- Joined
- Jan 19, 2003
- Messages
- 3,021
- Location
- 5,800 feet above sea level
- Corvette
- 2006 'Evil Stealth Black' Roadster
Well, as if I needed a reason to say the General has done a good job here, here it is. Mind you, I've always been a GM fan. I just have substance to back up my opinion now.
Here's the scenario- Sunday evening dinner with the family. Following dinner, I get in the car and head home. This part plays itself out every Sunday, so I suppose I should count myself fortunate that I haven't more close encounters than I have.
I'm approaching the north entrance to the Air Force Academy (Bioscache2 is familiar with this entrance and exit configuration for northbound I-25. It's a cloverleaf configuration, with a very wide median between the northbound and southbound lanes.) Traffic is moving smoothly, although it is pretty heavy. I'm in the "fast" lane on a two lane, northbound section. In front of me is a Ford Truck, new body style, which puts it as a... what? 2004? 2005? He's about six or seven car lengths in front of me, but I'm rapidly closing on him. There's something in the truck bed which appears to be shifting around rather violently. I pay no attention- I'm monitoring the traffic in my rear view mirror which is quickly closing.
As we approach the North Academy entrance off-ramp, my eyes go wide. The object I had observed shifting around in the bed slid to the rear gate and toppled over when the truck tried to accelerate. A shower of sparks flew up. The object was massive, and it was only as it drifted on its own momentum under a streetlight, that I saw the object was a washing machine. And, I realized, I was headed right for it.
Without giving it any conscious thought, I downshifted (I only realized I had done this later, when I found my revs were such that I needed to upshift later on. Funny how memory is like that) and I veered hard to the left. I missed the washing machine by inches. It continued to skid on its own momemtum, although it was now being carried more towards the right, into the "slow" lane. Man, the shower of sparks it was putting up was a sight to behold.
The whole incident took mere moments. I found myself in the breakdown lane off the left edge of the freeway- still moving at nearly highway speeds. I had passed it, and it had been almost completely effortless. A white knuckle moment, over in a moment, and my Z06 had kept me completely safe. It responded instantly, it decelerated with a loud whine, it handled itself in instant veer and return to the road maneuvre, and it kept going as if it had yawned at the whole event. I, on the other hand, was having palpitations.
GM did it's work well. The car almost seemed to know what I needed it to do, and it did it. I mean, I may be an alright driver, but in that sort of a short notice situation, I'll take all the help I can get. And the General gave me that help.
The post script: As I veered back into my lane, the truck in front of me had put on it's turn signal and moved into the slow lane. It got off the road in a hurry. I checked my sideview mirror- the shower of sparks had finally ended, depositing the washing machine in the breakdown lane on the right shoulder of the road. As far as I could tell, only one other vehicle- a car in the slow lane- had also had to react quickly to avoid getting hit. All I saw of it was a break skid, but it also appeared to have faired unscathed.
Well, that was my Sunday night. How was yours?
-Patrick
Here's the scenario- Sunday evening dinner with the family. Following dinner, I get in the car and head home. This part plays itself out every Sunday, so I suppose I should count myself fortunate that I haven't more close encounters than I have.
I'm approaching the north entrance to the Air Force Academy (Bioscache2 is familiar with this entrance and exit configuration for northbound I-25. It's a cloverleaf configuration, with a very wide median between the northbound and southbound lanes.) Traffic is moving smoothly, although it is pretty heavy. I'm in the "fast" lane on a two lane, northbound section. In front of me is a Ford Truck, new body style, which puts it as a... what? 2004? 2005? He's about six or seven car lengths in front of me, but I'm rapidly closing on him. There's something in the truck bed which appears to be shifting around rather violently. I pay no attention- I'm monitoring the traffic in my rear view mirror which is quickly closing.
As we approach the North Academy entrance off-ramp, my eyes go wide. The object I had observed shifting around in the bed slid to the rear gate and toppled over when the truck tried to accelerate. A shower of sparks flew up. The object was massive, and it was only as it drifted on its own momentum under a streetlight, that I saw the object was a washing machine. And, I realized, I was headed right for it.
Without giving it any conscious thought, I downshifted (I only realized I had done this later, when I found my revs were such that I needed to upshift later on. Funny how memory is like that) and I veered hard to the left. I missed the washing machine by inches. It continued to skid on its own momemtum, although it was now being carried more towards the right, into the "slow" lane. Man, the shower of sparks it was putting up was a sight to behold.
The whole incident took mere moments. I found myself in the breakdown lane off the left edge of the freeway- still moving at nearly highway speeds. I had passed it, and it had been almost completely effortless. A white knuckle moment, over in a moment, and my Z06 had kept me completely safe. It responded instantly, it decelerated with a loud whine, it handled itself in instant veer and return to the road maneuvre, and it kept going as if it had yawned at the whole event. I, on the other hand, was having palpitations.
GM did it's work well. The car almost seemed to know what I needed it to do, and it did it. I mean, I may be an alright driver, but in that sort of a short notice situation, I'll take all the help I can get. And the General gave me that help.
The post script: As I veered back into my lane, the truck in front of me had put on it's turn signal and moved into the slow lane. It got off the road in a hurry. I checked my sideview mirror- the shower of sparks had finally ended, depositing the washing machine in the breakdown lane on the right shoulder of the road. As far as I could tell, only one other vehicle- a car in the slow lane- had also had to react quickly to avoid getting hit. All I saw of it was a break skid, but it also appeared to have faired unscathed.
Well, that was my Sunday night. How was yours?
-Patrick
