The State of The Car

[RacingManiac]

Yeah no kidding, I saw a woman on my drive to work doing a U-turn into traffic while still texting on the freaking phone....

[henk4]

Yeah no kidding, I saw a woman on my drive to work doing a U-turn into traffic while still texting on the freaking phone....

I had a good discussion with a member of the California Highway Police the other day while waiting for the Pebble Tour Cars to come by. The use of the cell phone while driving seems to be one of things that they very keenly after and a ticket is about 200 dollar (first offence). He also mentioned that not wearing a safety belt was still an issue. He once had stopped a man who said his belt did not work, because when pulling it down it got stuck. It already did not work for 14 years...however the CHP officer gently pulled the belt down, et voila, it worked. Yet the driver said he had no intention to ever use it...

[Ferrer]

Consider most of those road probably have posted limit less than the actual average speed....they are already pretty fast...

We don't have the EU's higher speed limit aside from some states further south(in MI highway limit is 70mph, or 112km/h), and some interstates here I'd be afraid of going too fast mainly for the poor condition they are in, and I think a general lack of competence/awareness of the drivers here...

Well, the posted speed limits here aren't that much higher (120km/h or 75mph), but the actual average speed, of all cars not the 5% fastest, of the AP-7 (the motorway that run from the French border to the Spanish border along the coast in Catalunya) is actually 134km/h or 83mph.

As for competence/awareness, apart from everything that has already been mentioned, in the states overtaking in the right lane/s isn't forbidden, is it?

[henk4]

As for competence/awareness, apart from everything that has already been mentioned, in the states overtaking in the right lane/s isn't forbidden, is it?

no it is not, but there still is a general rule to keep to the right, which is many times not being adhered to. Yet the number of zig-zagging cars I noticed was rather small. So in stead of passing on the right, most drivers prefer to slow down a little and stay behind the car on the left lane.

EDIT: But driving behaviour has little to do with the state of the car, but more with all the gadgets now available in (and outside) the car

[Kitdy]

I have driven in the States, Canada, and Scotland (briefly). I have heard anecdotally that the UK has far crazier drivers than we do (and seen them when being driven there - watch out pedestrians!), and I think I have heard that the continent is even worse.

I was talking about this the other day with my friends and we agreed that North American drivers are probably the tamest in the world.

[Kitdy]

EDIT: Double post.

Also, I just got back from a weekend in Montreal to visit friends and see the Grand-Am and Nationwide race there. I drove a steady 130 km/h for about 90% of the way from Montreal to Toronto. Way slower than European speeds, but it was comfortable and the road was very well maintained... In Ontario. Quebec has some infrastructural problems, to say the least.

Also, this has nothing to do with the thread topic.

[f6fhellcat13]

Also, this has nothing to do with the thread topic.

Yes, please. Can we keep this thread to the hardware, not the software behind the wheel?

Another thing in favour of german cars, as far as driving is concerned, is that they don't seem to have suffered from the supersizing trend as much as other cars.

Are you saying that they are still as engaging to drive or that they haven't grown as much as others?
I haven't driven a contemporary German car, but they certainly have grown in weight ad size. I would say that they are a more pure drive because everyone is trying to build a German car, however the Germans have been doing that for the past century so they have a bit of a head start.

[Ferrer]

Are you saying that they are still as engaging to drive or that they haven't grown as much as others?
I haven't driven a contemporary German car, but they certainly have grown in weight ad size. I would say that they are a more pure drive because everyone is trying to build a German car, however the Germans have been doing that for the past century so they have a bit of a head start.

Growth thing.

The Hyundai is a big car, especially you consider width, and the Lancia is downright massive. The Germans on the other hand seem to make their cars relatively compact. The 3er for instance is about the same size as the Delta, and far narrower IIRC.

[NSXType-R]

Yeah no kidding, I saw a woman on my drive to work doing a U-turn into traffic while still texting on the freaking phone....

Distracted drivers are scary drivers. Agreed.

