If you don't, it's OK to ask some old fart.

I get it.

The problem with gasoline-powered automobiles is that there must be a gas tank... someplace. The Pinto wasn't the only one to hang the tank between the rails in front of the back bumper, but it stood out as to how the bumper and frame crumpled under a rear impact. A healthy dose of Nader-style publicity killed that evil, Detroit-made car.

The Corvair was Nader's first victim. My first car was a '66 Monza 4-speed, and I loved that thing! But the tank on that car was just a few inches in front of my knees, protected from impact by nothing but thin sheet metal. (The Corvair was an early "unibody" design; it didn't have a conventional steel frame.) I ended up scrapping the car after a very low-speed head-on with a '64 Thunderbird piloted by a hillbilly who had consumed a gallon or more of the other Thunderbird. That sheet metal just caved in, taking the front suspension with it.

Remember the lawsuits over the Chevy pickups with saddle tanks located outside the frames? Same thing.

The damn gas tank has to be someplace.

Quote from: TboneAgain on December 08, 2021, 07:57:44 PMI get it.

The problem with gasoline-powered automobiles is that there must be a gas tank... someplace. The Pinto wasn't the only one to hang the tank between the rails in front of the back bumper, but it stood out as to how the bumper and frame crumpled under a rear impact. A healthy dose of Nader-style publicity killed that evil, Detroit-made car.

The Corvair was Nader's first victim. My first car was a '66 Monza 4-speed, and I loved that thing! But the tank on that car was just a few inches in front of my knees, protected from impact by nothing but thin sheet metal. (The Corvair was an early "unibody" design; it didn't have a conventional steel frame.) I ended up scrapping the car after a very low-speed head-on with a '64 Thunderbird piloted by a hillbilly who had consumed a gallon or more of the other Thunderbird. That sheet metal just caved in, taking the front suspension with it.

Remember the lawsuits over the Chevy pickups with saddle tanks located outside the frames? Same thing.

The damn gas tank has to be someplace.

Remember the Ford incident, where the tank was located between the bed and the cab that really ended all this?
I was in the burn unit with, I think his name was Kennedy, anyway, it was his multi million dollar lawsuit that ended it all.

Oh, and note the backward flames on the car. Nice touch.

Quote from: Solar on December 08, 2021, 09:07:20 PMRemember the Ford incident, where the tank was located between the bed and the cab that really ended all this?
I was in the burn unit with, I think his name was Kennedy, anyway, it was his multi million dollar lawsuit that ended it all.

Oh, and note the backward flames on the car. Nice touch.

The backward flames are there for a reason!