Oops, things broke

"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy)
08/02/2018 at 09:51 • Filed to: Crash

Image not mine (duh), but close enough to the crash damage

Inside: things about collisions and very nice mid-2000s sedans that still used steel fenders.

My stepfather wound up in a collision that nobody likes to be in - making a blind turn from a turn lane while someone else is trying to turn out. Neither the driver of the SUV (I think it was a late 2000s Pilot?) nor him noticed each other until it was too late to smash on the brakes, leaving the Montego with a smashed-in front end at about 20mph .

The good news is that nobody was hurt, and the insurance company hasn’t totaled the Montego, meaning a body shop will cover replacing the bumper, hood, grille, headlight , etc . The bad news is that the SUV driver had their airbags deploy and their FR tire was shoved in, making their vehicle completely undriv able and almost unmovable as a result.

Looks like I’m gonna have to buy myself a Five Hundred or Montego sometime. These cars are too nice to pass up.

DISCUSSION (17)

Ash78, voting early and often > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 10:02

Well, they were built on a Volvo SUV frame, for all intents and purposes. That might have something to do with it...maybe.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Ash78, voting early and often
08/02/2018 at 10:04

Aside from the ridiculously comfortable ride that the frame offers, maybe. But I’m still saying it’s those solid steel fenders. The car’s still a big chunky lass with a bit of sass under the hood.

CalzoneGolem > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 10:10

I think they are handsome and comfy as well.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 10:19

The Five Hundred was a comfortable car, but my god are they completely gutless.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > CalzoneGolem
08/02/2018 at 10:22

See, I think I know why I like these cars so much: understated presence. You know it’s a big car, and it kind of gives you the impression that it could be a cop car behind you, and the engine note from the V6 is impressive enough to sound like it could be a fast one. Yet the body lines are relaxed, muted - attempting to blend in with the rest of the Camries and Accords, as yet another familiar face. But it’s too big, too chromed, too... stately. It trying to blend in only brings more attention to it, but at the same time, since it’s so normal, nobody really understands why they’re looking at it, and chalk it up to being a cop car because “it’s a full size Ford, obviously that was its purpose in lif e!”

and 100 more > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 10:32

The cars that will look good years from now aren’t the ones with acute angles and sharp creases, but the ones we think of as boring right now.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 10:41

Stupid SUV your high bumpers let you down and caused your lower control arms to get bent!

facw > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 10:49

I’m not a huge fan, but the thing that always stands out to me is how absurdly tall they are. Nearly crossover height. Not that they are out of proportion, they are just big.

Jay, the practical enthusiast > and 100 more
08/02/2018 at 11:37

Simple, elegant designs seem to age better than complex, overly detailed ones.

ranwhenparked > facw
08/02/2018 at 19:21

That was Ford’s attempt to lure SUV buyers back into cars by replicating the high seating height - Command Seating, I believe they called it.

Then, Ford realized that many of the SUVs they would be luring buyers from were Escapes, Explorers, Edges, and Expeditions, and backtracked on that idea.

ranwhenparked > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/02/2018 at 19:22

Their interiors are absolutely enormous, especially with the seats folded. I mean, they are a full-size car from the outside, so you expect a lot of room inside, but they are deceptively roomy.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now)
08/03/2018 at 01:08

Not completely. The V6 has plenty of oomph to play with, but it’s definitely not as quick as it could be.

Then again I’m coming from a Legacy that doesn’t get out of its own way unless you play around high in the rev range.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
08/03/2018 at 01:09

Plus the fact that it’s a FWD SUV probably meant that bad things happen when the axle gets shoved back into the transmission

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > facw
08/03/2018 at 01:10

It definitely doesn’t feel that big, but it definitely feels commanding without the extra height you get from SUV-grade stilt suspension. That extra ride height you’d get with the SUV turns back into extra squish for your driving pleasure.

winterlegacy, here 'till the end > ranwhenparked
08/03/2018 at 01:11

The only other car to give me that deceptively roomy feeling was a late 2000s Prius. It looks small from the outside but has so much legroom even for 6 foot 3 beanstalks and enough width for linebackers.

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
08/03/2018 at 10:36

We had one for 10 years, it was gutless.

boxrocket > winterlegacy, here 'till the end
10/20/2018 at 23:55

I briefly owned a Montego before selling it to my neighbor’s son. Delightfully roomy, and super safe thanks to being on the Volvo S80 platform. Also, in Volvo fashion, the front passenger seat folds flat (forwards) so you can carry really long things in the cabin if you like. The interior was sadly very mid-2000s American plastics, but even being that old, it was still better than the W-body impalas.