I was heading off to an ad-tech conference this morning (with sessions like “Data Collaboration in Action: Using Clean Rooms and First-Party Data To Deliver Outcomes”), which required me to walk to the train like a person with a real job. Though I’ve spent most of my life avoiding any occupation I could easily explain to my wife’s friends, a delayed flight yesterday meant I had no trouble mimicking the tired and depressed low-stare of the office worker.
Like many of you, my brain is in a constant state of processing every vehicle that passes my eye. Internal processing power was in short supply at the moment, so I made it quite far past the library before something deep in my frontal lobe alerted me that something was amiss.
Behind me, in the parking lot of the local library, was a brand new Ford Explorer sitting at a strange angle. It’s almost as if the front wheel wasn’t there. I had to go back and look.
That’s not good.
To clarify: This is a couple of spots into the parking lot. It could have been dropped there? I assumed it was driven, but the road looks clear and there were not obvious scrapes in the parking lot (it’s wet, so that may contribute to it being hard to see).
There was a tire here at some point, but no more. The wheel barely exists in the form you think of as a traditional wheel. I’ve seen this happen before with a carbon fiber wheel on a track where it just self-destructed after a curb-hit because of the nature of carbon fiber. This isn’t a CF wheel, which means that it had to be ground down in some way.
You’ll notice there’s a few scrapes along the driver’s door, which is probably indicative of a collision with something. Did the Explorer crash first and then that collapse the front suspension, or did the tire/suspension fail first and then the vehicle collided with another vehicle or a wall?
Or is this some kind of very specific art piece. Would that explain why the vehicle seems to have been perfectly dropped here? I’m a little lost here as to how the vehicle wound up in this library parking lot and why it wasn’t taken to a collision center.
Please provide your best theory, and put it in the comments. Both real and completely ridiculous theories accepted/encouraged.
A friend of mine blew a rear tire in his Volvo 240 sedan back in high school and kept driving it because he had no spare. By the time he got home there was no tire left and he was just running on the rim. His parents blacktop driveway was short but steep. He had his foot to the floor but he got stuck about halfway up with that rim throwing sparks like an angle grinder. But he kept at it until his Dad came out and screamed at him to shut it down.
They drove on a flat like someone running from the cops. Pretty sure that’s all there is to it.
Nickname, Sparky.
OK, so I’ve actually seen something like this previously, albeit on a rear wheel. When I was working in a garage in the late 80’s, a honda civic came in on a rollback with exactly this situation happening on the rear wheel. Apparently, the driver got a flat tire somewhere in his journey, but instead of pulling over and either changing the tire, or calling for a truck at that point – decided to pull on the shoulder and keep driving (with flashers on…for safety of course). This worked out OK for a bit, until the steel wheel started heating up for doing something that the tire was supposed to do. Eventually that heat worked through and the bearings siezed. Undaunted, our fearless customer kept going. It ground the wheel flat, and even started working on the brake drum. Eventually, other components started dragging as well (rear suspension, exhaust). At some point, I think that our guy just thought it was getting to hard to drag his ride any further, so he relented and called for a tow truck. Now, instead of paying for them to change a tire, he wound up paying for just about everything on the lower right side of his car.
We hung on to the wheel…actually hung it up in the service bay, because we figured we’d never see anything as stupid anytime in the future.
SURPRISE! almost 40 years later, I’m pretty sure I’m seeing the same thing here. Looks to me like our driver got in a scrape with something and wound up popping a tire. Either due to embarrasment, fear, or something undetermined, they decided to keep going no matter what. It’s AWD, so doing this on a front tire is entirely possible. The deflated tire hung in there for a while until it molted. The wheel did its job turning around for a while until it didn’t, then heat did the rest. Eventually the front force separated the siezed wheel from the tie rods, etc. So, instead of dealing with the insurance for the accident, now they get to pay for that PLUS the mechanical repairs for being stupid.
At first I thought it had been flat towed in park behind an rv bu the damage Ll around the rim makes your version much more likely, either an impact flattened the tire and damaged the door ofr the tire flapping around did it
There’s a famous picture (in the rally community) of Ken Block holding half a wheel after he drove his car through most of a stage on a flat tire/shredded tire/no tire/wheel against the ground. Looks very much like this image to me. My theory is that the tire blew out, beat itself to death inside the wheel well, and finally yeeted free of the cursed wheel…all the while the driver just kept moving.
This is a Ford test vehicle. They’re testing Ford’s new force-field-based “wheeless tires”, which promise to increase fuel economy/EV range by 25%, and eliminate the need to replace wheel bearings, which on a Ford is every 2,000 miles.
Ford Boyz taking over from the Kia Boyz
Ford Fellowz
Yo are you crazy? You’ll wake up Adrian from his coffin-shaped bed, screaming about cars not being art.
My first assumption is they simply kept going once a tire blew out or front suspension component failed. The lack of asphalt marks is confusing though. Could they have made a left turn fast enough into the parking space to roll the body enough to take the weight off of that wheel?
