How to Destroy 4700 Brand New Cars
As someone who feels that given enough time I can fix anything, this is one of those stories that really pains me. In 2006, a car freighter transporting 4,700 new cars from Japan to the US listed to its side as the crew was adjusting the ship's ballast. The ship leaned over to approximately 60 degrees, but was eventually righted in an operation that cost the life of one of the team members. Wired has the best coverage of how the ship was saved: High Tech Cowboys of the Deep Seas: The Race to Save the Cougar Ace.
Having saved the cars, Mazda was now faced with the dilemma of what to do with them. Turning down options to donate, or in some cases even sell, the cars to fire extrication trainers, auto repair schools, or even Hollywood for stunts, Mazda has decided to carefully render each part inoperable -- cutting all four wheels in half, for example! -- shred the cars, and recycle the steal -- probably into new cars. They even created a purpose-built machine to detonate all six airbags at once. Be amazed and a little disgusted all at the same time by checking out the Wall Street Journal's coverage A Crushing Issue: How to Destroy Brand-New Cars and video: