The bigger they are, the harder they fall: H2 knuckles under
For thousands of different reasons, millions of people have purchased SUVs in the past several years. The high seating position gives a commanding view of the road and a sense of invincibility. The high ground clearance and off-road tires let you know they can handle just about anything thrown their way. The rugged industrial looks and powerful motors add to the driver's self-confidence and sense of power. Particularly in the case of the HUMMER. Many folks who have purchased H1s, H2s and H3s have done so because of the sense of security they get knowing that should an accident occur, they and their loved ones will be protected inside. So you can imagine the confusion Iris Ziroli felt when the front end of her H2 ground into the pavement after nudging a pole in her local fast food drive-thru. No hard impact or off-road activity, just a low-speed minor collision and the HUMMER is down for the count.
Apparently Iris is among 20 Hummer H2 owners whose cases are sitting on the desks of the NHTSA as they investigate whether a faulty steering knuckle on 2003 model year H2s is to blame. The part in question was apparently changed in 2004 but it's possible that the 47,900 other 2003s on the road might have a similar propensity for nosedives. The NHTSA has also collected data on 61 similar cases involving Suburbans and Avalanches that used the same knuckles. GM, for its part, is saying that cause and effect are being mixed up in these cases. It was the initial impacts that caused the knuckle failures, not the knuckle failures causing the accidents. No deaths or serious injuries have been reported in these cases and the investigation continues.
[Souce: Sacramento Bee (sub required) via Detroit News]
Tip: Thanks to Chris C.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Stoneman 8:41PM (9/18/2006)
... a few hundred million years ago the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Amazingly, more dinosaurs can be seen today, the H1, H2, and the forgettable H3.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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JC Whitless 8:56PM (9/18/2006)
I saw that movie in the theatre...
"Three Ninja's Knuck Up"
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Jay 8:47PM (9/18/2006)
>The high seating position gives a commanding view of
>the road....So you can imagine the confusion Iris
>Ziroli felt when the front end of her H2 ground into
>the pavement after nudging a pole in her local fast
>food drive-thru
The commanding view of the road really helped her locate and avoid a pole in a fast-food drive thru, didn't it?
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Jeremy Segars 12:20AM (9/19/2006)
thats a horrible photoshop job, if something is going to be chopped together it should be stated as that so A) people arn't confused about the conditions of what happened and B) it makes you less credible as to what else you may be fabricating.
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Frank4Cars 9:45PM (9/18/2006)
It's such a bad photoshop to make it obvious. The car isn't even pointing in the right direction. :D
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snakesausage 9:12PM (9/18/2006)
good call Jeremy!
Wrong way through the drive-through? The beast did a one-eighty or this is a HOV drive-through!
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Jason 9:15PM (9/18/2006)
I'd like to congratulate the sun on finding a way to shine from two different directions in that "photo".
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Morris 9:34PM (9/18/2006)
I did that one time, didn't see the pole and ran over it. It wasn't the runing over the pole that did the damage, it was the backing up trying to get off the sucker that ruined my day.
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Anson 9:36PM (9/18/2006)
Why are you posting such a BLATENT PHOTOCHOP? It looks absolutely ridiculous?!
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Little Green Envy 9:38PM (9/18/2006)
Where the hell was the pole, in the middle of the drive? Ummmm, sumpin' tellin' me the whole story ain't in that pitcha Saphire.
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Brian 11:18PM (9/18/2006)
Wow, first Joystiq starts to shoot their credibility in the foot and now autoblog. Is this a Weblogs,Inc mandate or something?
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k0an 9:54PM (9/18/2006)
I agree that it should be explicitly stated if a photoshop is used. Since even the Associated Press is getting busted for this now it's more important than ever to be upfront with this. Editors, please update the article. Thanks!
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Car chops and Discussion 10:10PM (9/18/2006)
yeah... im sorry but that chop looks really bad :
(Agree with jeremy)
http://www.carchops.com
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Keith 10:31PM (9/18/2006)
Lame PhotoChop. Looks like one of those Mid-East propaganda posters.
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Alvin 10:35PM (9/18/2006)
Actually - there are some passenger side drive throughs in the US... Checkers in Beaumont has drivethroughs that are on both sides of the building - One for the driver, and the other for the passenger. Helps people get through faster, if you have a passenger you go through the opposite side... Or you reach across your vehicle. Being a Hummer, I'd hope they weren't trying to reach all the way across!
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Andy 10:38PM (9/18/2006)
What're you guys talking about? That's as real as any UFO photo I've seen.
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Keith 11:02PM (9/18/2006)
Hey Stoneman. She should of bought a Honda, right? Hondas are awesome. So are Toyotas...and anything else japanese, huh? Yeah, that's the ticket. That dinosaur of a Hummer broke down because it's American! Man! If we could all be as smart as guys like you.
BTW, you and your buddies that talk smack about American rides that turn out to be fabricated BS, need to wake up and smell the coffee matilda! AMERICAN cars are better than japanese. you're a dweeb.
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Juan 11:06PM (9/18/2006)
I worked in a fast food drive-through in high school, and I have little sympathy for anyone who drives a beast like that down the narrow lane and can't control it.
The driver probably has full coverage on her insurance, so I'm sure everything worked out fine, and maybe now she'll pay more attention to insignificant objects in her path. Like poles. And maybe Miatas.
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Jason 11:27PM (9/18/2006)
I think she is FAT. Thats why she is at a fast food restaurant. Thats why she needs a Hummer to fit her, and thats why she could not see the pole because she was chowing down fries and drinking the big gulp.
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Jim 11:33PM (9/18/2006)
She probably dropped some of her french fries and leaned down to pick them up off the floor (you know that 30 second rule) and didn't see the pole. Betchya she finished off those fries though! We could ask the passengers, but since it was a women driving in a large SUV she was most likely alone. :-)
Jim
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