I remember watching a local driver win his dirt-track feature in an IMCA “Modified” stock car back in the day with a flat left-front tire. He just went full-send around the quarter-mile track when his tire went down, and lucked out that there were no cautions throughout the remainder of the race.
The lack of asphalt marks is confusing though.
There might be transmission/chassis/crossmember scratches hidden underneath.
they didnt want to pay for a $50 tow so they drove it in themselves, causing significantly more than $50 in damage
seen it before
And they ended up paying for towing to that place anyway – likely more than $50 – considering the absence of marks on the asphalt. Really just various great decisions stacked on top of each other.
I didnt catch that it was abandoned at a library at first, which would lead me to believe they ran from a crime while under the influence and ditched it.
There was this time when I parked in a hotel parking lot, only to get out and see the car next to me was a red Chevy Cruze with the FD wheel (same as this Explorer) tire-less and the edge of the rim missing from driving it like that for a significant distance.
Got back in my car and moved it at the end of the lot.
I still have the pic on my phone, I wish there was a way to post pics here.
In preparation for Canadian tariffs, Ford wanted to test out their new Canadian wheel. They’re a little over a quarter of the way done, buddy.
Their book was nearly overdue. Decisions were made.
probably Tropic of Cancer
Can’t stand ya!
Seems like typical Ford Explorer driver behavior to me. Not seeing the problem here.
“customer states slight rattle coming from LF wheel”
When something happens to my wife’s car, she just keeps on driving no matter the sound or steam or smoke or flames or the screams from terrified onlookers. So I’m guessing my wife drove it an extra 20 miles after the tire exploded.
Congrats on willingly tying your wagon to an idiot I guess
why do people always shit on their spouce on the internet?
Don’t worry, those people do it off the internet, too.
I think a large part of it is taking cues from great comics like Rodney Dangerfield, but not having the innate tools or intelligence to understand that was a stage persona, not how he actually treated his wife.
yeah, when we got married a lot of people gave us really weird advice that made it seem like they really dispiised the person they got married to.
like, maybe I genuinely think my wife is a great person who I enjoy being around and also trust with our expensive assets because she is an adult woman
Because they deserve it? Buddy of mine’s wife had a hose blow on her car on the way to work. Not only did she drive it to work, she drove it home again. Comprehensively cooked the motor. Cracked the head AND the block. But it wasn’t steaming any more, obviously it was fine!
now lets see you paint her nails without getting any on her skin
you don’t need to publically embarrass someone because they didn’t make cars their whole personality
What makes you think I *can’t* paint her nails? Or my own, for that matter? Sometimes a boy just wants to feel pretty.
I can publicly embarrass someone for being *stupid*. You don’t need to make cars “your whole personality” to know that if there is STEAM roiling out from under the hood, the temperature gauge is pegged to H, and every light on the dash is flashing at you, that maybe, just maybe, there is a problem and you should pull over and shut the thing off? Or maybe at least mention it to your husband who *works in the same building*? But she was dumber than a box of hair and the marriage only lasted 13 months, so there is that…
Shaming Darwinian level stupidity is a public service.
It’s not always judging or shitting,we all have our blind spots about something and when you’re joined with a person for a couple of decades you just start to accept those of part of the package in a matter of fact sort of way. Sometimes in a humorous sort of way. I may be giving too much slack to Weston, but that’s how I’m taking it.
thats fine, its still shitty to use those things to get a cheap laugh out of strangers on a car blog
It would one not bother me one bit to find my husband had told stories of my dumbassery on the internet. I know I’m very intelligent so if he wants to laugh about the time I t-boned a Greyhound bus, or the time I backed ALL THE WAY over a chainlink fence at a gas station, or the 700 times I’ve run out of gas, or the time I called a tow truck when I had a flat tire because I forgot I had a spare, or the fact that I once failed at helping my toddler build a Duplo set at xmas, then more power to him.
My point is, it’s not necessarily shitting on someone to pass on stories of some of their more mind-bendingly stupid acts. Everyone is inept in some ways.
did you ever consider the possibility that you’re not fit to operate a vehicle?
It doesn’t change anything that complaining about your partner online is unhealthy behaviour
Nah, I’m good. My shenanigans are cheeky and fun!
Look it’s fine if you and/or your spouse do not speak about each other that way. But it’s not necessarily malicious or even complaining when someone does it. Weston didn’t seem like they were complaining, tbh. Just being like, “lol my wife is unobservant about car-related thingies.”
your shenanigains cause property damage that you probably just leave for the owner to deal with, you sound like a peach.
I hope your spouce finds a good divorce lawyer when they get tired of being married to a large todler
I was just suggesting that you were perhaps misinterpreting the situation. I never said anything negative or rude toward you. But thanks for the unprovoked insults!
I’m a corporate lawyer so if my husband ever tries to leave me, he’s fucked six ways to Sunday.
Enjoy the rest of your Taco Tuesday (◔◡◔)
I wouldn’t trust a lawyer who can’t operate a vehicle at a level expected of 16-year-olds
enjoy being passive aggressive and letting resentment control your life while pretending its a sense of humor
Best guess is it was one of those “tow gangs” who just hitch up cars and drag them away, zero f*cks given. Something went slightly sideways, so they just dumped it in a normal parking spot in the hopes that the damage (and the theft) would go unnoticed for a little longer that way.
The complete lack of asphalt damage here is really confusing. The only way I see that working is they delivered it on a flatbed with expert precision, probably posing as a legitimate towing compleny.
Test mule for Tesla’s new yoke-shaped wheels.
Homer Simpson vs The City of New York?
https://frinkiac.com/video/S09E01/Hv_aQIAHSdXo4m34qVEVxQrvD-o=.gif
Driver hit something like a jersey barrier on the highway and damaged the suspension. Either because there was no safe place to pull over or because they were absolutely clueless, they continued on to their destination disregarding the damage.
Since you’re at a conference, it could have been a rental. In a rental, I am not risking my safety at the side of the road to evaluate the damage. I am covered through my company and the credit card I booked with. I’m going to drive this thing till the wheels come off and hope to make it on an episode of Just Rolled In.
“Customer declined repairs, and drove it away.”
Whenever I see videos of people driving cars like this down the road I always have to wonder what’s going through their head. Do they not know the tire is flat and they’re literally grinding down the car, or do they simply not care?
Just yesterday, I was waiting to cross a major thoroughfare, watching the traffic for signs of cool cars when a late model Mercedes sedan approached, making an odd noise. There was one of those orange traffic barrels wedged underneath it. The driver seemed unconcerned or unaware…
I took a left through some traffic cones set up to prevent people form taking a left at the mall during Christmas. (This was so long ago the people still went to the mall.)
I pulled over as soon as I could to remove the cone. I did not make it out of the parking lot and onto public roadways. I certainly didn’t make it through multiple intersections. In fairness, the sound deadening is a much better in a modern Mercedes than it was in my 1987 200SX.
I got behind one driving on a rim a few months ago. At first I could hear this weird noise that I couldn’t place. Car in front of me passed them and I could see that a truck was driving on the rim. Plenty of places to safely pull off and put a spare on. Even passed a garage that would be able to get them a tire the next day. But nope, kept going. I assume they went all the into Hamilton and who knows from there.
theyre just like trump voters
theyre far to committed to the lie to ever admit they have made a mistake
Steal Explorer
Use it to commit crime
Hit curb hard during getaway.
Tire blows out
Keep Driving – for miles and miles and miles
Ditch stolen stuff
Keep driving
Wheel is already ground down before even entering the parking lot.
Ditch it and take the train home.
Sell stuff on Craigslist.
The local Grinder Gang thought it would be funny to practice on this wheel.
Do NOT Google “Grinder gang practice New York City” OH NO….
Been there – Done that.
Got shots later.
Tequila shots or incriminating shots? whynotboth.gif
#HotGirlsHitCurbs
2 girls, 1 cupped treadwear pattern
Tire blew and they kept driving. Probably stolen. Or driven by someone that doesn’t know you should stop when you blow a tire. There are more of those then you would think.
There are plenty of impaired drivers out there. That is another explanation. Just unaware.
With all due respect to the great poet, the center did hold.
This entire comment section is a trove of COTD contenders.
Well, my spouse and I have a healthy habit of making fun of each other and ourselves, but I really wanted the Second Coming read at our wedding. Alas it was not meant to be. Still it worked pretty well: apocalyptic snowstorm, my parents’ suitcase was left on the apron the whole weekend, my brother ditched the best man at the hotel, so the best man and +1 was banging on the chapel door during the ceremony (sorry, in that country, once the doors are locked, your wedding is committed to the ones in the room) and my brother and wife didn’t make it until the doors opened afterwards. The only thing that was missing from a perfect ceremony was a lection from the spiritus mundi.
I’m sure there’s also a joke in there about doing a number on the rims and the car not going straight afterwards, but maybe that’s best kept for the chatroom.
It was stolen, crashed, fled from the scene and ditched.
-OR-
It was driven drunk, crashed, fled from the scene and then parked so the driver wouldn’t be hit with a DUI.
oh yeah, avoiding a DUI makes the most sense
logic is thrown out the window in that situation
I’ve seen this twice. Both times involved DUI and Hit and Run avoidance.
the crimes people will comit to avoid being held responsible for their crimes
such as ditching their car and running for president
This.
Leaving the scene is a thing….unless its not your car
Mechjaz’ insatiable aluminum pillaging take a dark turn, raiding otherwise operable wheels for their precious, delicious alloys
While it seems substantially easier to simply steal the entire wheel, I must respect the level of effort you have put in to your alloy thieving.
He would need to follow this vehicle around with a dustbuster* to retrieve the ground-off aluminum dust.
*the actual vacuum cleaner, not a Pontiac
But what about the Oldsmobile Silhouette, the Cadillac of minivans?