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The problem with our high speeds is that it earned me a speeding ticket in Oregon last year. The friendly officer was resolved to remind me that in Oregon they obey the posted limits. The chip on his shoulder was bulging.
With that said, it's all a matter of being safe in the conditions you drive in and I don't think you can define that speed and say it works everywhere.
However, here if there is somebody in the left lane doing 65, you can be sure the plates are out of state. That's when I justify passing on the right.
I agree, no one should be driving 65 in the left lane.
Hey, we both love our Proteges!
End of Story!
Pete
In my '91 toyota corrola, it was 50mph in 1998.
In my '99 protege it's 65mph...75 if feeling lucky.
Usually, no car feels safe above 80mph currently.
Big cars are safe structurally, but not nimble enough to handle safely in emergency situations.
Small cars don't feel safe structurally at high speeds.
So NO driving above 80mph currently in any car.
Also, Meade/Paul (and anyone else in the area), is beltway traffic around DC as bad as they say it is? I'm looking for paces to rent, and want to know if I should avoid places that would require me to use the beltway! Also, how many lanes do most of the highways/freeways there have? I know it's going to be a big change from the 5+carpool that I'm used to here :-)
Here in the mountain West, interstate speed limits are 65 or 70 near cities (usually the belt routes) and 75 everywhere else. Pretty much everyone (cops/highway patrol) ignores about 5 over on open interstates, and upto 7-10 over on beltways. Highway patrol in all states here will happily ticket anyone doing over 10 over the posted, especially if you have out of state plates! I discoverd this to my detriment when I got a 93 in 75 ticket in Wyoming last year (I don't have cruise control on my DX and was going down a hilly section of the interstate, didn't even realise I'd gained that much speed! Of course, that's why they had two speed traps over that 2-3 mile section!).
That said, I see a lot of LLCs here who do precisely the speed limit, or 5 below, in the left lane, and who don't let you pass or exceed the speed limit (by weaving into left lanes) - self-imposed enforcers, indeed! Its these kinds of people that I consider more reckless than someone going with the rush-hour flow at about 5-7 over the posted speed limit! They scare me!
-ashu
usual distance between cars: 50ft on a freeway.
do you think the car is safe if at the speed of 105 you started braking and assuming that it reduces the speed to 60 mph in that 50 ft.
will you survive that accident?
Now, my turn! fowler3..I too grew up hearing about what a leadfoot heaven Germany was and how,apparently, all was well with the world. So your "haystacks" story kinda bursts that bubble. First I ever heard of that.
bigfish..agree about drivers ed. When I was 16 our instructor took us to the P.D. for a road test that consisted of one clockwise trip around the block. If you didn't crash you got your license. On the first day of driver's ed. our instructor told us anyone caught driving before finishing would be booted out of D.E. A lot of us drove our parent's cars starting around 14, 15, or 16. U.P. you know!
nematode: 85 speed limit? Never happen. Municipalities would never stand for the reduced cash flow.
vocus: "Do you know why I'm pulling you over?" I have to agree. The question always struck me as being kinda thick-headed.
On the speeding note...
The onramp near my apartment immediately merges into traffic (i.e., no acceleration lane except for the long ramp). If I am not doing 75mph when I hit the freeway, quite a commotion is stirred up because other vehicles either have to brake or swerve out of the way, or I go into the trees. That is the slow lane! 85mph is the cruising speed in the fast lane, and you still have to yield for vehicles travelling even faster! But like it was said above, it is either that or its a parking lot.
What really causes accidents is the speed differential between vehicles. We still have people who insist on being in the fast lane but travelling 65mph. That's a 20mph difference between the cruising speed and this vehicle!! That creates a lot of unsafe conditions. We could try forcing everyone to drive 65mph, but that would mean changing the driving habits of 95% of the drivers in the area. I can understand people wanting to get places quicker. Here in Southern California, a two or three hour commute one-way to work is becoming the norm, since you have to live that far out from the major city-centers so you ONLY have to pay $300,000 for a small house.
AS mentioned earlier in one post: In Germany, and many EU countries, new drivers have to take a driving course that is very expensive, the
driver pays for it. They have to pass it with flying colors or take it again at their expense. It covers driving at high speeds, it is almost like professional driving here.
