Speed camera catches Hyundai doing the impossible
A man accused of driving at speeds up to 147 mph is about to get his day in court -- and many are looking at the case to challenge the freeway photo enforcement program in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Lawrence Pargo of Goodyear was supposedly running late for work and was caught by speeding cameras on Loop 101 going 102, 105, 128 and 147 mph between 5:47 and 6:20 a.m. The city of Scottsdale and its speeding camera vendor, Redflex Traffic Systems, both say that the readings were accurate; however, an unmodified Sonata is speed limited in accordance with federal regulations to 137 mph. If found guilty, Pargo could face jail time and get his license suspended.
Steve Spence, managing editor of Car and Driver magazine, said that the cameras were likely wrong -- the Hyundai Sonata, he said, topped out at 137 in a test drive for the magazine. And for those who think Pargo may have modified his Hyundai to reach speeds higher than intended, the car wasn't even his, it was a rental.
[Source: East Valley Tribune]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Ryan 12:11PM (7/18/2006)
GO HYUNDAI!!!!
WHOO WHOO!!!!
Lawrence Pargo you twist that shit all up in Scottdale boy!!!!
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nailz420 12:13PM (7/18/2006)
what if it picked up speed going downhill?
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David F 12:15PM (7/18/2006)
Perhaps he had a nice tail wind going... Or maybe he slipped into some sort of Korean wormhole! Or maybe Scottsdale needs to recalibrate their radars...
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sirAQUAMAN64 12:20PM (7/18/2006)
A Hyundai Like You've Never Seen is right!
Question is by how much was he late to be driving that fast to make up for? Even if not 147mph, clearly he's in excess.
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Ed 12:25PM (7/18/2006)
This car came from Rondney King's Hyundai Speed shop. He has been making them fast for years just ask the LA police.
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David 12:28PM (7/18/2006)
The real question is how far away were all of these speed cameras, and at what times did he pass them. If his first and last shots were taken 33 minutes apart like the article says, these cameras would have to have been spaced out over at least 50 miles if you say he was averaging 100 conservatively. Anyone familiar with this particular stretch of road?
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Ryan 12:29PM (7/18/2006)
That car just looks so freaking hot in that picture. It's like how the Accords used to look before they turned into boats. That is why I think a big part of this body's sucess is that it looks like how the past couple bodystyles of the Accords looked with a circa 2006 twist. Love it, it looks so good.
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epp_b 12:31PM (7/18/2006)
["2. what if it picked up speed going downhill?"]
That's not necessarily plausible. It depends on whether the limiting factor of the car's top speed is drag or RPMs in top gear.
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mark Berggren 12:33PM (7/18/2006)
Reminds me of the case here in Minnesota a few years back. A teenager was timed from a Highway Patrol Plane doing 200 mph (or somewhere around there) on his motorcycle. When the story got out, every motorcycle expert agreed it was impossible, unless the motorcycle was extensively modified - which it wasn't. The Highway Patrol still stands by estimate. I think the dirty little secret here, is that some of the methods law enforcement uses to measure speed are not all that accurate.
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Ryan 12:37PM (7/18/2006)
"7. ["2. what if it picked up speed going downhill?"]
That's not necessarily plausible. It depends on whether the limiting factor of the car's top speed is drag or RPMs in top gear."
-Plus on that part of the 101 loop there are not really any hills to have to deal with until you get closer to I-17
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courtstone 12:40PM (7/18/2006)
Whatever happened with this guy in Arizona, the ending result is...its good marketing/publicity for the Sonata.
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Scott Eaton 12:43PM (7/18/2006)
Korean wormhole... my first audible chuckle of the day... thanks :D
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Ryan 12:48PM (7/18/2006)
Do any of you guys remember the hatchback 1999 Daewoo Lanos?! OMG, that car was so scary when we got that thing (we rented one) up to 100mph, the engine was SCREAMING and the car was shaking so bad the window frame was actually shaking so bad you could see daylight between the A-piller (whichever is by the windshield) and the window frame. It was the only time I was ever truly scared driving that fast.
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Brian 12:51PM (7/18/2006)
["2. what if it picked up speed going downhill?"]
The Valley of the Sun (Scottsdale/Phoenix, is pretty flat. There's definately not anything that could help explain this miracle. Sounds like the city's going to be writing out a lot of refund checks to past speeders.
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Bob 12:56PM (7/18/2006)
OK, the nerdy part of me asks everyone to do a little math. Seems they have a start time (5:47am) and end time (6:20am), if you take the slowest speed (101mph), over that time he traveled 55 miles. Anyone from Scottsdale? How far can you travel on the 101 within city limits. Otherwise, I really need to start renting from Avis, imagine what speeds a Viper from them could hit?
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FRANK CARDINALI 12:58PM (7/18/2006)
I live in Phoenix and have been following this. The guy was speeding. The question is, if the traps are not acurrate,(which I believe they are not) is the ticket enforceable at all, even though it was obvious he was speeding. I say no.
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Slim 12:59PM (7/18/2006)
Go Sonata Racer Go!
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Ryan 1:04PM (7/18/2006)
"Anyone from Scottsdale? How far can you travel on the 101 within city limits."
I'm down there all the time dude, could you be more specific I can tell you whatever you need to know. I'm curious about your math also!
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Chris 1:10PM (7/18/2006)
Old news. But shows that the 3.3 litre v6 all alluminum "World Engine" in the Sonata can really fly.
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David Lazarus 1:11PM (7/18/2006)
The speed camera's are obviously faulty though they will not admit it as the whole system of fines could collapse. In the UK we did have a problem with trees doing 18mph and wheelchairs doing 47 mph, and on one occasion I think a dog cocking his leg registered 15mph, must have been a stunt dog!
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