[Silly Little Cars] One in a million GO 4 freak accident with a hopefully for the 99 Interceptor a happy ending

Wed Jan 24 09:30:38 PST 2018

Yes but what about being at full throttle by itself?
That's what I experienced.

Thanks 

Alex Popovics 
Publisher 
SF Real Estate Times 
(415)278-9500
SFREtimes.com

> On Jan 24, 2018, at 9:03 AM, Lokisgodhi via Silly_little_cars <silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com> wrote:
> 
> Actually not a unusual occurrence. Videos of unmanned vehicles driving in circles is a genre on places like Youtube. Usually caused by the driver exiting the vehicle while it was running and knocked into gear or they leave a pet in the car which knocks it into gear. It usually ends with the vehicle smashing into something and coming to stop, running out of fuel or a cop smashing and window, then wrestling the car into neutral. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2018 05:37:46 -0800
> From: Alex Popovics <alex at realestatetimes.com>
> To: silly_little_cars at lists.sillylittlecars.com
> Subject: [Silly Little Cars] One in a
> million GO 4 freak accident with
>     a hopefully for the
> 99 Interceptor a happy ending
> Message-ID: <BE5B47E1-7DDF-4E40-B6E5-D2659EE1B5F0 at realestatetimes.com>
> Content-Type:
> text/plain;    charset=us-ascii
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> I just woke up after a harrowing
> experience that only you as a group can appreciate and
> possibly solve the mystery as to what happened.
> 
> I own now a possibility seriously
> disabled unique 99 GO 4.
> 
> I purchased it a few years ago from the
> couple that owns the San Francisco Body & Paint Shop.
> (The Interceptor still has their shop logo on the front).
> 
> It was lovingly restored by them in a
> beautiful yellow metallic paint with a modified bench seat
> for two, thus having the transmission handle placed on the
> floor by the left door. That door has been out of alignment
> so I have kept it locked using the right door only.
> 
> Yesterday afternoon I couldn't start
> the vehicle after using it all day. At first I though the
> starter was failing due to overheating of its coil.
> I did notice though that the
> transmission shifter felt kind of loose as I shifted it
> thinking it wasn't engaging on the park position to allow
> the vehicle to start.
> 
> I did however eventually realized it
> would start on the neutral position but to my surprise it
> wouldn't get on reverse.
> 
> I happened to have to go to my long
> time regular vehicles mechanic to pick up my van after a
> tune up before he would close for the day, so I drove there
> without any problems on drive.
> 
> When I got there he assumed the
> transmission was shot since it lost the reverse gear.
> 
> As he was closing his shop the reverse
> gear started working but the park position still would not
> engage, then as he entered his car to leave home the park
> position engaged and the reverse was fine, so I ran to the
> mechanic before he left and he was a bit puzzled, thinking
> it might be the transmission safety pin that might be
> faulty.
> 
> I drove to a coffee shop and when I
> started it afterwards it once again didn't engage the
> reverse or parking position.
> 
> I decided to go to a oil change shop
> before they closed since I was due for a oil change anyway
> and to at the same time check my transmission fluid.
> 
> When I got there the new management
> decided not to service my vehicle anymore due to liability
> concerns since they engine pit is just wide enough for me to
> back into it and since we had to push it back they didn't
> feel it would be safe. Thank God for that!
> 
> I asked if they could at least help me
> check the transmission fluid since it was already dark. They
> did, and about three of their workers gathered around the
> odd looking vehicle just outside their building at their
> parking area.
> 
> Here's where the weirdest possible set
> of circumstances created an experience most likely no one
> ever experienced with a Go 4.
> 
> Since I had a few boxes, helmets and
> coats I'm my trunk I placed them mostly on the seat and roof
> to slide the luggage/engine cover back. One of the oil
> changer personnel checking the transmission dipstick asked
> me to turn the engine on.
> I from the outside of the vehicle (in
> retrospect I now realized that was the stupidest thing I
> could ever have done, to have boxes on the seat instead of
> myself!!!), turned the key but since was in the park
> position it wouldn't start.
> I went to the other side of the vehicle
> from the outside to shift it to neutral.
> I inadvertently left the key in the on
> position and the second I changed the gear also
> inadvertently into drive instead of neutral the accelerator
> throttle inexplicably got stuck on maximum as if someone was
> flooring the accelerator pedal!!!
> Because the front wheel was turned all
> the way to the left the vehicle went in circles at maximum
> speed with me on my knees on the inside of the circle (I
> only got my knees scrapped by the ordeal), hanging from the
> locked door instinctively trying to change the gear to
> neutral just as if I was at a rodeo trying to rope a steer!
> As I shifted from drive to neutral it
> got into reverse instead (now it worked!!!), and the GO 4
> shot itself in reverse on a strait line into and over a curb
> around a landscaped area by the parking lot, and literally
> flew on top of a huge and soft bush where it came to a full
> stop.
> 
> Everything inside and on top of the
> vehicle flew out by the centrifugal force when it was going
> in circles as the right door was opened, including the
> luggage/engine cover our of its rail. My ski helmet (for
> cold weather) got somehow mangled, the only damaged item
> from inside the vehicle.
> 
> At first I thought maybe one of the
> boxes I place on the seat had fallen on the accelerator
> pedal somehow, but afterwards I realized that wasn't the
> case, since after everything inside the vehicle flew out as
> it was going in circles it still went at full speed in
> reverse on a straight line on top of the accommodating huge
> and soft bush.
> 
> Afterwards it would crank but not
> start.
> 
> The differential probably hit the curb
> since it's now leaking some fluid. It was dark and I'm sure
> Jerry, our master mechanic in SF is going to find all kinds
> of damage underneath with the suspension and more by the
> sheer force of hitting that curb at full speed.
> 
> I'm obviously thankful that neither I
> or the fellows around me didn't get hurt nor the out of
> control unmanned vehicle didn't careened into the nearby
> street into moving traffic.
> 
> I am heart broken though for I know my
> beloved 99 Interceptor have many parts that are very
> difficult to find if seriously damaged, not to mention the
> possible overwhelming cost to fix it, effectively possibly
> totaling a vehicle without any body damage.
> 
> I hope you as a group can help me to
> figure out how on earth the accelerator throttle got stuck
> on maximum all by itself.
> 
> Keep on driving...
> 
> Alex Popovics 
> Publisher 
> SF Real Estate Times 
> (415)278-9500
> SFREtimes.com
> 
> 
> 
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