Photo by skagman, a.k.a. John Nuttall
There are only about 700 Tesla roadsters on the world's roads so far, making the new all-electric car one of the rarest as well as one of the most sought-after cars on the planet. Maybe the driver of the Prius who slammed into the back of this one in Denmark was thinking, "Wow! That's a Tesla!"
Not any more, it isn't. The Prius smashed the electric car all the way underneath the Volkswagen Tuareg that had been in front of it. So now the formerly lucky Danish Tesla owner gets to find out how long the waiting time is for a second Tesla.
At least it did okay on crash safety. No major injuries were reported.
The picture reminds me of the work of Swiss photographer Arnold Odermatt.
(Alternate title for this post: Honey, Did I Leave the Tuareg on the Roof Again?)
Mike
Odermatt's photos I really, *really* like. They're idiosyncratic and fun (despite their topic) and, they're all the more precious for being gone, by which I mean, no-one is likely to do those again, if only because most wrecks are now towed away within the hour, leaving little possibility for anyone to come along and shoot the deserted scenes with the uncanny sense of lonliness his pictures have.
Posted by: Ludovic | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 07:50 AM
Sorry, but this is not very funny.
Posted by: valthewu | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 08:34 AM
Mike, you're going to hate me. I picked up a new Tesla last week and completely forgot to go through your Amazon link! SORRY!
Okay, not really, but I have seen two of them on the road... and functioning quite well.
Posted by: Adam Lanigan | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 09:01 AM
Maybe the Prius driver has seen the Tesla website and is thinking, "Twice as efficient as a Prius, huh? I'll show 'im!"
Posted by: Roger Bradbury | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 09:22 AM
You think that's bad... imagine coming back to pick up your $1 million car from the mechanic and finding this:
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/10/wrecked-koenigsegg/
Posted by: Awake | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 10:17 AM
What's incredible about this is that Tuareg looks barely touched.
Posted by: Tyler Ball | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 10:20 AM
And this relates to photography in what way?
Posted by: mzalan1 | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 10:32 AM
I think this is an extreme case of static cling.
Posted by: Marty McAuliff | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 10:32 AM
Amazing bit of failure there.
I know you were kind of joking about the Prius driver being awestruck and that leading to the crash, but for a Prius, of all things, to smash a Tesla AND shove it underneath what is a very heavy VW leads me to guess that:
1. the Prius driver did not not brake much at all before impact
2. the situation was a line of traffic stopped, perhaps suddenly, and the Prius did not notice.
Posted by: jchristian | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 11:27 AM
The Tesla Roadster was reviewed a while back in the UK by TV chef and all-round moron, James Martin. A few days after it was published, he was issuing a (somewhat insincere) apology to outraged cycling groups. Sadly, the Daily (hate)Mail has edited its online version of the article, but other sites feature the pertinent extracts. Part-way into the article, he stated this:
"God, I hate those cyclists. Every last herbal tea-drinking, Harriet Harman-voting one of them. That's one of the reasons I live in the countryside, where birds tweet, horses roam, pigs grunt and Lycra-clad buttocks are miles away. But recently, there's been a disturbing development. Each Saturday, a big black truck appears at the bottom of my road, with bikes stuck to the roof and rear. Out of it step a bunch of City-boy ponces in fluorescent Spider-Man outfits, shades, bum bags and stupid cleated shoes, who then pedal around our narrow lanes four abreast with their private parts alarmingly apparent. Do they enjoy it? They never smile. I'm sure they just come here to wind me up."
And then, later into the article, went on to reveal this:
"Twenty minutes into my test drive I pulled round a leafy bend, enjoying the birdsong - and spotted those damned Spider-Man cyclists. Knowing they wouldn't hear me coming, I stepped on the gas, waited until the split second before I overtook them, then gave them an almighty blast on the horn at the exact same time I passed them at speed.
“The look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge was the best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror. I think this could be the car for me."
I don't know what depressed me more - the fact that he did what he did, or that the article's style and content were so tediously hackneyed.
Posted by: Ailsa | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 11:36 AM
The Tesla driver likely didn't hear the other car. It's like that episode of "Weeds" where the neighborhood gang-banger borrowed Nancy's Prius for a drive-by shooting, so that the vic couldn't hear him coming down the street.
Posted by: Chuck Albertson | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 11:55 AM
As long as we're in the humor dept:
http://newyorkleftist.blogspot.com/2009/10/electric-cars-are-dangerous.html
Posted by: misha | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 12:01 PM
"And this relates to photography in what way?"
It's on a photography blog, for one thing....