If the licensed driver gets in a wreck, he has to take that course again, at his expense. Insurance is very expensive, much higher than here. They pay a tax on their driver's license every year as well as being taxed on the size of their car's engine. Parking is expensive in downtown garages -- average $15 a day.
They have good traffic laws. People driving smaller cars and those who do not like driving at high speeds have to display a sign in their rear windows with the number 55 on it. They can not exceed that speed and have to always stay in the right side lane. This leaves two or three high-speed lanes always open. No old geezer taking the high speed lane and driving 40mph.
Traffic on the Autobahns is less today due to the excellent and fast rail services. They have trains going to major cities every hour -- they are punctual -- leave on the minute. If you miss the first one, take the next one. Almost any town can be reached by train. Businessmen travel by train. Mostly vacationers travel by car and usually to other countries in Europe. They get more holidays than we do - 13 - and paid 30-day vacations. Most Germans head for Spain on long weekend holidays.
newcar31, if all Americans had to take a really difficult D.E. course you would see better drivers here, too. And none of the lane-changers and darters we have to encounter. One auto magazine test driver said, when testing the new Porsche 911S in Germany, "One gets a whole new definition for the word - ATTENTION -- when driving at 170mph."
People here do not pay attention to their driving, they let the car take them for a ride. Hands barely holding the wheel, puting discs in the audio system, slumped down in their seats chatting on cell phones, music so loud they can't hear another driver's car horn, rarely if ever checking their mirrors etc etc.
When you drive in other states, such as VA and NC, be sure to watch the better drivers, how they make turns. How you make a left turn onto a bullavard differs from state to state. One requires that you pull across all lanes to the far right (VA); another requires that you pull into the passing lane before moving to the right lane (NC).
I have been driving 56 years, no speeding tickets, no parking tickets, one wreck -- not my fault -- rearended at traffic light. I have driven safely in six countries other than the USA.
fowler3
1) The lack of a trunk release on the keyless entry is a little annoying.
2) I have my first rattle (6k miles). Its the glove box and I'm sure I can find a way to stop it.
3) The sun visor is too small.
4) My wife keeps taking it.
I too have driven in Germany. I spent a week there and was more impressed with the public transportation than with the smooth as glass highways. I should mention that even without a speed limits (in some places) most people were around 140km/hr which is probably around 85mph. Some were faster and some were slower but everyone moved along very nicely (politely). On the other hand, if you want a challenge try driving in India for a while.
;-(
-Larry
both call for a "ATF M-III or equivalent e.g. Dexron II".
does that mean i can use something like Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF as my power steering fluid?
also, how does one replace/drain the existing power steering fluid?
if thats possible then i'd prefer using a synthetic fluid to a conventional one anyday
(i'm presuming that the OEM factory fill P/S fluid is conventional)
I agree that young people are mostly responsible for accidents, they think nothing can happen to THEM. Their parents are at fault.
A couple years a friend's daughter was in a bad accident. She lost control of her Cavalier on an Interstate and ran under an 18-wheeler. The car burst into flames. The truck driver felt nothing, but brought his rig to a halt when he saw the flames. A passing Marine stopped and rescued the girl and her boyfriend from the burning car. She said she didn't know what happened, why she ran under the truck.
Her father told me about the accident and immediately said, "We are getting her another car!" repeating it several times. As if THAT was the most important thing. I told the frend I would NOT even think about replacing the car until she decided to tell why she lost control, what she was doing.
The Marine was honored by the mayor of Roanoke for bravery at a ceremony. The girls parents did not attend and never thanked him, saying "we didn't have time."
It's not only ignorant kids, it's ignorant parents as well.
fowler3
Many older people should be off the road. It isn't just their failing eyes, it's their failing reflexes and mental capacity to "compute" in an emergency situation. Little old ladies so small they can't see over the steering wheel. Old men who chuckle when they sideswipe a parked car. I know one who hit a parked police car -- twice -- trying to parallel park. The police called his son to come and get him.
