We know some of the vehicles now residing in Davy Jones’ locker after the Felicity Ace disaster include hyper-rare Lambos and more than a few Porsches. Also on the docket? A bog-standard Kia Soul and a 1996 Honda Prelude SiR.
We figured that one would get your attention.
Sleuths working at a branch of Top Gear unearthed the Felicity Ace manifest, a document that is supposed to exhaustively list all the cargo on a vessel in case something like this sinking happens. Rescue and recovery teams need to know what’s onboard marine traffic (or in a manufacturing plant, for example) so they can prepare for caustic chemicals or other would-be nasty surprises.
These manifests also make for interesting reading after the fact, especially for gearheads if the list is full of cars. Some of the vehicles can be replaced, such as a few of the more popular Porsches which are cranked out on the daily by factories in Europe. Even the sunken Lamborghinis, which are hardly commodity-like, will rise again thanks to the Italian automaker moving paradiso e terra to restart production of the Aventador Ultimae despite that trim being the last hurrah of a great model.
Far less easy to replace are one-offs or vintage rides. Sticking out in this regard from the manifest is a 1996 Honda Prelude, listed as the property of one Gary Hawkins. Basic Internet sleuthing turned up this Facebook post in which a person of the same name described losing their Prelude after the Felicity Ace sank to the bottom of the briny sea. The man describes the car as the 65th SiR ever built and claims to not be receiving any compensation for his loss due to “complications” with the shipping company and insurance. Alas.
Check out the Facebook listing here.
Also onboard? A 2015 Mustang, presumably making its way back across the ocean after being shipped abroad after initial assembly in Flat Rock. A quick read of the supplied VIN shows it was a GT Fastback, equipped with the Vanilla Ice five-point-oh which made 435 horsepower that model year. There were also over 100 tons of used tractors and associated equipment. Any suggestion by the B&B that there’s not much difference between heavy iron tractors and American muscle cars will be refuted but grinned at behind full mugs of coffee.
The full list is here if you want to read it. If anyone weeps for the Mexican-built Versa Note, let us know in the comments.
[Image: Facebook]
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That’s not a 96 Honda Prelude pictured, that’s the final generation that came in 97.
Maybe they meant a Japanese Model Year 1996 and not American Model Year where they’ll sell 2022-built cars as 2023 models in 2022.
Ahh, great point. Thank you.
The Prelude pictured is a 4th generation (’92-’96) car. The final gen had squarish headlights and styling that reflected the original model.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.autoevolution.com%2Fcars%2Fhonda-prelude-1996.html&psig=AOvVaw2Fhw8Pzjj6bpsT3UC-WOv2&ust=1649364108538000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAoQjRxqFwoTCOivjZ6mgPcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
Yes, I do feel sorry for the people who lost the 18 Versa Note, 14 Soul, 17 Jetta, and the 15 Mustang.
VAG can rebuild their lost cargo, with help from their team of lawyers. The hapless owners of those other cars won’t be able to replace them with the insurance settlement, if they even get one.
I rented a base model Soul last week while on a trip. It was a cut above the Chevrolet Spark that was also a Hertz manager special. Even though it was rental spec, sans navigation and lane departure warning it was a better than expected ride. I can certainly see a loaded GT trim version as a nice Civic or Corolla hatch alternative.
Here’s an interesting tidbit: a “test” VW Taigo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Taigo
Seems VW is “testing” the subcompact CUV waters.
That’s a very nice-looking car, especially in Ocean Blue.
“Testing the waters” is just an expression, isn’t it? Or is VW trying out a new submarine model?
Perhaps, Zee Germans were once known for their submarines.
They still are – they make great diesel subs.
Two scenarios:
-Testing the waters at various car shows, dealer conventions, customer opinion surveys, etc. VW is a bit shallow with SUVs in the North American market. If successful, could be assembled at the Tennessee plant
-Test mule for North American proving grounds. Volvo would test its new cars in Arizona to assure the A/C was up to US market standards.
I would bet that Gary Hawkins feels the loss of his “new” car more deeply than any of the Lamborghini or Porsche owners. Not just because of the money, but because he specifically sought out a 26-year-old car for import. Imagine all the late-night Internet browsing, emails back and forth, using Google Translate to get across any language barrier. He had to be gutted when he heard the news.
