My dad totalled his Ford Focus

[MidnightViper88]

My dad apparently totaled his 2003 Ford Focus ZX3 earlier today (Or not today, Thursday night, but I just found out about this a few hours ago from my cousin)...Dixie Highway is a fucking bitch, so anyone who's driving around Louisville be warned about Dixie Dieway...People take fucking chances and pull right out in front of 3 lanes of cars...

According to my step-mom and cousin, a truck pulled out on front of my dad...The road was slick (My dad's Focus doesn't have ABS either) so he wasn't able to stop in time and slammed into the back...Front end's all crumpled in, and I doubt there's a thing on the front end that's still salvagable...My dad walked away from this physically fine...

I'd like to find out where the car has been taken to so I take the Focus' wheels and put it on my Mustang, and maybe take the seats out too...I don't know anything about insurance on the car, but I'm guessing my dad will need a new daily driver now...

I'm going to pursuade him to get an SVT Focus or a Roush Focus, or a used Mustang GT if insurance isn't going to be a problem with him...

Some crunch shots my step-mom sent me...

http://ford427v8.50megs.com/cgi-bin/...14%20focus.jpg
http://ford427v8.50megs.com/cgi-bin/...19%20focus.jpg

[Psythik]

Ouch.

[GarbagePoe]

Isn't it strange that that's what we all look like on the inside?

[d0rk]

Looks like someone/something hit their head againt the windshield on the passenger side in the first shot...Glad hes ok

[ryan]

Ouch.

Glad to see he's okay.

[MidnightViper88]

I don't see what you're talking about, d0rk...

[edit]Nevermind...It looks to either be the airbag (I'm not sure of the car has airbags), or the windsheild [edit²]*hood (Dammit)[/edit²] crumpled back on impact into the glass...[/edit]

[billyvnilly]

ive totalled a 95 escort, fords build their cars with a crush zone that usually will total the vehicle after repairs.

im not totally sure but...
if you want to take anything from the vehicle, you must replace it with somehting else. so if you do take the tires, bring back the old ones. i installed nice speakers in mine and when i totalled it, i just dumped the old speakers in the trunk.


i had debris from the front of my car spiderweb my windshield.

[Starbucks]

Damn Roush has been eating too much of Uncle Ben's Rice. I'd rather get an 05 Stang. And finally, a new chassis after 30 years.

[kingo'mountain]

i can see the engine's ok, couldnt find the gears, but the metalwork will cover a few paychecks

[WomanOfHeart]

Damn! And I thought my car accident looked bad! Glad to hear your dad is okay!

[deeder7001]

my dad ran into the back of a trailer once in an escort, it was a rental. didn't total it but he says the hood got bent up a bit(i didn't get to see the damage for myself). some guy cut him off on the freeway.

[yenerich]

Why mention many times if the car was a focus or anyother?

[sgtfuzzbubble011]

Because he wants you to focus on what the car actually is...

Sorry, lame joke.

But glad to hear your dad is ok.

[ctn|chrisw]

ford focuses suck ass.

[dlichterman]

yeah, dude, get a toyota

[whiteflip]

I love seat belts. They are the greatest thing ever. Its strange that your dad's focus doesn't have ABS. All cars today should have ABS. Did you have ABS and turn it off? Why wouldn't there be ABS? Its not to expensive to add to a vehicle.

I'm glad my truck has ABS. It was used a few times last night with our pineapple express front pouring on us.

Maybe your dad will purchase a car that has ABS standard and maybe other traction control systems. Who is at fault in this? Free car maybe?

[Atmo]

ABS/Traction control is for people who dont know how to drive.

But even with a car with ABS, the majority of midless commuters still wont steer away to avoid hitting an object...

[nybergh]

Originally posted by MidnightViper88
(My dad's Focus doesn't have ABS either)

A 2003 model without ABS!?!?!?

[whiteflip]

Originally posted by Atmo
ABS/Traction control is for people who dont know how to drive.

