The Autobahn looks like so much fun. I'd love to take a supercar on there and push it to its limits where it is legal to do so.

I wish the last time I was over there that I would have gotten to do just that, push some nice car to just over 200mph. If I remember correctly, I think there are some pretty strict laws on NOT getting out of peoples way, ie, if you're in the fast lane and someone comes up behind you, you best move over. Also I think on heavy smog days, they do invoke a speed limit on the autobahns, somewhere around 130kph I think.

I suspect that another of the reasons the autobahns can have such speed limits is that they have less people in the sub-90 IQ bracket than other nations.

In order to have really high speed limits, you need to only allow the people capable of driving at those speeds to drive, you need the training... OR... you need to have a culture or people where life is valued less, where every death is not a tragedy.

(This rant is not aimed at anyone on this board, just me pissed off with rules)

I wouldn't go as far as saying that Germans value life less, maybe they just better understand the reason behind letting dumb people thin themselves out. All of Americas "protect the retarded and if they do get hurt, hand them over millions from law suits" laws are just helping us dumb down our society. I wish Americans would take a little more responsibility for their actions and assume a little more risk in life without expecting huge compensation when and if they do get harmed. It seems like every week I run across something I'm not suppose to do because there is some new rule or law preventing me from doing it because I might hurt myself or others in the process. If I mess up, I'll take the responsibility, but don't limit my freedom to protect the dumb and careless.

I have had that mindset for years. I really dont like that natural selection had no input anymore on the human population. After all natural selection has worked for millions of years why should we stop it now?

I like the way they don't bother doing legalistic backflips required to disclaim all the ways a consumer can misuse a BMW, they just say things like "Note: BMW ABS and traction control systems do not defy the laws of physics." It's up the the reader to get a clue.

It takes a 3 hour written test (and of course a driving test) to get a driver's license in Germany, This test includes a section where you have to identify every single road sign and every road marking that is ever used. If you are interested, you can google to find US military sites that provide info and coaching for solders and their spouses preparing to take the tests. The thoroughness of the tests are an eye opener for most Americans used to the typical slap-dash testing over here.

Another significant one is that the auto companies are not just competing against each other. They are competing against every other car they've ever made. For every new car, there are probably 15-20 older cars still on the road, and are insanely cheap compared to a new car.

Henry Ford had a unique opportunity. It was the only time in history when there were no cars and everybody wanted one, thus everyone had to have a new one.

Someone who has $20k to spend on a new car when he can buy a used one for $5k is by definition above average, and money is not a major motivating factor when it comes to buying an automobile.

He will spend $1200 of that buying gas at $3 a gallon if he travels 10000 miles in a year at 25mpg. It's negligible, especially when the most he can save is maybe $600 of that. And that's only recently; previously it was more extreme.

Someone buying used is stuck with the purchasing decisions and hand-me-downs of new car buyers.

He can spend $5000 on something like a metro that he will spend $750 a year on fuel. It's going to take 10 years of such driving before anything new and more efficient will even compete.

However, if fuel rises more, fuel economy will become a major driver and we will start to see these sorts of things take off.

The mean IQ of Germany consistently ranks at the high end of Europe (and the world). The USA usually ranks lower, and because it is ethnically more diverse, it's very likely that the standard deviation is greater. Eliminating the right to drive for vast numbers of people is politically very difficult to accomplish, so the US gets a dumbed down test and lower speed limits.

They could have higher speed limits, but it would mean they would have to do one of several things: give up the "every death is a tragedy" attitude, or toughen the testing and deal with larger voting blocs being denied a right to drive. Not to mention the pockets of local governments lined with speeding fines.

I wasn't really talking about Germany when I mentioned valuing life less, I was talking about the more lawless areas of Africa and the Middle East where the birthrates are higher, mortality is greater etc.

Seems to me that I remember being reminded ever time I've been to court for my numerous speeding violations (I got my 7th speeding ticket about a year ago), that driving is a privilege not a right.

I personally think there should be different levels of licenses, maybe like 1 through 5. If you're Michael Schumaker you get a 1, if you're like my younger sister (I don't let her drive when I'm in the car) you get a 5. Then insurance rates and traffic violations are based on this level. I think I would rather play russian roulette then let my sister drive me down the interstate at 95mph.

This could stem a system of driver education and training, heck, might even give the united states another winning F1 driver in the long run! =)