What's the Point of High-Powered Cars in a World of Speed Limits?

[cjl]

I am no expert on accident investigation so i would have to refer to those that know better.

Then why are you trying to propose a solution, if you don't even know what caused the accidents in the first place?

 

[wolram]

I thought your issue is that people buy bigger engines than actually needed.

That is the case what makes you think i meant any thing other?

 

[xxChrisxx]

I am no expert on accident investigation so i would have to refer to those that know better.

Its rare to get anyone speeding though there. As there is a Truvelo just down from there and its a notoriously crap junction.

In the morning and afternoon you get the mass migration from Gaydon so you are lucky to exceed 50mph.edit: Also everyone shouldn't bash wooly for trying to think about road safety. It's important. Its just crap junctions etc need fixing before stopping cars from going quickly on motorways.

 

[Smattering]

That is the case what makes you think i meant any thing other?

Because in #63 you said that consumers can still buy big engines, as you only want to limit the top speed. And I guarantee you that consumers *will* continue to buy big engines if you only limit the top speed. The primary reason to buy the big engines is not the top speed, but rather the acceleration.

 

[wolram]

Assuming I'm understanding you right, it's this intersection?

I don't think 200mph cars are really the problem for accidents like that, since as Chris said, there's no way the cars were even doing 100mph through there.

That looks like the intersection, i can tell you i was a passenger in a car traveling along the foss at 60mph when a car overtook us and left us in the dust, this was just two miles from he accident site.

 

[wolram]

Because in #63 you said that consumers can still buy big engines, as you only want to limit the top speed. And I guarantee you that consumers *will* continue to buy big engines if you only limit the top speed. The primary reason to buy the big engines is not the top speed, but rather the acceleration.

So you would buy an Audi v10 just to accelerate to what? the nsl is 70 any thing above that is illegal, seems a waste to me.

 

[cjl]

So you would buy an Audi v10 just to accelerate to what? the nsl is 70 any thing above that is illegal, seems a waste to me.

I'd love to buy an Audi V10 to accelerate to 140 on the racetrack, which I go to several times a year. Sadly, $150k is a bit out of my budget at the moment.

 

[xxChrisxx]

So you would buy an Audi v10 just to accelerate to what? the nsl is 70 any thing above that is illegal, seems a waste to me.

A take it youve listened to the new advert. I'd never go anywhere. Just sit on my drive and rev it up and down.

I'd never have to exceed 5mph to get my jollies off from listening to it.

edit: I am a total sucker for a V10. The E60 M5 sounds wonderful too.

 

[cjl]

edit: Also everyone shouldn't bash wooly for trying to think about road safety. It's important. Its just crap junctions etc need fixing before stopping cars from going quickly on motorways.

I don't have a problem thinking about safety, but as someone who enjoys fast cars and racetracks, I don't support speed limiting cars, especially since I haven't really seen any evidence that greatly excessive speed (>90-100mph) has ever been a significant factor in the overall automotive death rate. If every fatal crash involved a high performance sports car going 150mph and the crash rates were high enough, I'd agree that something would need to be done, but that isn't the case. If you're interested in safety, you first need to look at what is causing the majority of fatal crashes, rather than simply going on an anti-speed crusade.

 

[Smattering]

So you would buy an Audi v10 just to accelerate to what? the nsl is 70 any thing above that is illegal, seems a waste to me.

As I live in Germany, *I* could actually go to an open limit Autobahn segment and accelerate the hell out of it.
But here in Germany, such engines are extremely rare. Most cars of our luxury carmakers are sold with much smaller engines here. Still they have a top speed above 130 mph of course. Even the 1.4 liter 4 cylinder of my wife reaches 130 mph.

 

[wolram]

A take it youve listened to the new advert. I'd never go anywhere. Just sit on my drive and rev it up and down.

I'd never have to exceed 5mph to get my jollies off from listening to it.

edit: I am a total sucker for a V10. The E60 M5 sounds wonderful too.

