Phil
The Fiero did much the same thing as the Saab you described
in 1984 when it was first introduced. Remember, this was the
alleged "first" space frame, and there is steel all around the
cockpit, with the exterior skin bonded to it.
While I have not rolled one, I have seen several pictures of a
Fiero rolled, and through my various Fiero clubs have met and
talked with rollover "victims". In all cases, they walked away - -
one was after dropping some 15 - 20 feet off an overpass. In his
case, the windshield pillars did give way, but the roof area over
the top of the seat did not collapse at all. There is a picture of his
car on one of the Fiero websites, I will try to find it and forward it
to you.
G
----------
> From: Phil Ethier <pethier@isd.net>
> To: George Ryan <quad4fiero@webzone.net>; autox@autox.team.net
> Subject: Re: SOLO 1 - Closed vs Open ars
> Date: Sunday, April 25, 1999 10:40 PM
>
> From: George Ryan <quad4fiero@webzone.net>
> To: autox@autox.team.net <autox@autox.team.net>
>
>
> >John Matthews wrote:
> >
> >>I can tell you
> >>definitively.....
> >>
> >>Any car roof can and will collapse if you roll it!
> >
> >Phil Ethier answered:
> >>
> >> Never rolled a SAAB 96, have you?
> >
> >Or a Fiero?
>
>
> Have you rolled Fiero cars on several occasions?
>
> I have rolled SAAB 96 cars in ice races on three occasions. Once was the
> second occasion for the same car, and it was dandy. In each case, the
car
> had a roll bar. In none of the cases did the roof collapse enough to
touch
> the roll bar. The only reason I brought it up (Team.Net veterans will
> groan, "Yet again!") is that Johns "definite" statement that any car roof
> will collapse if the car is rolled is simply untrue. There are many
> different car designs out there. Some of them are capable of taking a
> serious hit without collapsing. And they are not all new cars. The
first
> SAAB I had, which I rolled violently on two occasions, was a 1963 car.
>
> SAAB once took a 99, turned it upside-down and dropped it from a height
of
> seven feet onto a concrete slab. It didn't even break any glass. Then
they
> did the same thing to an Opel Manta. It flattened to the door handles.
>
> Phil Ethier Saint Paul Minnesota USA
> Lotus Europa, VW Quantum Syncro, Chev Suburban
> LOON, TCVWC, MAC
> pethier@isd.net http://www.visi.com/mac/
>
>
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