Deer vs. Camaro

[TheHorse13]

Yep, I finally won the deer lottery. I was on my way to work at 6:30am and as I came over the hill on the highway at 60mph, a giant deer (150 or so pounds with ease) darted from the high grass and planted itself dead center of the car.

So for those of you wondering how the car performs in a high speed crash, here are the lessons learned:

All but one airbags will deploy with a front end hit. It makes a very loud bang about what a firecracker sounds like. The interior will immediately fill with smoke from the airbag discharge and make visibility a little difficult to get off the road. The side curtains block all side windows. The only bag that did not fire is the passenger air bag. The smoke is VERY stinky and burns your throat. I would rinse your mouth out asap as I did or I can see it buring your throat all day long.

The car provided a very safe response. Even after the hit (which sent the deer up and over the roof of the car) the car was easily driven off the road. What surprised me most is the hood latch held firm. Many of the hits I see around here have car hoods flying off the cars.

After looking at the frontend, which I imagined being far worse given the huge impact, the car held up VERY well.

Given the huge impact, the damage is mainly cosmetic. The body shop told me they are going to need a hood, nose (and various supports), radiator and a fender. Nothing else was destroyed. As for the airbags, they are telling me that they are easy to install and the interior will look new. One guy was very familiar with how GM did the airbag setup in these cars and he told me that it will be very easy to deal with.

That said, I've lived in an area for 13 years that is known for the large deer population. I guess I was due for my turn but of course it makes me sick that it had to be this car that won the deer lottery. On the plus side, the shop I deal with is certain the car will look showroom new in two weeks with no longterm effects of this incident. I will post the after pics when she comes home from surgery. They also guarantee their work for the life of the car, which is a nice bonus.

If anyone wants to donate a heritage grill in exchange for this fine lesson, I wouldn't turn it down. lol.

[Ironheadspearo]

that sucks to see..... glad your ok though

[The Stig]

Wow, glad to hear your OK. Also, just a note on the airbag smoke. You did the right thing by rinsing your mouth out, as it is not actually smoke but a chemical powder that keeps the airbag from cracking or stretching while it sits inside the compartment.

On the upside though, now you can get a new hood and the T2/T3 front fascia

[TheHorse13]

Yea, that smoke left a chemical taste in my mouth and about 10 mins after the crash it started to burn. I rinsed my mouth with salt water and it immediately stopped the burning.

The bodyshop told me that unless I provide them with parts I want added, every last screw will come directly from GM. I've dealt with this speed shop in the past and they are beyond maticulous when it comes to repair work. That's the only thing keeping me from losing my mind over this.

I do have to say, the car kept me extremely safe and I walked away with no injuries. I am impressed with the engineering that went into these cars for incidents such as this.

[ga0358]

but...How's the DEER????

Seriously, this post makes me feel better about front-end collisions, sounds like GM put some effort into driver safety. I have tons of deer around my neighborhood and like the OP, feel like I'm on the verge of winning the "Deer lottery" as well...

[w900snowman]

Sorry to hear about your accident. I have hit at least one deer with every vehicle that I have owned or driven often enough here. At least five deer that I can remember in the last few years. The last one was on my Canam Spyder, she came out of the ditch and jumped over my arms and handle bars. She brushed against my helmet turning my head sideways and leaving some hair in my face shield slots. I got lucky $180 in damage, a stiff neck and she bent the key when her foot some how hit it and turned off the bike on me.
The darn deer are every where it's not a matter of if but when. Good luck gettting that Camaro home soon.

[TheHorse13]

The deer was dead on impact. The guy behind me said that the deer was at least 20 feet in the air above the car when it came down and bounced into the shoulder of the highway. He said it never moved once it came to a rest. I'm VERY grateful that it went over the car instead of through the windshield. That would have sucked even more.

Yes, the engineering for this car is excellent. I always imagined what a front impact would feel like in a new car like this. I barely felt the impact. The real surprise was how loud the airbag deployment was and the horrible chemical smoke that fills the car. You will have no side window visibility and you will lose more than 50% of your forward field of view due to the smoke. That's on top of inhaling the smoke and burning your mouth/throat.

SHOP UPDATE: "No one will ever know this car took a hit when we're done." The shop manager told me this on the phone today when he called with an update on part delivery schedules and such.

[FFPM73]

WOW......Sorry about your car. I guess the BUCK stops here.....

[BAD DAB]

Glad that you are ok. I too live in a area with a large deer population. Have not won the deer lottery yet. Could you just request the Heritage grill since it is a gm part?

[Scott@Bjorn3D]

"If anyone wants to donate a heritage grill in exchange for this fine lesson, I wouldn't turn it down. lol."

I would think a Heritage Grill not painted would not be much more than the stock grill. You could see if the body shop could just replace it with that one.

[TheHorse13]

Originally Posted by Scott@Bjorn3D

"If anyone wants to donate a heritage grill in exchange for this fine lesson, I wouldn't turn it down. lol."

I would think a Heritage Grill not painted would not be much more than the stock grill. You could see if the body shop could just replace it with that one.

Yea I asked about it but they weren't sure if they could. I'm waiting to hear back from them.

[shawn18]

Sorry to hear that happened. I do my best every fall at my other job as a wildlife control specialist! LOL and will continue to do so in hope of saving Camaros everywhere from suffering the same fate!

[stso634]

yummmmm, deer burgers.
Glad you are ok and the Camaro will be good as new. Have a deer bar-b-que and celebrate getting your ride back.

[TheHorse13]

SHOP UPDATE: They will be able to use the GM heritage grill. Woohoo!