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AsianML
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/01/chinese-man-crashes-mercedes-s350-vows-to-only-drive-chinese-bu/#comments 
Car accidents inspiring bouts of nationalism aren't all that new. However, this could be the shakiest case of it that we've heard of recently. Wang Zhan, the Chinese owner of a Mercedes S350, rear-ended a DongFeng van. In spite of the rather severe damage done to the car, the airbags didn't deploy, and Zhan and his daughter had to make a trip to the hospital. When the medication wore off, Mr. Zhan knew immediately what he needed to do: hold a press conference and announce that he'd only be buying Chinese goods for the rest of his life.
Based on the damage, it looks like he was doing some serious speed when it happened, and it's clear that the airbags should have deployed. Mr. Zhan said Mercedes never gave him a satisfactory answer as to why they didn't. Still, it happens, and we can imagine a number of other vehicles in which such an accident would have prevented Zhan from doing anything else, ever -- like, oh, some models from China. And we wouldn't mind knowing how the DongFeng van fared. Yet while we all know this never would have happened in a Geely, we might recommend that Zhan perhaps try something from Sweden first...
[Source: Winding Road]
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cmitch
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Ala-Tenn
Vehicle(s): 2002 ML320, 2005 S430 4Matic, 2010 F150 Super Crew
Posts: 3412
| RE: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
The air bags didn't deploy for quite obvious reasons. The front bumper was not crushed, activating the sensors behind it. So I would say, clearly, they should not have deployed given the car design is like all others on the road. His Chinese version would probably be a zip loc bag inflated with a smoke bomb.
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Roch207
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Palmetto State
Vehicle(s): 2005 E320 CDI, 2010 Silverado 2500HD
Posts: 3749
| RE: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Maybe if he had this Chery, the air bag (Pictured here on the hood) would have yelled out :
"SLOW DOWN MISTA, THERE VAN AHEAD!"
That surely is a feature I have NEVER seen on an S class.
 (chery.jpg)
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 chery.jpg (45KB - 6 downloads)
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Punjabi
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| RE: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Maybe it was a 'Made in China' replica S350 he was driving? |
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cmitch
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Ala-Tenn
Vehicle(s): 2002 ML320, 2005 S430 4Matic, 2010 F150 Super Crew
Posts: 3412
| RE: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Roch207 - 1/5/2008 8:18 AM Maybe if he had this Chery, the air bag (Pictured here on the hood) would have yelled out : "SLOW DOWN MISTA, THERE VAN AHEAD!" That surely is a feature I have NEVER seen on an S class. Maybe she vacuuming Richard? |
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C280Matt
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
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| Re: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Would airbags have done anything? It scraped the hood up but there might not have been a big deceleration. If the airbags had gone off, they probably would have had whatever injuries they did, plus some burns and scrapes.
Also were they wearing seatbelts? |
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AsianML
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
C280Matt - 1/5/2008 9:20 PM Would airbags have done anything? It scraped the hood up but there might not have been a big deceleration. If the airbags had gone off, they probably would have had whatever injuries they did, plus some burns and scrapes. Probably not. The hood looks like it cushioned the impact so the rate of deceleration wasn't enough to have the airbags go off. The crash probably never hit the airbag sensors either which are normally in the bumpers.Also were they wearing seatbelts? Who knows? Chinese law doesn't require wearing seatbelts. 
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NZ Benz
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 1993 300SEL/S320
Posts: 2555
| Re: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Considering that the Chinese can't sell their Cherries and Great wall motorcars except for in the former Eastern Bloc that is not part in the EU because they don't meet the safety specs. My bet is the next time there is a crash we won't hear that much from him. |
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Roch207
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Palmetto State
Vehicle(s): 2005 E320 CDI, 2010 Silverado 2500HD
Posts: 3749
| Re: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Maybe he should consider a nice Korean car, like a Hyundai Genesis.  |
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MarcO
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Irvington, NY
Vehicle(s): G 500 SWB, Volvo XC90 V8
Posts: 835
| Re: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
Natural Selection at work. That brain is not smart enough to recognize that the vehicle saved his butt. There won't be a next time. |
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stricht8
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
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| Re: Chinese man crashes Mercedes S350, vows to only drive Chinese-built cars
It is quite evident that this was not a high speed accident. The front of the car is not crushed. The car must have collided into a vehicle that had much higher bumpers as the hood was peeled back leaving the bumper and front cross member largely intact. There was no reason for the air bags to go off. |
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