Why do most cars have speedometers that go up to at least 130 when you legally can't go that fast on any road?

Answer 1

i own a repair shop,and this is what people want to see on cars,back in the late 70,s and 80,s they had cars only registering about 85 mph,and people didn't want to buy them because they thought they had no power at all,and it would take forever to get to 85,actually it didn't,but that was the buyers belief,and so they started making the speedometers showing more,and the cars started selling more,for instance ,i bought a 1983 Chevy cavalier ,back in late 89 or 90,and it only registered,85,and my step son took it one night that he wasn't supposed to,and when the cops brought him home later on that night ,the car was not hurt,but they had clocked him doing well over 120 mph,so the cars will run faster they didn't put it on them though,and now days its not uncommon to see a car that registers around 130,and most of them will actually do it,even if we cant drive them like that we like to know they will and can run that fast,that's what sells cars right now,good luck i hope this helps.

Answer 2

Marketing.

Putting numbers that high on a speedometer give the impression that a car is faster than it really is.

Of course, some cars really CAN go beyond the limits of their speedometers. And there's always the chance that you'll take it for a drive on a closed race track, or the German autobahn.

Answer 3

If they only went to 65 mph but the car could go faster you could argue you didn't know you were speeding. Since the speedometer clearly shows you were going over the limit you have no excuse.

Maybe they should change them all to metric so people think they are driving faster.

Answer 4

That is a very good question..... all american cars are speed governed under 120 mph, only sports cars are a little higher. It is like that just for selling reasons.... it looks better to see a speedometer at 130mph versus 65mph.....

Answer 5

So that the consumer thinks he is buying a really fast car,it makes the consumer feels better and usually results in that car being bought

Answer 6

Because most cars are designed and marketed towards men, hence the high speedos. After all, why would any car need to have 500 hp? It's not that we need it, but damn it's cool to have.

When was the first auto race?
Answer: When the first two guys who bought or built cars, met each other. "hey......let's see who's is faster."

Answer 7

so that the car looks fast for example my car goes 180 ,but it doesn't mean i can drive 180 its just that the person buying it should think it is fast.

Answer 8

to make big men with small whatits feel better! actually is it because your car was probably made for other countries as well that have different speed limits on certain roads, for example on German autobahns there are not speed restrictions on some parts.

Answer 9

so when you get arrested for going 130, you can say "you're a liar, i was only going 115!!!"

just because it's illegal doesn't mean it won't happen, people pass me all the time when i'm going 90 on the highway.

Answer 10

Because the government told them to so the police can pull over speeders and ticket them.