What do you think happened?
It's a strange question to ask Derek MacInnis because he's never there when it happens. He arrives after the fact. But that's the question he gets asked the most.
The people asking know, of course; they were there when it happened.
In my case, it was a bad flat tire on the Trans-Canada Highway, in the middle of Cape Breton, N.S., in a blizzard, around 5:30 p.m. Bad luck. That's what happened. I know. I was driving. But I still asked MacInnis what he thought when he showed up.
Chalk it up to shock. Cars have become so reliable – at least when it comes to getting us from A to B – we're unprepared when they break down. Most people, it seems, who find themselves stranded by the side of the road with broken-down cars are surprised and looking for answers.
It got dark quickly. There was no way to pull the car fully onto the shoulder because it was covered by a snowbank. The road was dull white, no pavement visible. Inside the car – a $150,000 BMW Alpina B6 Gran Coupe – it was absurdly luxurious, a tiny haven of warmth and light.
The man on the phone at BMW Roadside Assistance was helpful – the service is included for four years/unlimited kilometres with a new vehicle. After that, it's $110 a year.
Absent the full-size spare, we would need to continue the journey, the man on the phone dispatched Derek MacInnis of MacInnis Towing in Whycocomagh. It was a busy night because of the blizzard, so he dug out his trailer and hitched it to his second truck to get to us faster.
Just after 7 p.m., we began what would be a five-hour drive back to Halifax, to the closest dealer, O'Regan's. Unsurprisingly, 255/35ZR20 winter tires are not exactly common, but they found one in Ontario.
"Yeah, we're cruising," MacInnis told his seven-year-old daughter via Bluetooth earpiece. "Yes, it's far. It'll be daylight when I get home."
Breakdowns are like baldness: You know it's a possibility, but you perish the thought, secretly thinking, "It won't happen to me." It would be easy to chalk this feeling up to irrational optimism, something to which humans are extremely prone. But optimism about automobiles is, actually, justified.
"Vehicle quality and reliability has been steadily improving for decades," wrote John Tews, spokesman for independent market research firm J.D. Power.
"We have seen the number of problems owners report with their three-year-old vehicle have also steadily decreased, from 151 problems per 100 vehicles in 2011 … to 133 in 2014."
The CAA didn't have breakdown statistics available, but its German equivalent, the ADAC, did. Its annual "Pannenstatistik" reports show breakdowns have been happening less frequently since the 1970s.
The electric windows may stop working, or the navigation system might develop a strange quirk. But the idea of a breakdown that leaves a car stuck seems quaint – until it happens.
It's as if car companies have figured out how to make cars go and stop, and now they're just working on the extras: naming new paint colours, adding connectivity and improving fuel economy.
Three things you realize by the side of the road: cars are exceptionally complex, many things can go wrong and we take the fact they usually don't for granted. The increased reliability gives us an inflated sense of security when it comes to cars.
The Alpina looked sad being unloaded in Halifax, its headlights blackened by a thick layer of road grime. A mighty machine built for crossing continents, made still and silent by a broken bit of rubber.
We asked readers to submit their most interesting adventures when breaking down. Here are some of the responses:
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