Research For Film - Advice Needed

[Irvin Morrison]

Hello.

Apologies in advance for the massively off-topic post, but the forum seemed like the most direct way of getting some trustworthy advice.

I am in pre-production of a film, in which the lead character runs over a branch, causing his Polo to go hurtling through the bordering shrubbery. The car must be battered enough to be undrivable, but not so battered that the main character can't then perform some temporary patch-job to get him along. So, my question is, what specific fault could have been caused by a crash like the one described? A broken suspension coil springs to mind (pun intended), but that wouldn't really stop the car from moving, and is not very interesting anwyay. My limited knowledge of mechanics stops me from coming up with an idiosyncratic outcome to the crash, one that requires an inventive and plausible solution from the character, and it's why I'm turning to more expert minds for advice.

Any conbribution will be sincerely appreciated.

Irvin

[jdmccright]

Hmmm....

If the branch is big enough, perhaps it can become jammed in between the tie rod and underbody or sway bar, locking the steering and forcing the car to spin off the road. Said branch or a curb could also bend the tie rod, dent the wheel and blow the tire, causing the main character to have to extricate the branch and put a spare tire on, but have to drive to the nearest town to replace the tie rod and repair the tire/wheel.

I'm sure others will chime in to either expound on this or flush it as total crap...flame on....

[shorod]

Why not just go with the flat tire scenario. Sure, not very unique, but certainly plausible. Have them driving a Ford Explorer with improperly inflated Firestone tires if you need a rollover effect. Either have it roll completely over and land back on its wheels, or on its side, then the character could use said branch as a pry bar to right the vehicle to its wheels again. If the character doesn't have time to change a flat tire, the puncture could be small and remedied with a super fast can of Fix-A-Flat.

-Rod