cccrrrrrraaaaaaaaasssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
April 6, 2012 10:35 AM Subscribe
Slow Motion Car Crash: Jonathan Schipper’s art installation uses hydraulics to crash a VW Golf into a wall at 7mm per hour over the course of a four weeks.
Camera 1: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3
Camera 2: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3
He previously crashed two muscle cars over six days.
Camera 1: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3
Camera 2: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3
He previously crashed two muscle cars over six days.
This is what happens when hydraulics systems text while driving.
posted by vverse23 at 10:42 AM on April 6, 2012 [4 favorites]
posted by vverse23 at 10:42 AM on April 6, 2012 [4 favorites]
This is what happens when hydraulics systems text while driving.
I think at this rate they could be writing it out long hand and dropping it in the post.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:46 AM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
I think at this rate they could be writing it out long hand and dropping it in the post.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:46 AM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
~obligatory "it'll buff out" comment~
Also, would the airbag eventually be triggered?
That's a MkII Golf, I think. I don't think they had airbags.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:47 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Also, would the airbag eventually be triggered?
That's a MkII Golf, I think. I don't think they had airbags.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:47 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Apparently this is what's left when you remove every scary aspect of a crash.
posted by The Hamms Bear at 10:48 AM on April 6, 2012
posted by The Hamms Bear at 10:48 AM on April 6, 2012
If everyone would just slow down like this, we wouldn't need airbags.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:50 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 10:50 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Well, there's four weeks compressed into four and a half minutes of my life I'm never getting back.
posted by R. Schlock at 10:55 AM on April 6, 2012 [6 favorites]
posted by R. Schlock at 10:55 AM on April 6, 2012 [6 favorites]
I wince at the waste of that classic red Firebird.
I don't know. A rust-free Mk2 Golf seems even more rare. Especially in Alpine White.
posted by hwyengr at 10:56 AM on April 6, 2012
I don't know. A rust-free Mk2 Golf seems even more rare. Especially in Alpine White.
posted by hwyengr at 10:56 AM on April 6, 2012
"He previously crashed two muscle cars over six days."
So, you're saying he's a one-trick pony . . . car?
posted by oddman at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
So, you're saying he's a one-trick pony . . . car?
posted by oddman at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Tantric Ballard
posted by Babblesort at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2012 [8 favorites]
posted by Babblesort at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2012 [8 favorites]
Crush, with a 'u'. Not crash.
posted by three blind mice at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by three blind mice at 10:57 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I grew up in 69-77 Firebirds and Camaros and that last link made me sad. The red one was in far too good of shape and even the blue one didn't deserve that.
And now I get picky - Firebirds are Pony cars not Muscle cars in my mind.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:58 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
And now I get picky - Firebirds are Pony cars not Muscle cars in my mind.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:58 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
That was unclimactic.
posted by bitdamaged at 10:59 AM on April 6, 2012
posted by bitdamaged at 10:59 AM on April 6, 2012
Also, would the airbag eventually be triggered?
Even if the car had airbags, (Thorzdad doesn't think it does) airbags are triggered partially by sudden changes in the car's velocity, so they wpuld not deploy in this case
posted by Dr. Twist at 11:03 AM on April 6, 2012
Even if the car had airbags, (Thorzdad doesn't think it does) airbags are triggered partially by sudden changes in the car's velocity, so they wpuld not deploy in this case
posted by Dr. Twist at 11:03 AM on April 6, 2012
Also, would the airbag eventually be triggered?
Typically a car has to be going more than 11mph for the airbags to be "armed." Any slower than that and they won't deploy in a collision so no, they won't get triggered. It would be really awesome if it was rigged so the airbag could be triggered manually and they fired it when there was a big crowd.
posted by VTX at 11:03 AM on April 6, 2012
Typically a car has to be going more than 11mph for the airbags to be "armed." Any slower than that and they won't deploy in a collision so no, they won't get triggered. It would be really awesome if it was rigged so the airbag could be triggered manually and they fired it when there was a big crowd.
posted by VTX at 11:03 AM on April 6, 2012
Better yet they should inflate the airbag very slowly for two weeks.
posted by Splunge at 11:43 AM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 11:43 AM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
Couldn't take my eyes off of it. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
posted by darkstar at 11:49 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by darkstar at 11:49 AM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
We used to have a show in the UK called 'Catchphrase'.
The host would show a drawing of, say, a bird in a hand, and contestants had to guess what popular phrase or saying it represented.
posted by colie at 12:26 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
The host would show a drawing of, say, a bird in a hand, and contestants had to guess what popular phrase or saying it represented.
posted by colie at 12:26 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
Here we go, not too fa-a-ast
Can't imagine a slower cra-a-aash
You'd better watch, that tire's against the wall
It might take off someone's balls
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:37 PM on April 6, 2012
Can't imagine a slower cra-a-aash
You'd better watch, that tire's against the wall
It might take off someone's balls
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:37 PM on April 6, 2012
REPORTER: Mr. Snail! You witnessed the whole thing! Tell us what you saw.
SNAIL: I don't know, it all happened so fast...
posted by Trochanter at 1:29 PM on April 6, 2012 [4 favorites]
SNAIL: I don't know, it all happened so fast...
posted by Trochanter at 1:29 PM on April 6, 2012 [4 favorites]
REPORTER: Mr. Snail! You witnessed the whole thing! Tell us what you saw shouted.
LOOK AT THAT "S" CAR GO!
posted by hal9k at 2:21 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
LOOK AT THAT "S" CAR GO!
posted by hal9k at 2:21 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I skipped to the end.
posted by it's a long way to south america at 4:27 PM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by it's a long way to south america at 4:27 PM on April 6, 2012 [2 favorites]
I don't see how that is much like an actual crash. A crash into a wall in real life involves the entire car having inertia, so the forces are distributed through the entire vehicle. All the parts want to keep moving forward and the more massive ones and sturdier ones crush the less massive and less sturdier ones. With this system, the hydraulics are attached to or pushing upon specific points on the rearward portion of the body and drivetrain and so it won't be much like an actual crash...excepting that cars are designed now to have very predictable crush areas that are intended to absorb most of the impact. So those will probably be deformed similarly as in a real crash. There will still be big differences overall, though.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:12 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 5:12 PM on April 6, 2012 [1 favorite]
I kept waiting for it to reach a point where something would fail catastrophically and suddenly. I guess if that were a possibility they wouldn't have let people near the car. I am disappointed.
posted by spitefulcrow at 8:54 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by spitefulcrow at 8:54 PM on April 6, 2012
Yeah, considering the stresses involved I was surprised that some piece of spring steel didn't decide to unleash pent up force and fly through the hood or something. Indeed disappointing.
posted by Splunge at 9:54 PM on April 6, 2012
posted by Splunge at 9:54 PM on April 6, 2012
I actually went to have a look at this last week. Pretty cool, though I wish I'd gone a few times in the previous weeks to get a sense of the progression. Thanks for posting the time lapse videos.
posted by klausness at 3:06 PM on April 7, 2012
posted by klausness at 3:06 PM on April 7, 2012
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posted by orme at 10:42 AM on April 6, 2012