Are car companies trying to encourage reckless driving?
2007-04-18 10:24:37 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Safety
Just because public roads may have limits, there are still instances/places in the world where you may be able to drive at that speed.
Autobahn, Private Roads, Racetracks, Law Enforcement Officer, Emergencies, etc. etc.
2007-04-18 10:56:28 · answer #1 · answered by todvango 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The bottom line is that the auto manufacturers are in business to make money. They build what sells and makes a profit. If there is a large enough market for this they will build it. If they were to build a car that had all the get up and go of a Cushman Golf Cart few people would buy one. Besides, the majority of the cars that the common people buy will not go this fast. Even the speedometer may read some ridiculously high number this does not mean they can actually achieve this speed. The majority of modern vehicles with computer controlled engines have a top speed limiter programmed into the engine management computer. The manufacturer will typically set the top speed limiter to just below the speed rating of the factory installed tires for liability reasons. Most passenger cars will have factory installed tires which have an "S" (112 MPH) speed rating. Top speed will be limited by the computer to between 105 MPH to 108 MPH when the speed limiter kicks in. Most light duty trucks and SUV's will have factory installed tires that have an "R" (106 MPH) speed rating. The manufacturer will set the top speed limiter to kick in at about 100 MPH to 103 MPH. These vehicles may have a speedometer that reads much higher. As I said before this has nothing to do with the actual top speed the vehicle can achieve. Also, few people will ever take their vehicle much faster than about 80 MPH. So they never realize that this top speed limiter exists. They just see their 140 MPH speedometer and think, "This car is fast" Where in reality the 140 MPH speedometer is there so that when driving at 70 MPH down the Interstate the needle is pointing vertical half way in the range of the gage so it is easier to see.
2016-05-18 02:22:20 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are many reason but here are two
1st you need a powerful enough engine to get the car moving from a stop within a relatively short amount of time, if you made a car that could only get up to the speed limit, it would take forever to get going and you would be doing really high rpms on the freeway. which leads to the other reason
2nd with the more power the car has, the lower the rpm in 5th or 6th gear so you get good gas mileage. This is why the speed limits are kept low, so that the rpms in the cars are kept low too.
2007-04-18 15:41:11 · answer #3 · answered by Mr Teal 137 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We all know that the speed limits are for safety. All cars have a point at which they start resonating. That is the top safe speed the car can attain. You can always exceed the speed but it is not advisable to do so from the automobile's perspective. That speed is 90 mph usually for normal cars. That is again for safety.
The engine will give you power if you provide fuel! it is as simple as that. You have a speedometer in front of you which shows you the whole scale but that does not mean that you can go to the top.
2007-04-18 11:29:15 · answer #4 · answered by billionaiire 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
out west speed limits are 70, west texas has toyed with the idea of 80 and montana reinstated their speed limit to 70 or 75. That does mean that the car driver is qualified to do that or the car is sound enough. If you ever witness a high speed crash it is so horrendous and awfull it will make you think twice about going to fast. Innocent people are always getting hurt by speeders.
2007-04-18 13:03:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because the car can do 100 and most of them can. It doesn't mean you have to. It will allow you to merge into traffic a little safer. You can get up to speed quicker, and the higher hp cars will usually have better suspension built in to them. So there are pros and cons.
Hopefully, the people that buy the faster cars will have the intelligence to use the power wisely. good luck
2007-04-18 10:31:29 · answer #6 · answered by Fordman 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, but idiots like Manual who tries to drive a 100mph, the blows a front tire and kills a family in a van. People like that think its fun, until a tragedy happens. Years ago the speedometers used to go to 120 MPH. Remember, cars are exported too, and other countries have different laws, especially in areas that are not conjested.
2007-04-18 11:59:02 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
top speed is related to the power of the car. If cars never went faster than 70 mph then acceleration would most likely be dangerously slow due to the lower rev threshold needed to ensure slow top speed (without the need to fit expensive restrictors/limiters etc)
2007-04-18 10:31:23 · answer #8 · answered by Fran G 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You just inadvertently used a non-sequitur, the conclusion doesn't follow the premise.
It is entirely possible to drive all day long on American roads at speeds between 90-120 mph and not be the least bit reckless in doing so.
If you have a good vehicle that is in excellent mechanical condition , with the proper speed rated tires on it and you the driver are in excellent mental condition and you thoroughly understand the dynamics of high speed driving then there nothing particularly dangerous or reckless about it.
You would be much safer in my car at 110mph then you would w/ a teenager at 65mph.
2007-04-18 11:46:14 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 3⤋
No. But such luxury and high power cars are the chief source of income, they make many times more than the normal bread and butter saloons. It depends whether you can affort to travel at 1 litre of petrol for just 2 miles or less
2007-04-19 02:12:11 · answer #10 · answered by Passo L 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