Here's the situation: We were driving home from Michigan City Saturday night after dark, and the baby was wailing to be fed. When we got to a town, I pulled into a gas-station parking lot and pointed the car to the back corner. On the way there, a "slight ripple" in the pavement turned out to be an 18" deep storm drain. WHAM! From the other direction it was quite obvious, but from the way we came, the lighting cast a shadow that perfectly camoflaged it.

Anyway, the hole was sloped like a funnel and about 18" deep, with about a 1" lip down to a metal grate at the bottom, and I drove the passenger-side tires directly through it all at probably 10-15mph, max. (2nd gear) The car pulled to the right and felt a little misaligned for the rest of the drive home.

After checking it out Sunday morning, I saw where I'd contacted two main, heavy-duty frame members and a superficial plastic shroud. The frame parts are scratched, but not dented. I see no impact marks on any suspension pieces, nor the oilpan or filter. Both tires on the right side were down to 25psi.

I inflated all 4 tires back to 35psi, and the pull is gone, and so is the misaligned feel. Did I luck out here?