Citroen toboggan.
You know that famous street in San Francisco? The really steep one?
We have a road near where I live that's obviously not quite that bad, but certainly along those lines (I estimate a minimum 45% gradient). It was about 2 years ago now, first proper snow of the winter and we were caught unawares at the pub. I'd only had 1 pint and a few cokes - being the designated driver. We left at 11 or so and my better half and I give my mate and his bird a lift home. On the intended route was this bloody big hill, I wasn't really bothered since it's a busy road and a bus route, so the council are normally shit hot to keep it well gritted. Approaching the crest of the hill, I slowed to a crawl. Feeling the car slide at the slightest hint of braking I realise that the gritter wagon hasn't been round yet. I managed to slow the car to about 1mph, but we must be over the crest 'cos the twat just kept sliding. The ABS was doing its tits, making the car shudder like an epileptic but it still wont stop. I put it into reverse and spin the wheels backwards to no effect. We're speeding up.

Looking toward the bottom of the hill (actually a flat bit half way down) about 400 yards away, I see that there's a mercedes sprinter van stopped at the roundabout and numerous cars trying to get round said roundabout and failing miserably (they were trying to climb a 5% gradient and spinning hopelessly). I'm still sliding, no brakes at all and now doing about 20mph. Friends and wife are starting to get really scared (helped by my running commentary of 'fuck I cant stop' and 'shit were getting faster' and 'no I'm not fukkin joking - i think we're going to crash!'

Long story short, I ski'ed my 3-months-old little C2 full of people about 500 yards down a fookin steep hill on a busy road, went onto the wrong side of the road to avoid a van, got the wrong way around a congested roundabout and back onto the right (left) !!CORRECT!! side of the road, and slid sideways for another 300 yards before coming to a stop.

I would pay thousands for a video of that event if one existed. I felt like a proper hero, I'd displayed fantastic car-skill and a phenomenal amount of luck in avoiding several collisions and not even scratching an alloy wheel. My heart was going like a sub-woofer at a drum'n'bass comcert when I got out of the car. I was buzzing my t!ts off on pure adrenaline. The pack of bastards with me never even made a fuss. I think the extent of my praise was something like "Aye I thought we were fucked there like..."
I left the car near by until morning and made the bastards walk home. (No choice really, I couldn't drive back up the hill to get home)

There was one other occurence, similar really winter weather and sliding cars. I took my parents to the airport at like 5am one January. It was on the way home that I slid the car - right outside our house. Our neighbour had a rather small lawn, actually the exact length of a citroen saxo 2-door.
To get onto our drive in that house, you came down-hill into the street and did a J-turn round the corner and up the drive. I slid sideways mid-trn and parked my car perfectly sideways across our opposite neighbours lawn. What was lucky about it was that my back bumper was literally less than an inch from the side of his car and my front bumper was among his connifer hedge - undamaged. I'd inadvertently managed to do what those stunt drivers do when they handbrake park perfectly between two cars, leaving no room to get back out. I'll never forget sitting in my mums dining room that frosty morning composing a note to the neighbour (I couldn't knock him out of bed at 5:30 could I??!) asking him nicely if he would give me a shout and move his car when he got up so I could drive mine off his garden.

Length? - I apologise for nothing!
(Greencloud Wanted to go fishing on, Tue 19 Sep 2006, 13:13, Reply)