Safety News

"Cé hé sin" (michael-m-mouse) 03/19/2016 at 19:07 • Filed to: Trabant, FMVSS no 301

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If one wants to sell a vehicle in America it has to withstand a 50 mph rear impact from a standard 1,368 kg mass without leaking fuel.

Many years before this regulation was imposed the makers of the humble Trabant had anticipated it and designed their car in such a way that no rear impact was ever going to, er, impact on the fuel system.

Look at this picture and you’ll see why. Yes, that’s the tank. Yes, it sits just above the exhaust and behind the engine. Yes, it’s beside the battery. Yes, a frontal impact is more likely than a rear one. What could possibly go wrong?

Yes, it has two ignition coils, one per cylinder. If you could afford a Wartburg you got three coils.

DrJohannVegas > Cé hé sin 03/19/2016 at 19:13

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AKA: The Pinto Rule.

Cé hé sin > DrJohannVegas 03/19/2016 at 19:28

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Interestingly, Ford were found not guilty on a homicide charge after evidence that the Pinto was neither better or worse than any other car in its class.

DrJohannVegas > Cé hé sin 03/19/2016 at 19:40

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Yep. Hence the rule change.

Jonee > Cé hé sin 03/19/2016 at 19:42

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Yeah, despite the design flaw, Pintos didn't explode any more often than any other car of that era. Which is kind of nuts when you think about it.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Jonee 03/19/2016 at 19:44

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The first gen Mustang had the trunk floor made out of the gas tank.

jimz > Jonee 03/19/2016 at 19:56

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not only that, the infamous “Pinto Memo” wasn’t even about the Pinto.

jimz > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:00

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yeah, and there was a story on one of the TV magazines (60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, I can’t remember which) about a family who (in the 1990s) gave their teenage son a restored ~’66 Mustang, and he got rear-ended at a high rate of speed which punctured the gas tank. Unsurprisingly that caused a fire which sadly took the kid’s life. They were suing Ford for a “safety defect” on a 30+ year old car. No idea if it went anywhere.

then there was something I read a while back in the news paper about a family suing GM because a few of their family members were killed when their 1980-something Malibu was rear-ended at 80-90 mph.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:12

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Remarkable

Berang > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:12

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The Subaru 360 had the fuel tank inside the passenger compartment.

Berang > Cé hé sin 03/19/2016 at 20:14

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Doesn’t look any worse than most cars from that era.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Berang 03/19/2016 at 20:16

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Old GM trucks had it behind the seat.

hike > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:20

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This has suddenly turned into a contest of who can name the the most ridiculous fuel tank location. Which would make a great QOTD if they ever bring that back.

Berang > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:23

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Citroen Sahara had two fuel tanks under the front seats

Safety aside, that looks like a pain in the ass to fill up.

jimz > hike 03/19/2016 at 20:31

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I’m sure someone somewhere knows of a car which used the tires as fuel tanks.

not quite the same, but interesting... the two-stroke Detroit Diesels were one of the first to use unit injectors (injection pump and injector nozzle in one unit) with a low-pressure common fuel feed. Since it ran through the cylinder head, the fuel was used as a secondary coolant. the diesel fuel coming out of the return line was hot.

Funktheduck > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:35

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My dad had a 69 F series with 2 fuel tanks. The second was behind the seat or something like that. It was never used because the fuel pump died for that tank or whatever mechanism switched the tanks. I miss that truck

lone_liberal > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 20:42

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Old Dodge pickups had it there too.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 03/19/2016 at 23:24

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model a has it in the dash. as you drive you can watch the fuel splash around.

That's gonna leave a mark! > Cé hé sin 03/19/2016 at 23:35

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Population control for eastern Europe.