... it exploded behind me as if I had driven onto a landmine.
The tyre!
I could not find the spare one anywhere! After a long search inside and under the car, and after consulting the service booklet, I found it was under the plastic cover in the car boot. Instead of a tyre with a 70 cm diameter, I found a spare not much bigger than a wheel of a scooter. The booklet said it wouldn’t last more than 50 miles.
I wanted to take down the blasted tyre, but one of the screws was different from the others. In fact, that is a good security measure against theft, but the spanner was only fit for normal screws. All the drivers I stopped in the next half hour really tried to be helpful, but even the same kinds of Pontiac had different security bolts. As I nearly lost hope and decided to drive on, blasted tyre and all, I finally found the special wrench in the glove compartment.
In the next town, in a auto shop, I was told it was impossible to vulcanise the tyre. The prize of the new tyre plus the setting up was 112 $!
to be continued
text & photo:
Janin Klemenčič