Try this for audio.

 

[cjl]

A take it youve listened to the new advert. I'd never go anywhere. Just sit on my drive and rev it up and down.

I'd never have to exceed 5mph to get my jollies off from listening to it.

edit: I am a total sucker for a V10. The E60 M5 sounds wonderful too.

V10s really are something. There's a guy in my local Porsche club who owns a Carrera GT, and the sound that thing makes is just intoxicating.

 

[wolram]

As I live in Germany, *I* could actually go to an open limit Autobahn segment and accelerate the hell out of it.
But here in Germany, such engines are extremely rare. Most cars of our luxury carmakers are sold with much smaller engines here. Still they have a top speed above 130 mph of course. Even the 1.4 liter v4 of my wife reaches 130 mph.

Come on now, i have been on the autobahns, they were full of Mercs and BMWs

 

[xxChrisxx]

I'm glad we d

Come on now, i have been on the autobahns, they were full of Mercs and BMWs

Every one a 320d, C200 or an A4 tdi. So dull.

Petrol and at least 6 cylinders is the way forward.

 

[Smattering]

Come on now, i have been on the autobahns, they were full of Mercs and BMWs

Of course there are lots of German cars on German roads. But the average engine is rather small compared with your v10 example.

 

[cjl]

Come on now, i have been on the autobahns, they were full of Mercs and BMWs

Mercs and BMWs with 1500-2000cc turbocharged 4 cylinder engines are rather common though. Most of them don't usually come with 500hp V10s.

 

[wolram]

Just tell me this, setting aside Germany, how many of you WANT to break the law and drive over speed limits 70ish in most countries?
How many of you want to break the law and travel through towns villages above the 30mph limit?
How many of you do break the law?

 

[cjl]

I legally travel 120+mph many times per year on a racetrack. Are you saying I should not be able to do that?

 

[wolram]

I legally travel 120+mph many times per year on a racetrack. Are you saying I should not be able to do that?

Now you are being silly, you can go what ever speed you want on a race track, i love F! and follow Mercedes, you did not answer my question by the way.

 

[wolram]

It is my bed time now i have to get ready for my operation tomorrow.
All the best to you all keep safe.

 

[cjl]

Now you are being silly, you can go what ever speed you want on a race track, i love F! and follow Mercedes, you did not answer my question by the way.

Well, how would I be able to do that if every vehicle had an underpowered 1600cc engine and could only travel 70mph?

 

[Smattering]

Just tell me this, setting aside Germany, how many of you WANT to break the law and drive over speed limits 70ish in most countries?
How many of you want to break the law and travel through towns villages above the 30mph limit?
How many of you do break the law?

As long as you do not ban guns, I would say that unlimited cars are the least problem you have.

 

[xxChrisxx]

Just tell me this, setting aside Germany, how many of you WANT to break the law and drive over speed limits 70ish in most countries?

yes

How many of you want to break the law and travel through towns villages above the 30mph limit?

no

 

[Randy Beikmann]

... why are these huge engined cars sold world wide, what is the use owning a car with a v10 engine capable of 200mph when your local motorway has a 70mph top limit.

Why do we allow houses greater than 100 square feet, when that's plenty of room to lay down in? Think of all the wasted energy.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

Our car goes 300mph.

We will sell a few nearly as capable.

 

[Glenstr]

The old (and tired) "why do you/someone need x"?

Especially when x can be used to (a) put someone in danger and / or (b) break a law.

I'm a hunter, as well as a firearms enthusiast, so I often hear the "why do you need a <insert hand, semi auto, large calibre etc..> gun? - to which I usually reply "why do you NEED a <big screen TV, a nice car, cold beer on a hot day> ? , to which the obvious answer is you really don't, do you?

For the topic at hand, I just bought a new F150 pickup with a dual turbocharged 6 cylinder motor. It goes like a bat out of hell, and would leave many of the "muscle cars" I drove in the 70's eating its dust. Do I "need" acceleration like that? No I don't, but I also pull a travel trailer through the mountains, and although I don't "need" to be able to pull it up long grades at the posted speed limit, I like to do so, and I'm sure 99% of the other motorists traveling in my direction like the fact that I do too..

Living in a society where faceless bureaucrats in some gov't body decide what I need and don't need is not very appealing.

I'm a little too fond of liberty, I guess..

 

[Tom Rauji]

Cars today are wonderfully engineered. My car is 420 HP, stops and corners exceptionally well, is comfortable, quiet, safe, and still gets almost 30 MPG on the highway. I had a compact 4 cylinder car that got almost 45 MPG, and I quickly hated it. 700 miles after I purchased that car, a deer stepped out in front of me. The skinny tire little car made what should have been avoidable become like watching a tragedy unfold in slow motion. I could not steer around the deer, I could not stop. The tiny little hard tires just slid and slid as I hit the deer. I could have avoided the deer if the car stopped and steered anything like a performance car, but the car could not do anything well. It was single focus on MPG, and not a good country rural road car. Buy what you want, but don't force me to buy what you want.

 

[Strong Eagle]

Just tell me this, setting aside Germany, how many of you WANT to break the law and drive over speed limits 70ish in most countries?
How many of you want to break the law and travel through towns villages above the 30mph limit?
How many of you do break the law?

Why do you keep equating engine size and speeding? It's a false connection. Except for the fastest highways I can exceed the speed limit most everywhere in a 1.8L Corolla. Except when I am going uphill in the mountains. Then, I need a larger engine both for climbing and for dealing with reduced efficiency due to altitude.

In your zeal to regulate engine sizes to control speed, are you going to permit an allowance for high altitude? For climbing hills? For pulling trailers? What's your formula that permits me to have a 3.0L instead of a 2.0L? Maximum vehicle curb weight? What are you going to do when I need a 5.0L to pull a large trailer carrying a tractor but don't have the trailer hooked up all the time. Your engine size arguments fall apart.

The argument is pointless from another view as well, and that is the speed limits themselves. In far too many places, well meaning (and ignorant) bureaucrats set the speed limits far lower than they should be. Everyone violates the limits and everyone becomes a criminal, except for those who actually follow the stupid speed limits thereby making the roadway more dangerous by creating speed differentials.

It has been shown that people drive at a safe speed, not the posted speed. Many governments, including the State of Texas, have a law on the books that speed limits are to be set at the speed at which the 85th percentile of drivers go. It's routinely violated by municipalities who want to collect ticket revenue.

You want to control speeding? Educate the driver. Don't limit engine sizes.

 

[Tom Rauji]

The bottom line is if we do not understand complex systems that have many dozens of variables, we should not dictate rules for those systems.

 

[cjl]

Our car goes 300mph.

We will sell a few nearly as capable.

What car would that be, out of curiosity?

 

[gmax137]

If you really want to save lives, you'd require cell phone manufacturers to design their phones to self destruct if activated inside a moving car. [\hijack]

 

[KonaGorrila]

The biggest thing that blows my mind is the fact that we add ethanol which is not efficient in terms of power per volume. So we buy 10% ethanol fuel that is cheaper but also weaker so we lose in gallons per mile.

 

[DaveC426913]

The biggest thing that blows my mind is the fact that we add ethanol which is not efficient in terms of power per volume. So we buy 10% ethanol fuel that is cheaper but also weaker so we lose in gallons per mile.

It's a fair bit more complicated than that. Power per unit fuel is not the only factor. For example, ethanol dramatically reduces greenhouse emissions. But let's not go down that twisty-turny sideroad.

 

[Strong Eagle]

For example, ethanol dramatically reduces greenhouse emissions.

Really? It rather depends upon the ethanol source and the ethanol percentage. Corn produced ethanol in E10/E15 mixes are at best a wash, worse than pure petrol when land use changes are taken into account.

 

[HowlerMonkey]

What car would that be, out of curiosity?