I don’t know if there’s any chance of him receiving compensation for it. That’s a real shame. I wonder if it was a matter of him failing to tick a box for an optional coverage? Or did the shipping company cut a corner and think it would never come to light?
Maritime salvage and insurance has some real quirks dating back 3000 years; for instance, if a captain has to abandon some cargo to save the ship, all cargo is assessed a portion of the loss, the goal being to let the captain save the ship rather than worry about which shipper is going to squawk the loudest.
No idea if any of those quirks apply here.
Yeah, bummer about the Prelude SiR. Reading the FB article, he’s going to look for another restoration candidate, and there’s a GoFundMe to help him try to recover some cash.
I once made a somewhat disparaging comment about someone’s hooptie. My Old Man overheard me and set me straight. He explained that for most people driving ‘beaters’, base model, economy and similar vehicles, that is the ‘best’ vehicle that they can afford. They depend on. And if anything happens to the vehicle it can be devastating financial loss. Whereas for those driving ‘luxury’ vehicle they are probably leased, often 2nd, 3rd or 4th vehicles and the drivers of those vehicles can usually afford damage/mechanical issues/theft/etc much easier than those driving the mundane vehicles. He summed it up by saying “just as every person’s home regardless of its size/conditions is their castle each person’s vehicle is their chariot”.
Arthur Dailey-
Nice post. I hope there are those on here “who get it”.
+1
So how does one “Like” a post on TTAC anyway? Oh yeah, we can’t.
I get it . Yes, an excellent comment .
True!
+1
I never forget my hooptie days, and the 3rd car in our fleet is one now.
You had a very wise father. I was fortunate to have the same drumming said truth into my youthful head. And dad really knew, he was a Chevrolet dealer in a coal and steel town that was used to economic swings.
Well said, Arthur! I fit the beater profile somewhat and you explained my situation quite admirably.
Completely agree, Arthur. Here’s hoping these guys get paid off for losing their cars, no matter how much they were worth.
COTD!
As my only car is a 2007 PT Cruiser with 208000 miles on it I agree with you sir.
It is fairly likely that most of those “normal” cars belong to military members returning from overseas asignments. A friend of mine had them lose his Mustang (last tracked at the port of Naples, Italy so likely stolen). He got full Blue Book, but it took some time for the Army to settle the claim. I shipped an Astro home from Europe many moons ago and it was loaded on a freighter full of new cars supposedly.
I’ll be accepting apologies from the usual ilk who are afraid of facts that it was an EV fueled fire and because of it, burned longer because traditional firefighting methods were not able to be deployed.
“yOu CaNt PrOvE tHeRe WeRe EvS oN iT”
…and your point is what – Other than your hatred for new technology?
How’s your mule?
I don’t have a hatred of EVs. Where are you getting that?
Everybody knew there were EVs on that ship.
Certainly, the presence of EVs would make the fire nearly impossible to extinguish, but no cause of the fire has been established.
Just imagine the fire if I crashed while transporting a 20-lb tank of propane home. It’d be hard to blame the propane as the origin.
Fire is generally the greatest threat a ship can face.
Let’s not forget that every ICE car had a few gallons of gas in it – tidy little bombs sprinkled throughout the hold.
Fires fueled by a few gallons of gasoline per vehicle are a lot easier to control than battery fires. A single battery fire could take thousands of gallons of water to put out and keep from flaring up again. Multiple battery fires could be virtually uncontrollable.
You’d have to jettison them overboard. You arent controlling that underway.
“Fires fueled by a few gallons of gasoline per vehicle are a lot easier to control than battery fires. A single battery fire could take thousands of gallons of water to put out and keep from flaring up again. Multiple battery fires could be virtually uncontrollable.”
Yes. This. Common sense. It’s a whole different ball game when it comes to a battery fueled fire. EVs are the ONLY reason that boat sank. They had crews ready to board the boat but couldn’t because of how the fire was burning.
So much for saving the planet.
I don’t know, but would be willing to bet that at least a couple of these older cars belong to members of our Armed Services who are returning Stateside after their tours of duty abroad.
Yep. that was my thought too. Lots of Soldiers and Airmen in Germany and a bunch of Sailors down in Italy