A crushing issue: How to destroy brand-new cars

[jon1856]

A crushing issue: How to destroy brand-new cars
Mazda forced to design a 'disassembly' line after odd sea disaster
The Cougar Ace cargo ship was loaded with more than 4000 new Mazdas, including the Mazda 3, when it ran into trouble in 2006.
"Fire in the hole!" shouts Ron Hoodenpyle, covering his ears and stepping away from a brand-new Mazda 3 he just wired with special detonators. Suddenly, all six of the car's airbags explode at once.

Within hours the metallic blue sedan will be drained, gutted, squished and shredded--one of thousands to meet the same fate here. The cars are so new, most don't even have 10 miles on the odometer.

Automakers usually try to find the best way to build new vehicles. These days, Mazda Motor Corp. is busy figuring out how to most efficiently destroy them.

It all started about two years ago, when a ship carrying 4703 shiny new Mazdas nearly sank in the Pacific. The freighter, the Cougar Ace, spent weeks bobbing on the high seas, listing at a severe 60-degree angle, before finally being righted..............
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...8/newsletter01
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120942873506551291.html