Another day on the internet and another fun video pops up inviting you to giggle at the misfortunes of others. In this case, it’s a compilation video of drivers tackling the Rufford Lane Ford, a water crossing in North Nottinghamshire, England. As you’d expect, things are going badly for the intrepid drivers plowing the waterway.
As can be seen in the video, several riders choose to cross the watercourse at a depth of almost a foot. Some come through unscathed; a Tesla Model S has no problems, a Mercedes G-Wagen and Ford Focus, among other things, also succeed.
However, the video shows approximately the same number of failures. Perhaps the hardest hit victim is a Nissan 370Z spewing steam from its exhaust, a sure sign of water being absorbed into the engine. Some cars barely make it out of the water before collapsing and needing to be rescued. It doesn’t take a lot of water to get into the airbox to hydro-lock an engine and cause end damage when the pistons try to compress incompressible water. In addition, electrical systems damaged by the water are also likely to bring a modern vehicle to a standstill.
