A chain-reaction crash involving four vehicles outside Detroit left a modern compact car destroyed. What might seem like any other car accident reported by local media is actually going viral, though.

See, it involved an old-school land yacht…that barely got scratched. The unlikely standout: a 1973 Chrysler New Yorker, built like a battleship and driven by local car enthusiast Markku Jaakkola.

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon on Dequindre Road just north of 14 Mile

Jaakkola was driving home from a company picnic in the Chrysler. Suddenly, a white Kia, reportedly attempting a center-lane pass, collided with a northbound Chevy truck.

That impact sent the truck into a spin. It clipped a Ford Fusion and sent the Kia ricocheting into the Chrysler’s rear bumper.

The result was chaos: the pickup ended up in the grass off the side of the road. The Fusion sustained major damage to its right rear door. The Kia was left barely recognizable, its front end caved in and airbags deployed.

Meanwhile, Jaakkola’s Chrysler sat idling with little more than a missing license plate

When officers arrived, one walked over to inspect the scene, looked at the mangled Kia and the still-intact Chrysler, and gave a knowing nod.

The Chrysler’s steel bumper absorbed the hit with little visible damage. The only casualty was the license plate bracket, which was torn off on impact and later found in the road. 

Debris from the Kia littered the pavement around the New Yorker.

Jaakkola checked on the Kia driver immediately after the crash. Though shaken, she gave a thumbs-up from inside the wreck. No injuries were reported, he shared in his blog post.

The incident attracted attention on Reddit, TikTok, and others after another driver involved in the crash accused Jaakkola of backing up his Chrysler post-collision to stage photos

Jaakkola, who shared the full timeline online, dismissed the accusation as nonsense. 

He stated that police were on the scene throughout, and the Chrysler was only moved after officers instructed him to pull it into a nearby parking lot to clear the road.

Of course, the real surprise wasn’t the crash drama but the fact that a nearly 50-year-old car took such a hit without flinching.

By the way, this Chrysler is used to being out and about

Jaakkola drives it regularly, having spent the better part of a year reviving it after more than a decade of neglect.

The car originally belonged to Hans “Hasse” Granberg, a friend of Jaakkola’s from Finland. 

Granberg purchased the Chrysler in Kansas back in 2013 during an American road trip and drove it to Michigan. It was parked shortly after the trip and remained stored (both inside and outside) for over a decade. 

Following Granberg’s passing in 2024, Jaakkola tracked down the car and purchased it from the estate.

Despite sitting for years, the classic New Yorker was largely intact

It had just 62,000 miles, original paint, and a solid interior. He shared what it took to get the Chrysler going again in a separate blog post.

Jaakkola replaced the battery, sorted out the brakes, fixed electrical issues, and dealt with some suspension problems before putting it back on the road.

The car has since made appearances at events like “Parking at Pasteiner’s” along Woodward Avenue and has become a familiar sight in Michigan’s classic car scene.

As for the crash, Jaakkola has no plans to pursue claims against the Kia driver. He’s already searching eBay for a new license plate bracket and will likely rejoin traffic in the Chrysler by the end of the week.

The Chrysler was built in an era when Detroit steel reigned supreme, and on a suburban Michigan road in 2025, it proved that reputation still holds up.