Strong winds caused a lot of problems here in So Cal. lot of blackouts, trees down, ect. This pole fell on a car at a Mercedes-Benz dealership. It looks like the base rusted to the point it was no longer strong enough to withstand the winds.
I was in Pasadena yesterday and saw the damage lots of trees were toppled over! I didn't see any damage to the street lights myself but some traffic light heads lost their backplates. The paper said some concrete street light poles snapped in half but I just didn't see them myself.
The dealerships generally repair the car, then use it around the lot for a few months as a "demo" model, then sell it as "used, demo model, low mileage". Often they will use it as a courtesy car at the linked service section for the top end customers to use during servicing or repairs.
A few more shady dealers will have it repaired, then sell it as new.
Ouch! The cars don't actually seem severly damaged thoguh considering the hard impact. The light looks to be in alright condition too, although I only care about the ballast, lamp etc.
One of the 2 lights (top) was lit when I drove by at about 6am, I noticed this and returned to get the pic. In the afternoon I saw the pole and the cars were gone, off to the insurance investigator and repair shop.
Even if the arc tube and outer glass is still intact, I'd expect the weldings to come loose. It must've been a good lamp and not one of those horrid chinese MH lamps.
A new pole and lights are installed, been that way for about a year now. @ Mike, just the top one was lit, and was full brightness, like the outer bulb was intact.
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A few more shady dealers will have it repaired, then sell it as new.
the lamp still looks intact as if it could be really used