Many older people think they have rights younger people do not, because of their age. When they excercise those misstaken rights they cause problems. You are suppose to watch out for them, not they for you, on the road.
fowler3
Trooper Larry -- I guess you're gonna greet me at MAPP II with the line, "You in a heapa trouble, son?" My response will be, "What seems to be the problem, officer?" Just remember -- The Good Meadie offereth ham biscuits and The Good Meadie can taketh them away!
Ashu -- The posted speed limits in Virginia are 65 mph on rural and semi-urban interstates. In most urban areas, the interstate speed limits decrease to 55 mph. Most four-lane state highways are 55 mph in rural areas, and slow down to 45 or 35 when they enter developed areas. You'll have to ask Paul (vocus) to verify my next comment -- it's been a few months since I've been on the Capital Beltway (I-95 and I-395 around D.C.) -- but I'm pretty sure it's 65 mph.
ALL YOU MARYLAND, D.C. AND VIRGINIA FOLKS -- If you're into highways and driving, you really need to check out one of the coolest sites on the Web: http://www.roadstothefuture.com/main.html
Paul -- You've ALREADY got 16K on your 2001 Protege! WOWZERS! I thought I was bad -- I just hit 26K on my 2000 that I've had for 16 months! I've got one rattle from my rear parcel shelf, but it was caused by the morons (er, "service department personnel") who reinstalled it after replacing the trunk spring I broke in my first month of ownership. It seems easy to fix, but I just haven't gotten a round tuit yet.
MAPP II: 16 DAYS!!!
Meade
Just to have the privilage of driving (shared by 3 other siblings at some point) a late 70s Buick Regal Estate Wagon I had to:
1) Maintain my grades. This was paramount.
2) Play at least 1 sport per academic year. Not a big deal I played 2 anyway.
3) Get a job mostly to pay for car insurance. Actually, it was just the increase on my parents policy. I worked at McDonalds on weekends for 4 hours (1 day) and 2 short shifts at Shop-n-Save during the week. 50 hours a week comined in the summer. When I turned 18 I dumped McDs and waitered at a fancy resturant as my second job. Yup, I biked to work. Luckily my girlfriend was spoiled rotten and had a killer car for the time (A Datsun/Nissan 280Z).
4) Pay for all gas and any repairs and maintainace. For a couple of years I only had to pay 1/2 or 1/3 depending now how many siblings were sharing the car.
5) Go to driving school paid for by parents. A real driving school and not drivers ED. It cost a ton but it was totally worth it. It was more like 1 week of instruction, 1 week of tests, and 8 weeks of autocross. Part of the first week of instruction was learning to drive a manual transmission. It covered contol during skids, emergency lane changes, panic stops in all kinds of conditions (no ABS in 1986-7), high speed slalom, and your usual driver ED stuff too. It was run by a former Maine state police officer with a real short temper for bad driving habits.
I did not drive until I was almost 18. I'm well north of 30 now and in retrospect that was a pretty good thing and I'll expect the same from my kid (if we have any). The only difference wil be that I'll get my kid a 15 year old Volvo wagon to drive around in. I think that drivers ED is a good idea but its WAY WAY WAY too easy. I'm sending my kid to a good driving school + drivers ED + driving with me for at least 6 months.
I alone paid for "my" first car, a 1978 Toyota Corolla I purchased for $1,200 in 1985. Boy, I loved that car. It was BRIGHT yellow with a black vinyl top (hey, they were the thing then), I had alloys and Goodyear Eagle STs with raised white letters, a chrome exhaust tip, AND a kick-butt (at the time) Pioneer stereo system with a total of 10 speakers, EQ/power booster, etc. Heck, I even needed to install air-adjustable shocks on the car so the slightly oversized rear tires would stop scrubbing the wheel wells. And that had another benefit -- I could stop by the gas station and hike the back of the car up as much as half a foot!!! Made it look like a lil' dragster!
And of course, the car had every option except one -- as usual, I had ta have my five-speed!
One day I'll find a pic of that car and show it to you guys. It was phenomenal. (And quite probably the reason I still love small eco-sports sedans like the Protege -- although I'm not as flashy now!)
So much for the little side-trip down nostalgia lane -- it's lunchtime! Bye bye!
Meade
BTW, my friend bought a car the other day and I went up with him to drive his current car back while he drove the new one. His car was a 1986 Ford Mustang GT convertible. It was an hour drive with the top down in sunny Southern California. Now that was a blast!! Top down... wind in hair... 5.0L V8 rumble... I miss a convertible!!! Hmmm... I wonder what a lease payment would be on one of the new yellow Miata's...
You got it!!
IF you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere else.
Why?
'cause you learn to be 100% attentive when behind the steering wheel..or else....
My first car is this neat 95 Mazda Protege DX I bought at age 22, after saving for over a year as a grad student with a part-time job. Bought it with 57K miles and its about to cross 70K soon. Still runs great and will move with me when I move to Virginia in a few months - I'm actually considering driving it, its that reliable!
From age 16 until 21, I've had three different 2-wheelers - two scooters, including a neat Honda with a continuously variable gear system, and a 4-speed Suzuki motorbike that I loved (heck, top gear was overdrive with a 0.94 drive ratio!) - all of which were 100cc and about 10hp each! Since this was back in India, I second nematode's and chikoo's comments about driving there - it really makes you appreciate what you have here in the US by way of road and traffic conditions, and choice of cars!
Its scary (but fun and exciting) to drive my parents' car in India whenever I visit! For the curious (or car buffs), they drive a Daewoo Matiz 5 speed, take a look at the Matiz at
http://www.daewooindia.com/
Neato little box car that zips in and out of traffic, and looks cute and feels great doing it! Heck, for India's driving conditions, it handles like a champ, just like our Protege's here!
The best cars I have had:
89 Ford Taurus I got for FREE with 101k. I put 57k on it before I traded it in on the Protege.
90 3000 GT VR4 I got in 95 with 110k. Cost me a couple of grand to have the turbos rebuilt but it was worth it. I beat the hell out of that car for 2 years then sold it.
You got it!!
IF you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere else.
Why?
'cause you learn to be 100% attentive when behind the steering wheel..or else....
I have definitely slowed down alot since my 2 stops within a week of each other. And my fuel economy went up too, so I can't complain about that.
Scooters -- Well, you just sent me on a trip down nostalgia lane! I had two -- a 1985 Honda Aero 80 (80 cc) and a 1987 Honda Elite 150 (we'll let you guess the engine size).
Man, that Elite 150 was one hell of a ride! I used it all through college -- VERY easy to find a parking space even at an urban college -- between two people who left too small a gap for a car but large enough for a bike! That thing had the continuously variable transmission you're talking about -- also had fuel and temp gauges, a very usable glovebox, and to my astonishment when I got curious and opened the "hood" (which even had a tiny hood prop, LOL!) -- not only did it have a small radiator in front; it also had a thermostatic little radiator fan!
That scooter would do 60 mph at flat-out throttle, which made it fine for urban commuting, it would beat just about anything from a stoplight, and I could cruise around all weekend on $1.50 in fuel! Heck, it only held about 2 gallons of gas and got 70 mpg. I sold it to a friend in 1992 and I just saw it the other day, still bright red and snazzy, in his back yard! I want it back ...
Meade
PF
Yes, my first car was a 1978 Toyota Corolla. My purchase made my older brother jealous, because "he" was the older one and "he" was supposed to do all the "firsts" -- and he was still driving my mom's old 1978 Pontiac sedan at the time. So the brotherly competition game began, and he arrived home one day in a newer-than-my-Toyota-but-still-used Volvo. At this time I'd had the Corolla for 8 whole months.
Not to be outdone, I decided it was time to indulge in my "dream" car at the time -- a car I had read all about and was impressed with all of its safety and technology traits. I went out in September 1985 and purchased a walnut-brown (nearly black) 1980 SAAB 900 GLi. It was the first full year for the new SAAB 900 series -- something that should've sent red flags up. But being only 20 years old, I was wearing blinders. The car had 70,000 miles on it.
Let's face it -- the car was COOL. It was a 3-door, and the previous owner had outfitted it with Shelby gold spoke wheels and Pirelli P8s. It had the rubber rear spoiler that all the turbocharged 3-doors had. (Mine was just a 2.0-liter 4, no turbo.) It had a killer Blaupunkt stereo system in it. The former owner had even installed European headlights in it -- and in 1985, these non-sealed-beam, 100-watt headlights were illegal in my state. But no one noticed -- except oncoming traffic when I had my high beams on!!!
