Thank God and thank goodness for the X5!

[x5GuyInLA]

Hi Everyone,

First I want to thank God, next I want to thank BMW for building such a great car! We nearly got into a really bad accident today on our way back from Hollister Ranch. We were heading back home down the 101 going at about 75mph in the fast lane. I see cars ahead in my lane swerving onto the shoulder to avoid something in the middle of the road. That something turned out to be a white lawn chair. Suddenly, I see smoke and cars start to pile up, so I swerve out to the #2 lane to avoid hitting the car in front of me because there was no way I would have been able to stop in time and I'm almost certain I would have been rear ended. As I'm swerving into lane #2, a red Ford Ranger gets hit from behind and swerves across in front of me and across all four lanes. I hit the brakes hard and miss hitting the Ranger by a split second. I thank God because of how the circumstances unfolded. If I had hesitated or the Ford was a couple of feet closer, who knows what would have happened. I think that had I been in a lesser SUV that didn't handle as well, it probably would not have been able to handle the swerving and braking I did. From the DSC to the ABS, the X did an amazing job in staying in control. Looking at the CHP traffic info, the cars involved in the accident weren't exactly cars that are known for their handling...the ranger, a camry, and a mazda protege. Just another reason why the X5 is such a great vehicle. Be safe everyone and have a good and safe Labor Day!

[LeMansX5]

Glad you are safe. X5 does an amazing job of handling the vehicle in these circumstances.

[SANguru]

glad to hear that you are ok..

[sgt.sweetchuck]

I was wondering where my lawn chair went!

[crosvs]

wow man, god job .... glad to hear everyone's all right. i haven't had THAT close of a call, but can definitely relate as my X has saved me in similar -- albeit lesser -- situations in the past. truly a remarkable piece of automotive engineering.

[Tomaz]

Your story is one of the reasons we drive X5's. Avoiding an accident is worth everything. Had you been in an accident, you chances of survival are also greatly increased in an X5 too.

I'll bet the idiot who lost the lawn chair never knew the damage he caused

[xymox]

Wow! I have one today too. My wife called me around 2:20 PM (we live in San Diego) shaken from a crazy accident. She was on the fast lane going around 80 mph when she noticed from her rear-view mirror a 350 Z hauling ass. She then moved to the right to let the Z pass. As the Z passed her, the Z clips a Pathfinder in front of my wife who was driving my X. The Pathfinder spins a few times and corrects itself, but the Z drifted horizontally and spun a few times as the front tires blew. She noticed glass breaking and airbags deploying and smoke and flames begain to spew around the car. She veered right and left through the middle dodging both vehicles. She said that if it had been her Accord, she would not have been able to brake and maneuver the way she did. I told her "next time, you're taking the Accord"

[x5GuyInLA]

Originally Posted by LeMansX5

Glad you are safe. X5 does an amazing job of handling the vehicle in these circumstances.

Originally Posted by SANguru

glad to hear that you are ok..

Originally Posted by crosvs

wow man, god job .... glad to hear everyone's all right. i haven't had THAT close of a call, but can definitely relate as my X has saved me in similar -- albeit lesser -- situations in the past. truly a remarkable piece of automotive engineering.

Thanks guys...definitely grateful...I didn't fully comprehend what happened until after I got back...I'm back home now, just getting up from a nap, and everything is ok...I could have been one of the unlucky ones and been all smashed up, with some whiplash and/or cuts and bruises or worse. It's amazing how a few seconds alters everything that happens afterwards.

[x5GuyInLA]

Originally Posted by xymox

Wow! I have one today too. My wife called me around 2:20 PM (we live in San Diego) shaken from a crazy accident. She was on the fast lane going around 80 mph when she noticed from her rear-view mirror a 350 Z hauling ass. She then moved to the right to let the Z pass. As the Z passed her, the Z clips a Pathfinder in front of my wife who was driving my X. The Pathfinder spins a few times and corrects itself, but the Z drifted horizontally and spun a few times as the front tires blew. She noticed glass breaking and airbags deploying and smoke and flames begain to spew around the car. She veered right and left through the middle dodging both vehicles. She said that if it had been her Accord, she would not have been able to brake and maneuver the way she did. I told her "next time, you're taking the Accord"

good to hear your wife is OK...I told my neighbor, who's a field engineer for BMW, about what happened and he said that you don't realize all the safety features the X has until you get into a situation like that.