I don't have any major stories about cars breaking down, but I can share the one about my one major accident.
In 1988 I started working in Exeter and was commuting on Rte 101 from Manchester (like I do now) except once you got past Epping it was one lane both ways. One sunny morning in September I was driving my new Cavalier Z24 (3,000 miles) to work and there was a car coming the other way stopped to turn across my lane. No biggie, right? Well a pickup truck coming up behind that car was going way too fast and did not realize the car was stopped until the last minute. The guy jerks the wheel to the right and swerves around the stopped car, cuts the wheel too hard to get back, puts the darned thing up on two wheels skidding sideways for a bit.
Finally the truck gets back on 4 wheels swerving all around. Well, he sideswipes the car in front of me taking out the entire left side and that collision straightens him out so he's headed straight for me. Keep in mind, this all happened in an instant and I'm tooling along about 50 mph. Well, I see the f&cker at the last minute and jam on the brakes. Too late. Bam - head on at about 40 mph.
Thank goodness I had my seatbelt on. I could not breathe. It knocked the wind out me and sent me into shock. I remember getting out of the car to walk and I couldn't, so I had to sit back down in the car. The fire dept. said the seatbelt saved major injury. I was out of work for a week with major muscle pain and such, a bruised knee, and a big black and blue from the seatbelt. Ouch.
I remember when I left the emergency room they were still picking glass out of the face of the pick-up driver.
I got a new Z24 the following week since I had not realized in 3,000 miles that it was a piece of crap.