The first time I saw the car, I really should have noticed that it had a rebuilt transmission and a new paint job. Why would a 5-year-old, 70,000-mile European sports sedan need that stuff? I found out later the original owner was the 18-year-old, snot-nosed son of a local doctor. Ah, that explains it. But I bought it.
OK. I've had the car 2 months, and I'm leaving the Blue Ridge Parkway in southwest Virginia. I'm descending a 4,000-foot mountain on my way back to Roanoke, taking one of those twisty 3-lane roads down the mountainside. I'm using my 4-speed manual transmission to help the car brake -- then I touch the brakes. All of a sudden this SAAB sounds and feels like Apollo 11 at re-entry. My brake pedal felt like the button on a coffee grinder. I ground to a halt and discovered that the brake pad clips on my left front wheel had gone bye-bye, and I had just stopped the car by forcing the BRAKE CALIPER into the rotor!!! I limped home and paid $400 for new rotor, caliper, pads, etc. (Remember, this was a SAAB from SWEDEN. Let's talk about parts prices!)
Two months later. I'm sitting at a traffic light in suburban Richmond. The light turns green. Clutch and into first. Accelerate. Clutch and into sec--- WHHHIIIIRRRRRRRCLUNK!!! The car was now locked in second gear. After a nice ride on a flatbed trailer, we find that a "needle bearing" in my transmission had slipped, causing the 1-inch solid steel main shaft on my transmission to twist like a Twizzler -- an effect that then proceeded to take out most of the rest of the transmission. $1,800 later, I'm back on the road.
Spring 1996. My "check engine" light comes on. I'm at about 85,000 miles. Oxygen sensor, right? Yessir -- $350 for my SAAB. And oh, by the way sir, your rear main seal is leaking. Is that serious? Well, it could leak slowly forever, or it could blow and kill your engine at any time. Oh, did I mention I was on vacation at Virginia Beach? I was there for a week, and my SAAB spent most of that week at SAAB of Virginia Beach. Another $500.
One week later. I'm heading home from the beach, sunburned and broke. I notice some fluid actually coming UP my hood from the front of the car. I stop and find all my oil on the engine. Guess what? Rear main seal installed wrong at the dealership! Another tow BACK to Virginia Beach and a ride home from a friend -- just to have to come BACK two days later to pick up my car again!
Summer 1986. Have had the car 10 months. I notice a rattle under the hood. I take it in to my local service department. I've got a bad timing chain. No sir, these things usually don't need replacing -- they can be adjusted. But yours is scraping on the engine shield and may have damaged it. Service manager's recommendation? The cost of the repair will probably exceed the car's value. Sell the car -- NOW.
I did. You know, I keep telling people that that car was the most comfortable, fun-to-drive car I've ever had. And it probably was. But in 10 months I spent over $3,000 on repairs on a car that was only 5 years old and had 90,000 miles on it. (By comparison, my first car, the Toyota, had 92,800 miles on it when I BOUGHT it and was running like the proverbial top when I traded it on the SAAB at 115,000 miles.)
Maybe that's why I was so impressed when I drove my 1992 Protege 83,000 miles and never had to do a thing to it but preventive maintenance, and why -- with a 2000 Protege that just turned 26,000 yesterday -- I'm zoom-zoom-zooming merrily along!
Meade
The VR4 I had for a while was a total money pit. First rebuilt turbos, then the addiction started....turbo timer, intake, exhaust, boost controller, headers....I think I'm going to cry. Luckily NOS was not all that big then or I would have had that too. Reliability was never a problem with that car even though it was a first year model. I sold it when the suspension needed work and I wanted to go to grad school. Its not a good car to own without a job.
In nine days I'll be picking up my '01 ES. While it's not a Porsche, it will be my first new car.
Then a '96 Maxima SE - fast quiet and stealthy.
Now the ES 2.0 GT - a bit of a step down from the Max but I sure feel good about saving the 15K, and every time I go for gas (not as often)...
cp