Speed (the lack of)

79.jpgHere’s a funny thing. Thanks to technology and globalisation life is speeding up. But some things are actually slowing down. Traffic speeds in London are now slower than they were fifty years ago. The new VW Golf GTi is slower than the mark 1 GTi and the new ‘super jumbo’ jet is slower than the original. Back on the roads we have governments trying to slow us down whilst we are buying faster cars. Hence the boom in private ‘track days’ for owners of high performance vehicles (because where else can you drive them at full speed?). Ideas for slowing cars down on the other hand include roads with no road markings (apparently they reduce speed and accidents) and sentencing qualified drivers to L-Plates. Is this the end of driving for pleasure? It certainly looks like the beginning of the end.

5 thoughts on “Speed (the lack of)

  1. Very interesting. I just came across this http://site.dragtag.com.au/ It’s a company in Melbourne, Australia that allows you to race your own car on a virtual circuit by using rolling roads and a no doubt a complex system of pulleys and lasers.

  2. Interesting post.. Nothing is perfect.. One improvement may lead to something better and something worse.. I guess the invention of cars seems to have caused too much traffic.. If you want to drive for pleasure, you might want to take the race track instead.. Just kidding!

  3. Depends on how fast you drive your car. I guess it’s not everyday that you drive your car up to top speed. I agree with Camille, if you want speed driving then the race track is the best place to do it.

  4. There must be a good reason why car manufacturers is slowing the speed of the cars. Accident is one of the main reasons and second, I don’t agree that pleasure driving means driving at high speeds. It’s not pleasure you’re seeking, it is adrenaline rush. So i suggest you engage in something else like bungee jumping or extreme sports to get that same kind of high.

  5. Cars are getting closer and closer to driving themselves these days!
    Thank goodness for cars like the Challenger, old school muscle reinvented!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *