Moogvo
04-28-2004, 12:04 PM
Ok. I can hear the ridecule now... But if it weren't for the following sequence of events, I wouldn't have a Bronco now.
Dateline: April, 2002. I had to trade my Silverado Z71 in for a vehicle that would serve as a family hauler. My then fiance' (Now wife) fell in love with the ugly Pontiac Aztek. I laughed at the sales person when she pointed it out. But, after taking it for a ride and seeing how much real cargo space it had... I signed on the line.
Fast forward to December 19, 2003...
We were on our way on Christmas vacation from Raleigh, NC to Colorado Springs, CO (1600 mile trip each way) in our Aztek, which now had just over 30,000 miles on it and had just been in the dealer's shop for new wheel bearings and some other service. about 800 miles into the trip (and less than 15 miles from the last time we stopped to stretch out a bit), I saw a flame dancing around the rear end of the Aztek. I told my wife to pull it over and we quickly evacuated. (really short version of what happened). Less than 5 minutes later, I was standing on the side of the Interstate on the wet/slushy grass in my socks (28 degrees outside) looking at this:
http://www.aztekfanclub.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_aab.jpg
The official cause of the fire was a faulty fuel tank line that leaked fuel onto the exhaust pipe. I have been on the phone with General Motors on too many occasions to count, and they don't really seem to care one way or the other about what happened that morning. They tell me that at most, they will be happy to pay me a percentage of the contents that I can prove I lost in the fire. They need all of the receipts, and a detailed description of why I would have had each particular article in the car with me.
We lost everything just short of our lives that morning. It went so fast that we didn't have time to retrieve anything from the burning car... No shoes, glasses, cell phones... Nothing. As I got out of the back of the Aztek, (I was laying on an air mattress when I saw the fire) the back windshield shattered and the car shot up in flames. I could feel the heat under me as the car slowed to 35 mph. The bottom of the air mattress was already melted to the floor. The vehicle was gone in less than 17 minutes.
Our 7 year old is now terrified of anything that looks like it might have smoke near it, screams at the camp fire, and my wife had been sleeping with the lights on at night.
General Motors CLEARLY does NOT care about the people that buy their vehicles, and to quote an internal memo from them (this memo is all over the net)
"It is cheaper to pay out 'death benefits' than it is to fix the problem with the vehicle. it would cost an additional $9.80 per vehicle to build a safer fuel tank, which would add up to millions of dollars in production."
As long as I live, I will NEVER purchase another vehicle from General Motors, or any other company that they own a controlling interest in.
Dateline: April, 2002. I had to trade my Silverado Z71 in for a vehicle that would serve as a family hauler. My then fiance' (Now wife) fell in love with the ugly Pontiac Aztek. I laughed at the sales person when she pointed it out. But, after taking it for a ride and seeing how much real cargo space it had... I signed on the line.
Fast forward to December 19, 2003...
We were on our way on Christmas vacation from Raleigh, NC to Colorado Springs, CO (1600 mile trip each way) in our Aztek, which now had just over 30,000 miles on it and had just been in the dealer's shop for new wheel bearings and some other service. about 800 miles into the trip (and less than 15 miles from the last time we stopped to stretch out a bit), I saw a flame dancing around the rear end of the Aztek. I told my wife to pull it over and we quickly evacuated. (really short version of what happened). Less than 5 minutes later, I was standing on the side of the Interstate on the wet/slushy grass in my socks (28 degrees outside) looking at this:
http://www.aztekfanclub.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_aab.jpg
The official cause of the fire was a faulty fuel tank line that leaked fuel onto the exhaust pipe. I have been on the phone with General Motors on too many occasions to count, and they don't really seem to care one way or the other about what happened that morning. They tell me that at most, they will be happy to pay me a percentage of the contents that I can prove I lost in the fire. They need all of the receipts, and a detailed description of why I would have had each particular article in the car with me.
We lost everything just short of our lives that morning. It went so fast that we didn't have time to retrieve anything from the burning car... No shoes, glasses, cell phones... Nothing. As I got out of the back of the Aztek, (I was laying on an air mattress when I saw the fire) the back windshield shattered and the car shot up in flames. I could feel the heat under me as the car slowed to 35 mph. The bottom of the air mattress was already melted to the floor. The vehicle was gone in less than 17 minutes.
Our 7 year old is now terrified of anything that looks like it might have smoke near it, screams at the camp fire, and my wife had been sleeping with the lights on at night.
General Motors CLEARLY does NOT care about the people that buy their vehicles, and to quote an internal memo from them (this memo is all over the net)
"It is cheaper to pay out 'death benefits' than it is to fix the problem with the vehicle. it would cost an additional $9.80 per vehicle to build a safer fuel tank, which would add up to millions of dollars in production."
As long as I live, I will NEVER purchase another vehicle from General Motors, or any other company that they own a controlling interest in.