Ten Vehicles For Surviving A Guatemalan Sinkhole

Planning a trip to Guatemala? Be prepared when the ground disappears from underneath you with one of these commenter-approved vehicles for surviving or avoiding a Guatemalan sinkhole.

This is "Answers of the Day" – a feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's "Question of the Day" and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!

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10.) M60 A-1

Suggested By: GK-421

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: The M60A1 is capable of deploying a 60 foot long bridge in two minutes. Once in place, the bridge can hold up to a 60 ton tank comfortably. This should make it easy to cross any sinkhole that appears in your way in nearly any vehicle.

Photo Credit: Lance Cpl. Kevin Quihuis Jr.

9.) The General Lee

Suggested By: The Stig's American Cousin

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: The General Lee's gap-jumping prowess is already well established. As long as the only way into and out of the car is through the side windows and never the doors, The General is a solid choice, and it should be no surprise that it comes to us courtesy of The Stig's American Cousin.

8.) Unimog 404

Suggested By: SixSpeed5

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: We like the Unimog 404 because even though it's a vintage vehicle, it's no less capable than a more modern alternative. There's also plenty of room to haul all the sinkhole-crossing equipment you'd need to make it around Guatemala safely, and it's big enough to roll over any debris that may have been created by the mayhem of the giant hole in the middle of a road.

Photo Credit: Todosautos

7.) 2011 Ford Fiesta Rally Car

Suggested By: Turbo1168

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: It's light and nimble, blindingly fast, and we know Ken Block has the skills to hustle it around any obstacle thrown at him. Turbo1168 suggested Mr. Block's older Subie, but we think Ken's newest ride still fits the bill.

6.) 1974 Flying AMC Matador

Suggested By: Pessimippoptamus

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: Possibly the most impressive car from 1974's The Man with the Golden Gun, the flying AMC Matador coupe should be able to make the trip across Guatamala's gaping maw. The full-size car-airplane hybrid could only fly for 500 feet before a stand-in remote controlled model took over during filming, but that short flight distance shouldn't be a problem if the sinkhole stays at its current size.

Photo Credit: Armchairgeneral.com

5.) Bowler Bobcat

Suggested By: Dominic Chan

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: Similar in concept to the rally Fiesta, the Bowler Bobcat is a larger option. Maybe you're planning a longer jaunt through Guatemala and need more room for your stuff, but the Unimog's too heavy? The Bobcat is a great choice.

Photo Credit: Anderoo

4.) Suzuki Samurai

Suggested By: DoctorNine

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: There might be bigger, better cars more suited to crossing giant holes in the ground, but DoctorNine's tale of wartime mountain crosses makes us think that if the Samurai can handle troops with big machine guns appearing out of the mist, a 200 foot deep pit should be a piece of cake:

"It was supposed to be a vacation. But there was a war going on in Guatemala at the time. Well, it was winding down. But there were still a lot of choppers flying around, and men with guns. Lots of little Guatemalan men. With big guns. Quiet like jaguars in the forest. They were actually very nice, considering we were tourists in a war zone. And if you've never seen the mountains there, man... Absolutely breath taking gorgeous. But you'll need 4WD. This is not optional."
Photo Credit: Samuraiaz

3.) 1961-1968 Amphicar

Suggested By: Spectra

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: At first glance, the Amphicar seems to be a silly choice. It's not very fast or very light, it's not armored, and it can't climb up much of a hill. But once Guatemala gets hit by another tropical rstorm and the sinkhole fills up with rainwater, everyone will want one. Drive right up to the edge and plunge in, without even worrying about having to find a way around.

Photo Credit: Rschreff

2.) 1980's Ford F-Series Pickup Truck

Suggested By: FordTuffMcGruff

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: Simple, American engineering is the name of the game here. Before pickup trucks got big and bloated, there were workhorses just like this one driving all over North and South America. Parts should be easy to come by, should it fall into any gigantic holes, and as FordTuffMcGruff points out: "Hard to kill, and if you don't want to sleep in a ratty hotel room or in a tent you can just throw a camper on it and sleep in that."

Photo Credit: Hugo90

1.) CAT D11

Suggested By: evoCS

How It Tackles A Sinkhole: EvoCS suggests that the CAT just fill in the hole. HiramJahoovafat rebuts with the astute observation that another hole would have to be created in order to fill in the first. We say think outside the box, Hiram. How about lots and lots of smaller holes?

Photo Credit: Andrman