Text 2724, 144 rader
Skriven 2010-01-07 09:26:16 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
   Kommentar till text 2680 av Roy Witt (1:387/22)
Ärende: Misconceptions
======================
Roy Witt wrote to Robert Bashe on Wednesday January 06 2010 at 12:17:

RB>> No, on the Autobahn your car must be _capable_ of driving at more
RB>> than 60 km/h on a level stretch.

RW> In otherwords, it must be capable of maintaining the minimum speed
RW> limit or better.

;-) No, you have to strike the word "maintaining". If the top speed in the
registration papers is 60 km/h or more - and no normal car has anything less
than 100 km/h - it can drive on the Autobahn. The _actual_ speed under
practical conditions is unimportant, as it would vary according to the
situation.

RW> Here, that's 72km/hr.

45 mph? That would probably be an expressway, then, not merely a two-lane
highway.

RB>> That doesn't mean you must drive that fast regardless of conditions,
RB>> and in fact under hazardous conditions driving that fast could be
RB>> reckless and thus illegal.

RW> Here that would mean that you cannot drive on that particular road if
RW> you cannot maintain the minimum speed limit. You could drive on it,
RW> but you would be subject to a ticket for obstructing the flow of
RW> traffic. Rush hour traffic not withstanding.

So in your case, it's the _actual_ speed that's considered, not the top speed
in the registration papers. OK, then that's a difference in the systems.

RB>> But a VW bus can easily travel more than 100 km/h on a level stretch
RB>> and thus has no problems on the Autobahn.

RW> That's too slow, even for a two lane highway with a max speed limit of
RW> 100km/hr because everyone will be going faster than that.

You'll also never see a highway with a max. speed limit of 60 km/h, since that
is a typical speed for inner-city traffic. The speed limit on a normal highway
here is 100 km/h, with short stretches in dangerous areas 70 km/h. The only
place you might see a 60 km/h sign would be in a construction area, and even
then 80 km/h is more common. Naturally, there are no speed limits on the
Autobahns, but some sections near or in large cities do have a restriction to
100 km/h or 120 km/h.

RB>> Roy, the vehicle isn't a racing car, but it is a normal road vehicle
RB>> and is used as such. I don't know why you keep harping on the speed,
RB>> given the low speed limits in the States.

RW> Because the vehicle cannot maintain enough speed to not obstruct the
RW> flow of traffic.

It certainly can here, and Germans are not known to be particularly slow-moving
drivers. You're talking about special circumstances.

RW> If and when it got to the hills on Interstate 10, west of here, the
RW> minimum speed is 100km/hr, which it couldn't maintain on any of the
RW> inclines required to get over the hill country into west Texas.

_Minimum_ speed 100 km/h?? That would be roughly 60 mph, and more likely a max.
speed limit in the States.

RB>> For such an extreme situation, quite probably. But you can't build a
RB>> car that will perform ideally under _all_ concieveable conditions.

RW> Designing one that can climb a hill without losing speed isn't all
RW> that hard.

Let's just say that I've driven a bus and a Beetle in the Alps without
suffering any particular problems. Smaller cars with less powerful motors were
generally more of a problem, but could usually be passed in a reasonable period
of time.

RB>> Remember the Beetle and the bus were designed for Germany, and
RB>> although there are considerable grades in the mountains there too,
RB>> much of the country is relatively flat.

RW> Which is why they're no longer sold here.

No, they simply were outdated and were replaced by the VW Golf. They had
disadvantages (the lousy heater, for example) that were no longer tolerated
even in a cult car. But before they ceased being made, over 10,000,000 were
sold - that's quite a record.

RW> Although they're still being made in Mexico and you see them here
RW> every once in a while.

The Mexican production of Beetles ceased years ago, Roy. They were last made in
Brazil, but that's also meanwhile history. There was a "New Beetle" made for a
while, but it had nothing to do with the original except the name, wasn't sold
much and has meanwhile disappeared. I don't even know if it was ever sold in
North America.

RB>> Here, an American car of the pre-1970 variety would also have had
RB>> problems. It used far too much gas and was much too wide and
RB>> unmaneuverable for the narrow streets in many old towns, such as
RB>> Heidelberg.

RW> They didn't have that problem here.

I didn't claim they did. The reference was to Germany, not the States.

RW> Even when driven thru Jerome, AZ, where the streets are probably as
RW> narrow as they are in Heidelberg.

You've never seen the streets in Heidelberg ;-)

RW> The VW I drove over the grapevine belonged to a gal I met in Los
RW> Angeles, CA and I was driving her home to San Jose'...She wasn't very
RW> happy with it either, but it was all she had at the time.

If that was back in the days when so-called "full sized cars" were standard in
the States, I'm not really surprised she wasn't too happy with the Beetle. It
was cheap (originally US$ 1600 new), sporty and a cult car - but if you liked
lots of room, power this and power that, it wasn't the right car for you.

RB>> At any rate, all this is history, as the cars built nowadays are (at
RB>> least for my way of thinking) more over- than underpowered (little
RB>> rollerskate-size cars with 70-100 HP), even in Germany.

RW> I don't own nor would I ever buy any rollerskates, mine are all medium
RW> to large vehicles with V8 power.

Fine, if you like that and can afford the price and upkeep.

RW> The Z28 (the smallest vehicle) has 305hp and with the .5:1 overdrive,
RW> gets reasonably good mileage (26mpg) with plenty of power to pull
RW> those mountain grades in that gear.

I don't know if you realize how strange it looks to see you call 26 mpg
"reasonably good mileage". You're lucky you live in the States, since you'd
never be able to afford driving such a car in Europe. The road tax would be
sky-high, the gas cost absolutely astronomical and the insurance prohibitive.

But of course you probably wouldn't drive anything like that in Europe anyway,
since there are not many day-long stretches of highway (American translation:
"short jaunts" <g>) here, and large cars for short hauls just don't make
economic sense. Nor is their comfort advantage really a selling point for the
relatively short driving distances.

Cheers, Bob

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