windshield after being kicked up by cement truck on highway, Hit by crane on pier next to a ship, rear ended 6 times (no damage to truck at all thanks to large hitch ball), and lastly nailed in my driveway by the daughters boyfriend who says he did not see it (2000 Dodge Ram Quad Cab Sport XLT Plus 4x4 in Solar Yellow)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. Ran over a hoop of wire and got stuck on something under the car, what an awful noise. No damage.
2. Everyone in front of me was dodging right around a large box except the idiot in the Range Rover directly in front of me decides to cut some people off and dodge left. I nailed an extremely large Pier One box that stuck to and completely covered the front end. I had to pull over and yank it off.
My Dodge Ram 4x4 (Prior to MINI)
1. Driving down the road w/ female friends. A cat runs in front of the truck and then the truck rocks and it sounds like I ran over a glass bottle. We stop down the road to get some ice cream and notice blood all over the side of the truck. Women start crying. Go back to the scene and find out a dog was chasing the cat and hit the rear wheel well edge, spun into the rear quarter panel, spun across two more lanes and landed DOA on the sidewalk. Two little girls are crying, one has rope burn on her hand where the dogs make shift leash pulled out of her hand. Some jack_ss is yelling at me for killing the dog (supposedly a family friend). The police stop and tell him to shut his mouth before he cites the little girl for not having a leash, no dog tags, and trespassing on private property. Then tells the man he should be nice to me before I claim or sue for the damage to my truck!
2. This could be a long list so I'll just list the highlights - Shot w/ BB gun while driveing down road, Ran over large mirror falling out of truck in front of me, 2x4 through windshield after being kicked up by cement truck on highway, Hit by crane on pier next to a ship, rear ended 6 times (no damage to truck at all thanks to large hitch ball), and lastly nailed in my driveway by the daughters boyfriend who says he did not see it (2000 Dodge Ram Quad Cab Sport XLT Plus 4x4 in Solar Yellow)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
maybe you should sticck to driving pick-up trucks.. in case these events continue.. not sure if the mini could take it!
4th Gear
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 361
Likes: 1
From: Boise, ID
Nothing real strange. Almost ran over a peacock's tail. Boy, were they pretty! One was the normal peacock array of colours, the other was pure white. He had the longest tail I'd ever seen! They were crossing one of the busiest streets in town.
I've been attacked by a barrage of rocks on the interstate, which is why there's a foot-long crack in my windshield now. That'll prolly never get fixed, as my insurance company wouldn't fix it cause it was more than six inches, and I just switched to Allstate so I doubt they'll fix it too.
I've been attacked by a barrage of rocks on the interstate, which is why there's a foot-long crack in my windshield now. That'll prolly never get fixed, as my insurance company wouldn't fix it cause it was more than six inches, and I just switched to Allstate so I doubt they'll fix it too.
Nothing real strange. Almost ran over a peacock's tail. Boy, were they pretty! One was the normal peacock array of colours, the other was pure white. He had the longest tail I'd ever seen! They were crossing one of the busiest streets in town.
I've been attacked by a barrage of rocks on the interstate, which is why there's a foot-long crack in my windshield now. That'll prolly never get fixed, as my insurance company wouldn't fix it cause it was more than six inches, and I just switched to Allstate so I doubt they'll fix it too.
I've been attacked by a barrage of rocks on the interstate, which is why there's a foot-long crack in my windshield now. That'll prolly never get fixed, as my insurance company wouldn't fix it cause it was more than six inches, and I just switched to Allstate so I doubt they'll fix it too.
Strangest thing I've hit has to be the Ford Granada PARKED in the fast lane on I70 out of Indy. Came up over a rise and there he was with his left turn signal on. Couldn't take to the median - too much traffic heading the opposite way. Couldn't change lanes - string of trucks. So I hit him, HARD. My GTI was fatally wounded but I was fine. The Granada ended up in sort of a V shape. Funny thing, the crash was just like you see on NASCAR. Also, the crash knocked the grit out of the carpet and into my shoes. 
2nd Gear
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 110
Likes: 4
Gopher tortise making its way across I-59 in S. Mississippi. Was driving a lowered Datsun 720 pickup and thought I had enough clearance to straddle it. Nope - Thump.
Also hit a deer with the same pickup 2 weeks after I bought it.
Also hit a deer with the same pickup 2 weeks after I bought it.
I remember one auto-x where the back end (of my Miata) came loose and I drifted the rear end through a wall of cones. I completed the run and hear "plus 5." My response was "that was all?!"
