The Story

A 1935 Pontiac coupe, a 1980 Chevy Malibu, and a Nissan Pathfinder are among the only cars ever hit by meteorites, and all three were empty when it happened.

James St. John/Wikimedia Nobody likes it when their car takes a hit. Conversely, you do like the glory of the cosmos and the astounding physics of matter beyond the confines of our tiny world. So, what are you to do when these two things quite literally collide?. Would that just be the worst luck or the coolest thing that’s ever happened to you?. The answer — to both — is yes.…

The first known instance of personal vehicle vs spaceborne menace was on September 29, 1938, in Benld, Illinois. A 3.9-pound, stony-iron meteorite decided that day that Edward McCain’s Pontiac coupe was just a little too full of itself and needed to be taken down a peg, so it smashed through the roof of his garage, then the roof of the car itself, the seat, and the floor. Was…

As it turns out, cosmic destruction is good business. Worth only a few hundred bucks on its own, Knapp ended up selling the Malibu for $10,000. The car has since become a touring museum piece, never repaired. The meteorite did even better at $50,000. Descending chondrites make for appreciating assets, apparently (via Peekskill Herald).

DiPres/Shutterstock On September 25, 2009, a meteor fell over Grimsby, Ontario. Scientists went on the record to ask for help locating the rock, a 0.1-pound little chondrite that was 4.6 billion years old (via CBC). Faced with the awe and wonder of this ancient relic from the dawn of our solar system, local resident Yvonne Garchinski could only think of one thing: her Nissan…

Why It Matters

A 3.9-pound, stony-iron meteorite decided that day that Edward McCain’s Pontiac coupe was just a little too full of itself and needed to be taken down a peg, so it smashed through the roof of his garage, then the roof of the car itself, the seat, and the floor.

CarMotion Daily’s Take

Oddly enough, later examination of the meteorite found that it had a fusion crust only 0.04 inches thick. Watch this space over the coming weeks.

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