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 12:38 PM
Ailsa,
Funny you should mention that. I just last night read the following passage in Tim Moore's book "French Revolutions," about his Quixotic bike tour of the Tour de France route:
"Probably because I'd been more concerned with monitoring my physical condition, I hadn't really noticed the traffic before. It had certainly become obvious that French drivers treat cyclists as fellow road-users, indicating as they overtook and pulling respectfully right over to the other side of the road while doing so. There was never any of the impatient revving of engines, no I'm-bigger-than-you cutting up or jeers of 'Get off and milk it, you dozy twat' variety that make cycling in Britain such a high-octane experience."
Of course, the British probably disrespect cyclists only because the French consider it their national sport!
Mike
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 12:59 PM
No, this is incredibly hilarious! Prius wrecks Tesla, SUV totally ok.
At least everyone is ok. My zero emissions vehicle would not have done very well getting shoved under an SUV.
Posted by: James Liu | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 04:00 PM
@ Ailsa "I don't know what depressed me more - the fact that he did what he did, or that the article's style and content were so tediously hackneyed."
Par for the course for the Daily Mail as I'm sure you know, Ailsa. For those of you who are lucky enough not to know this er, publication, a "good" Daily Mail story results in you hating someone. What is amazing is that he committed a traffic offence then admitted it in the national press!
@ Mike "Of course, the British probably disrespect cyclists only because the French consider it their national sport!'
We don't really hate the French, it's just that they are so like us in some ways that it's really annoying! For certain of our ex colonies we feel more of an amused disrespect...
Posted by: Roger Bradbury | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 05:36 PM
Shocking
Posted by: Mike Plews | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 06:09 PM
Looking at the photo, it seems to me that the Tesla fell apart in the crash - with body panels askew from stem to stern. Apparently the passenger compartment protected the occupant/s. In any event, this photo does not make me want to own a Tesla.
Posted by: Bill Rogers | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 07:43 PM
Not that it matters but the car's name is spelt "Touareg".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Touareg
Posted by: Christian | Tuesday, 27 October 2009 at 09:14 PM
On a serious note, there have been at least two accidents involving Toyota products (including Prius, Camry, and Lexus ES350) caused by unintended acceleration which resulted in fatalities. The driver's floor mat can move forward and catch the accelerator pedal, keeping the throttle open. Toyota is recalling 3.8 million vehicles because of this problem, and have recommended that the driver side floor mat be removed from these vehicles.
Many of the cars and trucks that have been manufactured in the past several years are controlled by computers. These cars may have a "Power" button. It is important to know that, in Toyota products, if the ignition needs to be shut off in the event of an emergency, the "Power" button must be held in for at least three seconds to shut off the drivetrain's power. Simply pushing in the button briefly will not turn off the power. With the ignition turned off, the vehicle can still be controlled, although without power assist. Better to do this if you have to, rather than to drive off the road, or into another vehicle, at high speed.
By the way, I own a Prius, and it has been a great car.
Posted by: R. Edelman | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 01:26 AM
Actually, a car that wrecks in a crash like the Tesla pictured above, absorbs most of the impact energy itself, protecting the people inside. There is a reason racing cars are designed to disintegrate in the event of a crash. Only the parts housing the driver are solid enough to withstand high impact forces.
Posted by: ggl | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 02:20 AM
"And this relates to photography in what way?"
It's on a photography blog, for one thing...."
Why would people watch a show about nothing: "because it's on TV!"
Posted by: george costanza | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 05:05 AM
Marty made me giggle.
Posted by: Ludovic | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 06:56 AM
"It's on a photography blog, for one thing...."
That's much funnier than the original post!
But yes, Odermatt's photos are ace.
Posted by: robin | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 12:30 PM
R.Edelman: "Unintended acceleration" has been a weird PR football since at least the late 80s. Some of the reports of it have clearly been faked, many of the cases are very probably user error, and much of the reporting on it is weird and low-fact. And yet there still may really be something there.
I've got a 2010 Camry. That floor mat is actually held in position by hooks coming up from the floor through grommets in the mat! Furthermore, small mat movement and a bit folded over under the pedal wouldn't restrict brake pedal travel, and I can't see how it would hold the gas pedal down. And finally, the brakes ought to be able to overpower the engine easily, and stop the car at full throttle (even if you forget to turn off the engine or shift into neutral). And these reports across various cars have been coming in consistently for decades, including before the fly-by-wire nature of some modern designs, where a central computer flaw really COULD explain everything.
I have not been tempted to remove my floor mat, in any case.
Posted by: David Dyer-Bennet | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 12:53 PM
The van is called a Toe Rag?
Posted by: Christopher J. Arndt | Wednesday, 28 October 2009 at 03:59 PM
Aww dude that sucks.
Posted by: Nick | Thursday, 29 October 2009 at 07:18 PM
Poor dude. I believe the waiting list for a new one is pretty looooong
Posted by: Indrek | Friday, 30 October 2009 at 03:52 PM
Would be nice if the photographer was credited; especially as the picture is copyright. John Nuttall (the photographer)!
Posted by: John Nuttall | Sunday, 01 November 2009 at 03:16 AM