Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Etc., Pontiac
Sleepy engineer wrecks Pontiac G8
Pontiac's famous tagline is "We build excitment". What does it say about the new Pontiac G8 that yesterday morning an Australian engineer driving a test car fell asleep at the wheel and piloted it down a 100-foot embankment, striking a boulder and flipping the car end over end? Well, the Pontiac G8 will surely be one of the more exciting vehicles from the brand in recent memory when it goes on sale early next year, but apparently for the engineer, 41-year-old Rolf Glenk, it wasn't exciting enough to keep him awake.
Glenk was the last in a convoy of G8s that were traveling on Highway 82 in Colorado yesterday morning when the accident happened. Being last in line, it was only after another engineer noticed their group was one short that Glenk and the totaled G8 were found flipped upside down at the bottom of an embankment. Glenk was taken to Aspen Valley Hospital and treated for minor injuries, while the G8 didn't so fare nearly as well. Glenk was also given a citation for careless driving.
[Source: Aspen Daily News via Jalopnik]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Thomas 3:03PM (9/28/2007)
Well I guess it's good to know that if I ever do something like that I could probably live. I'm kinda surprised it's not more messed up than it is.
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Beat-it-nerd 3:03PM (9/28/2007)
The slogan is "Pontiac. Action." dude. And, that was clearly some action...
http://gmaccessoriesstore.com
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antrow 3:04PM (9/28/2007)
I am not a fan of Pontiac styling or the new G8 but I have to say it is impressive that someone could walk away from a crash like that.
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Thom 3:06PM (9/28/2007)
Real World crash test results before the car even hits the market! WOW!
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Frank the Tank 3:11PM (9/28/2007)
Sigh... what a dumbass
Glad hes alright though
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Jugomugo 3:23PM (9/28/2007)
Think he'll have a job when he gets out of the hospital?
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sw 3:30PM (9/28/2007)
WE BUILD EXCITE..z.zzzzzzzzz
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TriShield 3:31PM (9/28/2007)
Pontiac just updated the G8 site with colors, features and some pictures this week.
http://www.pontiac.com/g8
Prices should be out very soon ($25k base V6, $31k base V8). A six-speed manual will be available by March.
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sydbot 3:39PM (9/28/2007)
So does this mean we will see a 2008 1/2 model featuring a sleepy-driver alert system? I got to see a lot of crashes working at a photo lab (the road commission did their photos through us) and this one looks a lot worse than many where the driver/occupants were killed. Props on crash survivability.
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Frank the Tank 3:40PM (9/28/2007)
That stealth blue metallic is pretty wild
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Stumper 4:06PM (9/28/2007)
wait...since when does light purple = blue?
Mark 3:50PM (9/28/2007)
My new car is sleep proof, awesome! No really I'm in love with this car.
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TriShield 4:00PM (9/28/2007)
Rolf likely has the distinction of being the first person to wreck a G8 on US roads.
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Nr9 4:15PM (9/28/2007)
he crashed because of unreasonably low speed limits in the US that cause drowsiness, especially in a V8 where its geared to run at 1000 rpm at that speed limit.
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SPG 4:16PM (9/28/2007)
Pontiac, we build safe cars.
Now to find out where I can get the parts from that car.
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paul34 4:27PM (9/28/2007)
"whoops"
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Rene Curry 4:29PM (9/28/2007)
Remember that Rolf is from Austalia, big time zone difference from Colorado. So we can cut him a little slack. Well, maybe just a little.
They can give me a G8 to test drive to work & write a regular report. Gas on me. Save me from my Pinto!
I can put it through a 120 miles a day of the rough and tumble roads of the Detroit area. You get everything except altitude testing. Pot holes, weird pavment patterns, stop & go, high speed, hot weather, cold weather, salt spray, rain, snow, rocks, debris, you name it. On the weekends I can put it through it's paces...and then....ahhh then I woke up. Back to my Pinto.
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far jr 9:40PM (9/28/2007)
What was the elevation Rolf was driving at? If he is a lowlander and shows up in high elevations of the Rockies for the first time, gets no rest to recover from jet lag or to aclimate to the thinner air. I would likely feel weary if I jumped into a car and start buzzing around in the Rockies as well.
He is fortunate, I hope the structure of the car is really "THAT" good
BLS 4:43PM (9/28/2007)
This car is a real sleeper.
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Scott 4:47PM (9/28/2007)
Well they have proof it can withstand a good crash. Now if they could just figure out how they only manage 361HP from a gigantic 6.0L V8.
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