But even with a car with ABS, the majority of midless commuters still wont steer away to avoid hitting an object...

Fine. Remove ABS from all vehicles and drive on the freeways with other people. Have fun. ABS decreases stopping distance substantially for people who "can't" drive as well as those who can simply because it can sense the road and adjust breaking pressure per tire hundreds of times per second which is way better than what you can do controlling all four tires with one pedal and making adjustments of say 1-2 times per second.

[Atmo]

ABS doesnt decrease stopping distances, it's intention is to make it possible to steer the car away from an obstacle under hard braking, as unexperienced drivers nearly always panic and lock the brakes, and the result is no steering.

On a sealed road, a car with properly maintained brakes will pull up quicker without abs, just as long as the brakes arent locked (why do you think dont race cars dont use abs?). That's where driver education and experience comes into it.

On gravel or another loose surface, locking the brakes significantly shortens braking distances, as the stones build up in front of the tyres and create extra friction.

I'm not saying you should remove abs or traction control from every car, just that people shouldnt become too reliant on these things. They should learn how to control a car without them.

There's a good chance that one day they may have to drive a car that doesnt have abs or traction control and if they get into slightest bit of trouble, having never experienced wheelspin or brake lockup, they're not going to have a clue what to do in that situation.

[MidnightViper88]

The Focus was actually a nice little car, for a front-runner...Tight chassis and 4-wheel independent suspension made it a car you could toss around corners, and the 2.0L Zetec I4 was peppy (After he installed a Steeda CIA and Flowmaster muffler on it, anyway :P )...When he bought the Focus, he was just looking for a practical sport compact car that could get good gas milage...

Originally posted by dlichterman
yeah, dude, get a toyota

The last Japanese car my dad and step-mom have owned was a 1998 Honda Civic DX (Which was sold 3 years ago), and there's no way another Japanese car is gonna drop by our house... They're too hard to work on yourself; Rather have an American car (And even though we're Ford people, we'll gladly take a GM or Chrysler car before we look at imports)...We used to have a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE before he traded that in for the Focus, and even though it had alot of problems, at least we could get our hands dirty and try to fix the damn thing...The Honda's engine bay, you could barely fit your hands between anything...




ABS doesn't necessarily help you decrease stopping distances, but it's an electronic nanny that helps keep the wheels from locking up under hard braking, which gives you better control over the car...Practicallity: You'll have better luck going through a crash if your car is slowly slowing down and you can control it versus all 4 wheels being locked up and you're helplessly skidding towards doom...




Anyway, apparently it was a 3-car accident...I called my dad this morning, and he said 2 cars before him had slammed on their brakes when the truck pulled out on front of them...Going 40, he didn't slow down a bit with the slick conditions, so he slammed into the back of a truck at 40mph...Everyone walked away...Must have been one hell of a smash-up...My dad told me the cone filter on his Steeda CIA flew off, hit a van 2 cars up, and bounced off into the street where it just got ran over by other cars...

Oh well...Next weekend, I'm gonna help him find a new car...No more Focus this time...I'm going to help him find a used Mustang...

Kinda weird, though...Ever since I first set out for getting my first car, I've always wanted one of those Fox-Body 5.0 Mustangs, but reality set in and I got a Mustang that had half it's engine missing...My dad his whole life has dreamed about owning a Mustang one day, and it's not really fair if I get a Mustang and he doesn't...

Well, this could be a sign for my dad, and I'll pursuade him to get a Mustang GT...It'll probably be years until I get my chance to own a V8 Mustang, but until then, it looks like I'll be barging on my dad's dream instead...

[DuaneJeffers]

DAMN ... I'm glad I don't drive my focus here in SF ... it would probably see something like that.

-Duane

[MidnightViper88]

Come on down to Louisville, KY and take a tour around Dixie Dieway then...I'll guarentee your Focus' death or I'll pay you!