One time i was driving on the highway in indianapolis, and the wheel of a truck came off, going highway speeds prob 60, the wheel and tire starts boncing across the hgihway towards the median, it clears the median and heads into oncoming traffic striking a honda accord on the passenger side, hitting the roof line on the windsheild. Roofs are not very durable, because this thing went pretty much straight through, lodging it self half in the roof half on the seat. Driver was fine, but talk about crazy.
1st Gear
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 41
Likes: 0
From: Milwaukee Wisconsin
I got two kinda strange instances
First one: I was driving with my cousin in her Eagle Talon and we ran over a PIG!! The crazy thing about this was it was already dead, and we hit it in the middle of the city!!!! Not sure where it came from or what it was doing there...
Second one: This happened about 3 months ago in my MINI. I was getting off the freeway and a squirrel ran in front of my car on the off ramp. I was still going like 60 MPH when I hit it and my car made a THUMP, but nothing was on my car and no damage..not sure where the squirrel came from or why he was on the free way though.
First one: I was driving with my cousin in her Eagle Talon and we ran over a PIG!! The crazy thing about this was it was already dead, and we hit it in the middle of the city!!!! Not sure where it came from or what it was doing there...
Second one: This happened about 3 months ago in my MINI. I was getting off the freeway and a squirrel ran in front of my car on the off ramp. I was still going like 60 MPH when I hit it and my car made a THUMP, but nothing was on my car and no damage..not sure where the squirrel came from or why he was on the free way though.
3rd Gear
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 154
Likes: 0
From: Katy Texas
Nothing in the mini but when I was young my dad had a '67 camaro with the square tube traction bars, we were driving spiritedly testing out something my dad recently did (I was around 4) anyways a possum was crossing the road and my dad caught sight a bit late and decided to "straddle" the possum, we thought it was a successful miss until the dreaded smell took hold a few days later. Apparently he was stuffed into the traction bar like a sausage, my dad had to remove the carcass with a broom stick. It was probably one of the nastiest things in my life until I became a fire fighter.
5th Gear
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 877
Likes: 1
I wasn't behind the wheel when this happened but it was during driver's ed class in high school. I was in the back seat of a are you read for this: Ford ESCORT with two others and the football coach. Now, the football coach is a huge guy. I mean, he's 6'4" 250 lbs. I swear he could knock out several of the Dallas Cowboys. The shortest in the class had the misfortune of sitting behind him so he could activate the second set of brakes with his foot. My friend was in the back seat and (we'll call her Lindsey) was driving. We took an empty country road (this was in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma) and she somehow managed to crash into a mailbox AND a dead cow! I have no clue how she could fail to see a dead cow. It was as big as the car! Incredibly, the poor Escort didn't suffer any major damage. I thought we were goners! Driver's ed was always a surprise package and that's why it was actually one of the classes I feared. I never knew who would be behind the wheel when I wasn't driving!
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 958
Likes: 0
From: San Antonio, Texas
A baby deer narrowly avoided us driving into New Mexico. The MINI avoidance maneuvered like a champ!
Our portable basketball goal hit us after being knocked down by a freakishly strong wind storm, just a few weeks into ownership. It knocked that obsessive compulsive new ownership pristinely detailed urge right out of me, along with a chip of paint, scratch, a dent, and a cracked headlight.
Years back in a bigger vehicle, a flat bed trailer hauling some sort of giant metal tower lost a huge chunk of metal, which proceeded to BOUNCE across our pathway while driving freeway speed. It would've killed us I'm certain.
At about .005kph I hit a Dodge Durango. The park brake popped as I got out of the car, and I was at the hatch before realising the car was slowly rolling forward. A good strong pull on the car slowed it down enough that only the license plate got damaged. The best part, was that the Durango is high enough that I hit the receiver hitch and not a body panel. Moral of the story? With a Mini, when it doubt, you can just push or pull the car around as if it were a shopping cart!
Neutral
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
my windshield exploded...
I live in the middle of nowhere so I constantly have to swerve roadkill and sticks and stuff like that. I was wondering if anyone has ever given their mini a lift kit, because I haven't seen it........
I live in the middle of nowhere so I constantly have to swerve roadkill and sticks and stuff like that. I was wondering if anyone has ever given their mini a lift kit, because I haven't seen it........
Unfortunately there was a 1/2 or 1/4 piece of drywall that I was unable to avoid on the freeway onramp the other day... No damage here, but I did accidentally kick it up onto the front of the vehicle behind me. No damage to their car though.
-Chase
-Chase
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