General Motors Is Here To Save You From Yourself
Hat tip to my good friend Sam Strano, he of the approximately 400 SCCA Solo and ProSolo National Championships, who forwarded me a letter (click through the break). General Motors sent Sam, a 2007 Corvette Z06 owner, extremely specific instructions about what to do if he were ever to find himself stuck in his Corvette due to low battery voltage, complete with pictures and diagrams.
You might think that even Corvette owners would be able to figure out how to get out of their cars, especially the ones with removable roofs. But you’d be wrong.
Remember this poor guy? He basically cooked himself — and his poor dog, Leia — inside his own car this past summer.
Now, personally, there are lots of things to question about this: First of all, he was eating at Waffle House in the middle of the day. Secondly, his dog was named Leia. Thirdly, according to Sam (I’m not a C6 owner, so I had to ask), even without being able to lower the windows, he could have simply unlatched the roof and pushed it up.
“The windows do drop down slightly to get under the edge of the roof. But even when that doesn’t work you can open the doors no problem. So throwing the latches and pushing up on the roof it would have just come right out,” says Sam.
And then we have poor General Motors. Somebody dies in their car, and this time, it isn’t their fault. But they still have to send out tens of thousands of letters to C6 owners, explaining to them how to get out of their own cars. They just can’t win for losing.
So, if you have a Corvette, and you are stuck in your own car, never fear — help is on the way, in the form of this letter. Read it, comprehend it, and maybe even go practice.
Here’s the letter:
More by Mark "Bark M." Baruth
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RIP Daddy. My Father and his dog were the ones who were trapped inside the 2007 Corvette and died 06/08/15. I was glad to see this letter has been sent to many owners in the US and Canada. If one life is saved by this letter, then they are helping create awareness of this terrible design. His death haunts me. He was a healthy well nourished male and died from hyperthermia, as stated in his autopsy. Found dead with owners manual out, but I'm sure passed out from heat before finding the tiny print on page 80 of 500 page manual about release while sweat pouring in his eyes. His life and Leia's was ended too soon. Some things said are very hurtful but I move on, ignoring the insensitivity of people. I think of the day before he died, he came by and was so proud of his car. What creeps me out, is the thought of what if he would have tossed my teen daughter or I the keys and said take it for a spin and one of us would have drove away, battery cable come loose and it died on us? I would have not known how to get out either. In a panic, would I have thought to get owner manual out? In 92 degree temps in Texas in June, the interior heat gets very hot fast. Its a hypothetical thought but could have happened. PS All he wanted was to own a Corvette, sad he only got less than 3 weeks. Not a fan of corvettes anymore.
I'm crazy enough to always read the whole damn manual, and it's getting harder as they get longer. 25 years ago you had to be lazy to not be able to do it. Now they're several times larger and rather intimidating. The more necessary they become, the less they'll get read.