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Running over a tow hitch seems to be a pretty low standard for significantly damaged.

Zikes 13y ago
But is it completely improbable that a gasoline-powered car could suffer from the same result? It just feels like somebody's looking for an excuse to go after Tesla. I read these articles about people leaping over concrete barriers and wrapping their car around a tree and just wonder "what the hell did you expect would happen?"
- ars 13y ago
  > But is it completely improbable that a gasoline-powered car could suffer from the same result? Yes, quite improbable. It might break the engine, but there is nothing in the front of a car that would catch fire from such an impact.
- jusben1369 13y ago
  Good Lord no. This isn't about going after Tesla. Just think of it in terms of %. 3 fires in 5 weeks. If they Toyota Camry had the same ratio that might be something like 3000 fires in 5 weeks. I'm a big Tesla fan and hope they succeed but this is starting to look like a real issue.
  - astrodust 13y ago
    > According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there are around 194,000 vehicle fires on U.S. roads each year. So 194,000 vehicle fires per year, or 18,602 within any given five week period. Toyota's market share is 14.2%, so if the fires are evenly distributed, there would've been 2,641 vehicles of that brand catching fire. That's pretty close to 3,000.
    - tedunangst 13y ago
      2461 new toyotas catching fire?
      - astrodust 13y ago
        I'm not sure the data on vehicle age is available like that.
    - jusben1369 13y ago
      "There are 300 million cars in the USA in 2012" so your 194,000 is a % of 300 million.
- Kylekramer 13y ago
  Well, you are changing the subject of conversation. This is the second time that a fairly minor accident (nothing like the Mexican crash) resulted in a fire because of the placement of the battery. If the Tesla were gas powered, it is almost completely improbable that either of the two American fires would have happened as they don't have large amounts of flammable material under the front of the car where road debris can cause damage. Tesla isn't the victim of a smear campaign, this is fairly minor news that gets amplified in the HN/tech bubble.
  - Zikes 13y ago
    I wouldn't say it's a change of subject, but I can see your point.
stcredzero 13y ago
I had the entire oil pan emptied out in a Volvo 850 because of an unfortunate rendezvous with a piece of rebar -- at low speed in a parking garage. The oil pan on that particular Volvo 850 was also aluminum, and from what I remember around the same thickness. The key is that in both cases, the entire mass and momentum of the vehicle were contributing to the intrusion of a piece of steel into an aluminum vessel. No engineering in the world is going to stop that steel from penetrating in that case. A different material and/or different placement will be needed to improve the situation.

Zikes 13y ago

But is it completely improbable that a gasoline-powered car could suffer from the same result? It just feels like somebody's looking for an excuse to go after Tesla. I read these articles about people leaping over concrete barriers and wrapping their car around a tree and just wonder "what the hell did you expect would happen?"

ars 13y ago
> But is it completely improbable that a gasoline-powered car could suffer from the same result? Yes, quite improbable. It might break the engine, but there is nothing in the front of a car that would catch fire from such an impact.
jusben1369 13y ago
Good Lord no. This isn't about going after Tesla. Just think of it in terms of %. 3 fires in 5 weeks. If they Toyota Camry had the same ratio that might be something like 3000 fires in 5 weeks. I'm a big Tesla fan and hope they succeed but this is starting to look like a real issue.
- astrodust 13y ago
  > According to the U.S. Fire Administration, there are around 194,000 vehicle fires on U.S. roads each year. So 194,000 vehicle fires per year, or 18,602 within any given five week period. Toyota's market share is 14.2%, so if the fires are evenly distributed, there would've been 2,641 vehicles of that brand catching fire. That's pretty close to 3,000.
  - tedunangst 13y ago
    2461 new toyotas catching fire?
    - astrodust 13y ago
      I'm not sure the data on vehicle age is available like that.
  - jusben1369 13y ago
    "There are 300 million cars in the USA in 2012" so your 194,000 is a % of 300 million.
Kylekramer 13y ago
Well, you are changing the subject of conversation. This is the second time that a fairly minor accident (nothing like the Mexican crash) resulted in a fire because of the placement of the battery. If the Tesla were gas powered, it is almost completely improbable that either of the two American fires would have happened as they don't have large amounts of flammable material under the front of the car where road debris can cause damage. Tesla isn't the victim of a smear campaign, this is fairly minor news that gets amplified in the HN/tech bubble.
- Zikes 13y ago
  I wouldn't say it's a change of subject, but I can see your point.

stcredzero 13y ago

I had the entire oil pan emptied out in a Volvo 850 because of an unfortunate rendezvous with a piece of rebar -- at low speed in a parking garage. The oil pan on that particular Volvo 850 was also aluminum, and from what I remember around the same thickness. The key is that in both cases, the entire mass and momentum of the vehicle were contributing to the intrusion of a piece of steel into an aluminum vessel. No engineering in the world is going to stop that steel from penetrating in that case. A different material and/or different placement will be needed to improve the situation.