Body of Steel

I was walking on a busy street in the Financial District the other day, and I witnessed a minor car accident. For some inexplicable reason, a guy driving in the right lane decided to take a left turn without checking to see if there was any other traffic in the immediate vicinity. Predictably enough, the person driving just behind him in the left lane plowed into the rear driver’s side door.

I kept walking, figuring that it was none of my business, until I noticed something. Oblivious Guy’s car had escaped without any damage. Despite the fact that Faultless Guy was driving a decent sized pickup, Oblivious Guy’s Mercedes had maintained that “fresh off the lot” look that people with expensive cars tend to cultivate.

Impossible, I thought. I discreetly walked a little closer. Even at 50 feet or so, the body of the car was flawless. Not even a scratch, let alone the predictable dent. It was like the car was made out of some disturbing but highly effective combination of Teflon® and depleted uranium.

My thoughts? 1) Why do people who are totally oblivious to the rest of the world always have amazing luck? It’s not that I wanted someone to get hurt, but is it right for the Powers That Be to passively validate the driving skills of a person that could eventually kill someone? 2) It is a perfectly reasonable expectation that a base-priced $127,775 car be indestructible. I now understand a formerly elusive concept: the luxury car.

Filed under Anecdotes

1 Response So Far
  1. 1

    Safety Neal said,

    October 25, 2007 @ 5:04 pm

    I believe you, but mostly because of watching police officers try to run a stolen Mercedes off the road on “World’s Scariest Police Chases.” Those Mercedes are built tough.

    Speaking of fools and their odd luck, I’ll tell you about my brother’s motorcycle accident sometime…

    There’s definitely a patron saint of fools.

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