I had a good discussion with a member of the California Highway Police the other day while waiting for the Pebble Tour Cars to come by. The use of the cell phone while driving seems to be one of things that they very keenly after and a ticket is about 200 dollar (first offence). He also mentioned that not wearing a safety belt was still an issue. He once had stopped a man who said his belt did not work, because when pulling it down it got stuck. It already did not work for 14 years...however the CHP officer gently pulled the belt down, et voila, it worked. Yet the driver said he had no intention to ever use it...

NY made it a bigger deal now, they can pull you over just for being on the phone. Before it had to be that you could only get pulled over if you had other violations in addition to being on the phone.

However, there was a massive ticket fixing scandal and cops don't pull you over for stupid stuff anymore. I heard it's a sort of protest.


I think it's a sad state of affairs right now, the car. Especially when Ford is focusing on bringing internet into cars. I think that's more of a marketing thing- "Hey look how cool our cars are, we have internet! So you can go on Youtube while driving at 100 mph and check your texts all at once to save time while your 6 kids are pacified by the 24 DVD players and screens in 4 rows behind you!"

Did anyone think that a moving car is actually a projectile?

I haven't even mentioned the fact that getting a license I think is way too easy...

[RacingManiac]

I think its stemming from the insecurity of the automotive sector. The phones, the tablet, the TV and other consumer electronics are constantly getting newer, better, and faster. While cars, to you and me who are enthusiasts, are getting better also, but to average consumer, they want more gadgets and the flash. So car companies are just doing the same to match...

[Ferrer]

Are they actually getting better, even to us?

[RacingManiac]

Your lofty standard not withstanding, yes.....IMO, unnecessary romance to "good 'ol days" need not apply.

Bigger car(+ or - is subjective), more power, better fuel economy, more accessible performance, better reliability. They are measurable metrics, and the newer cars are better than before. Yes they are gaining heft and the increases are incremental, but at the same token the regulation are getting more stringent in emission control and safety, and the OEs are meeting them and still improving on those metric.

[Ferrer]

Surely, and you even forget safety, comfort, ease of use, kinder to the environment, etc.

But everytime I drove a friend's 1991 Polo GT I was reminded what it is that I like about cars. It was a steering wheel, some pedals a gear lever and little else mattered. It had power nothing and you had to do pretty much everything. I have to say, even if it wasn't particularly good example of an old car, I enjoyed pretty much every occasion behind the wheel.

I'd even say that if it's for anyone that cars are getting better is for general public not enthusiasts. Because were cars have progressed greatly is as a means of transportation. But as something to enjoy, to feel, to have fun in, to be connected, have they progressed as much?

[RacingManiac]

My metric of fun is kinda skewed. My memories of cars are generally Japanese econoboxes, from the cars my parents drove in Taiwan, or the Camry that we got when we moved to Canada. The first car that was "fun" was a G35. But all that was out the window once I get to drive the FSAE cars. Needless to say nothing else is as fun until I get to drive something like an out and out race car. What I am driving now is plenty fun, tossable and easy to live with. How that may compare to the past I have no clue.

As I said though, the standard for which cars are built and designed have moved on. The simple box with a steering wheel and 3 pedals cannot be made the same as they used to. The need to meet fuel economy standard drives the need to electrify many items and as a result driver might be less directly connected. But I think OEs are making good strides in getting cars to work well under the circumstances.

I have to say though, driver aids are PITA....in the GTI they can't be off completely....

[Ferrer]

Well let me put it this way, is the Jaguar XF 4.2 I drive from time to time more enjoyable than the little 1.3 litre Polo GT was? The Jag is certainly more powerful, faster, louder, and it has rear wheel drive. But as I said the Polo feels more direct, a purer experience. It's not about performance, but about being involved in the process of performance. In that aspect it doesn't matter whether you drove a Japanese econobox or a BMW M3 E30, the principle still stays the same.

Thankfully not all is lost. There are still cheap and cheerful cars to be enjoyed, like the Renault Twingo, the Toyota Aygo or maybe this new recently presented Volkswagen city car. Even the Hyundai we have is quite good fun, and other than ABS and power steering it has no driver aids whatsoever. However, I'm worried than other than basic transportation we may very well have lost the battle forever.