Every week, it seems, we have more and more news of a vehicle recall hit our blotters, and admittedly it’s disproportionally skewed towards General Motors, who has recalled millions of cars lately. But GM isn’t the only one who has been hit with recalls: Chrysler has had to reel in Durangos and Grand Cherokees, Ford had to bring in Escapes and all of their corporate siblings, and Ferrari had to recall all U.S. sold 458 Italias.
Wait, what?
Yep, it’s true, and it’s for one of the most ridiculous reasons we’ve ever heard of: There is a chance that someone who is locked in the frunk (the front trunk) of a 458 can’t let themselves out of the car. Not because the person who managed to lock themselves in the nose of a 458 Italia needs to be 3’6″ or smaller and weigh 40lbs, but because the “Little Timmy” inner lock release only works on one of the two latches for the boot lid. Even though one latch will pop, alleviating the suffocation hazard, it still means that the cars are in violation of a Federal standard and must be repaired. It’s estimated that about 3,000 cars are affected, and it’s recommended that owners take their car into the dealership to be fixed.
Here’s what I want to see: an actual human being fold themselves into a Ferrari’s frunk and be able to shut the lid. And nobody under the age of three counts.
Feed me, Seymour.
What’s even more idiotic is the reasoning behind the law that all cars with trunks must have an escape latch release inside the trunk. Now it’s sad that a child who is yet to have enough brains to not to climb in the trunk, then close it, trapping himself was left unwatched by the parents. The parents lead a campaign so other children left unattended could get themselves out of the trunk too. No one thought to think if someone is so stupid to lock themselves in the trunk of the car, they are probably not smart enough to realize there is a safely latch pull cord in the trunk to release them.
Its not just for idiots… If I ever piss off the wrong people and get locked in a trunk, those safety latches better be working. I swear to go if I die because of that I’m going to sue
What I find amazing is there are 3000 458’s in the US.
Regulations like this are what adds stupid weight to all the cars nowadays! Between all the mandated crash protection making cars into a little fortress. Then we have to add stupid stuff like this to keep us safe from ourselves.
Fan belt package: “Shut off engine before replacing fan belt” As we say in the Army, if we are warning you, it’s because some dumb ass has done it. My personal favorite real world example: Don’t text while riding your motorcycle. The craziest part, the guy caught texting while riding his Harley was an officer.
What I like is even on a stupid small recall they take pride and not have to be sued or kill someone to fix a problem. Maybe we should take a look at what we are really buying.