Opinion ID: 782173
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: April 20, 1988: Long Course Testing

Text: On April 20, 1988, the ATD tested the Samurai, along with the Jeep Cherokee, Isuzu Trooper II, and Jeep Wrangler, on its standard long course, a double lane-change avoidance maneuver test course that CU had used since 1973. 2 The long course was designed to replicate an emergency situation in which a driver suddenly steers a vehicle left into the opposing lane, to avoid an obstacle, and quickly back into the original lane to avoid oncoming traffic. Several CU personnel were in attendance during the April 20 testing, including Robert Knoll, the head of the ATD, Dr. R. David Pittle, CU's Technical Director and Senior Vice-President, and Irwin Landau, the Editorial Director of Consumer Reports, who had been assigned as the initial writer and editor of the Samurai article. Pittle had invited Landau to attend the testing because he thought that they might witness a tip-up of the Samurai. CU driver Kevin Sheehan drove the Samurai first, putting it through the long course 16 times at speeds reaching over 50 miles per hour. The Samurai that Sheehan drove was equipped with outriggers, which essentially act as training wheels to prevent the car from tipping over completely. 3 During Sheehan's runs, the Samurai did not tip over, prompting Sheehan to make the following evaluation of the car: rubbery, slow response, rocks a bit, but never felt like it would tip over. In the Avoidance Maneuver Data Summary, Sheehan rated the Samurai as highly as or better than other vehicles tested that day. After Sheehan had completed his testing, CU removed the outriggers. CU driver Rick Small then drove the Samurai through the long course 21 times at speeds similar to those achieved by Sheehan. Again, there were no tip-ups. In his driver log, Small stated: steering is slow, but it works — responds well and corrects quickly, leans normally, snaps back. Confidence fairly high. No real problem. On the basis of his test drives, Small rated the Samurai higher than the other three vehicles tested that day. According to testimony by former CU employee Ron Denison, at some point during the long-course testing, which had not demonstrated any tip-ups of the Samurai, Landau told Sheehan: If you can't find someone to roll this car, I will. After Sheehan and Small had completed their test runs, Pittle, who was not a test driver, began to drive the Samurai through the long course. According to Pittle, he did so because he had never driven a small SUV and wanted to get a feel for how it handled through the course. Pittle took the car though the course 10 times, achieving a top speed of 49 miles per hour. On Pittle's tenth run, the Samurai tipped up on two wheels. Pittle stated that he did not purposefully cause the Samurai to tip up and that it was a startling and unexpected occurrence. When Pittle tipped the car, one onlooker yelled, yeah!, while another shouted, I think I got that, I think I got that.