I read the following and wondered how many of us would have rushed to put a paranormal spin on what was happening to this car:

A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors:

"This is the second time I have written you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I kind of sounded crazy, we have a tradition in our family of ice cream for dessert every night. After we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it.

I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem. You see, every time I buy vanilla ice cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds: What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?"

NOW BEFORE YOU READ FURTHER - WHAT IS YOUR FIRST IDEA OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THIS CAR (MINE WAS THAT SOMEONE IN THIS GUY'S FAMILY - DECEASED OF COURSE - REALLY DIDN'T LIKE VANILLA )

The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an engineer to check it out anyway. The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well-educated man. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start.

The engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, the man got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started. The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.


Now the engineer, refused to believe this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits. And toward this end he began to take notes: he jotted down all sorts of data, time of day, type of gas used, time to drive back and forth, etc.

In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store.

Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to find the flavor and get checked out.

Now the question for the engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Once time became the problem -- not the vanilla ice cream -- the engineer quickly came up with the answer: vapor lock. It was happening every night, but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.

Moral of the story: even insane-looking problems are sometimes real.

Wow and thank you...I think this applies to my life...Have a great Saturday

This is a pretty good one, I haven't read this one before. I looked it up on snopes and apparently this urban legand has been floating around since 1978, possibly since 1971. You have to wonder what happened to start it off originally.

I would have guessed ghosts too.

[ March 29, 2003, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: Renee ]

My first thought was the driver really did not like vanilla and sabotaged himself on those nights.

He should have tried buying two flavors at once... one of them being vanilla... perhaps that might have ruled out the vanilla flavor as being distasteful to either the car or the family ghost, if there was one. What a crazy story!! LOL

That's good, Connie!