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Ford's 65MPG Due In November, But Not In the US
computermesh writes "Ford has a vehicle that gets 65MPG and will not be released in the US. Why? Because they can not afford to! 'Ford's 2009 Fiesta ECOnetic goes on sale in November. But here's the catch: Despite the car's potential to transform Ford's image and help it compete with Toyota Motor (TM) and Honda Motor (HMC) in its home market, the company will sell the little fuel sipper only in Europe. "We know it's an awesome vehicle," says Ford America President Mark Fields. "But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.'"
Well, I bike to work. So that makes me an even better person than you!
Translation: If we don't keep America hooked on expensive impulse-bought gas-guzzling behemoths bought on credit by a busy soccer mom who fantasizes that a bigger vehicle will keep her precious snowflakes safe, who will?
(Disclaimer: I am American.)
Can someone explain the logic in taking a fast speed, slowing it down to just a slightly slower but still fast speed, and making people slow down when the construction itself is over a 100 feet from the interstate, with concrete barriers blocking the interstate from the construction?
Sure. A union. That's half a dozen *more* jobs at that particular construction site (unnecessary people directing traffic).
The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein
""But there are business reasons why we can't sell it in the U.S." The main one: The Fiesta ECOnetic runs on diesel.'"
The above statement is crap. The real reason they won't sell it here is because the engine is manufactured in the UK, apparently the cost for the engine is so high because of labour rates, and the rest of the car's bits are made throughout the EU. Which means they would get slaughtered on the exchange rate and couldn't sell the car here for less than $25,000 US. If that inbred hick in the Whitehouse would get off his ass and do something about the dollar's poor performance relative to the Euro, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Sig this!
And how do you magically know that I'm not where I need to be for a good reason? You don't. And by the way, I am. So don't criticize what you don't understand.
i am a soviet space shuttle
Why exactly am I an ass for being irked that I was nearly hit not once but twice in a DECELERATION EXIT-ONLY LANE by a driver exceeding the legal limit by at least 20 miles per hour? I was driving legally. Pencildick was not.
And I am sick and tired of internet strangers magically thinking they were there, are qualified to make judgments about why I am in the lane I am in and automatically assume I should not be there. I obey the laws -- all of them -- and I don't think I deserve to be judged by people who weren't there who automatically think they have a right to snark and make assumptions about what happened. You were not there, you have no right to judge me, and I am not going to say anything more than I was in the right place at the right time. Oh, by the way, "passing on the right" can and does include passing on the shoulder or on on and off ramps. Did your self-righteous attitude include those possibilities?
You were not there. I was. I am speaking from firsthand knowledge that I did nothing wrong. Your foot is placed firmly in your mouth. Hope you like the taste of that crap on the bottom of your shoe.
Yet another example of "if anyone dares to bitch about me-first drivers, they must be doing something wrong".
i am a soviet space shuttle
You apparently read right past the part where I explained that not only do hypermilers not drive below the speed limit most of the time, but YOU are responsible for not hitting cars in front of you. There is a reason that it is automatically your fault if you rear-end someone.
As for the bullshit you spew in your second paragraph, since you are I-Was-Not-There-But-I'm-Going-To-Lecture-You Internet Asshole #2, I'm just going to refer you to my comment no. #25020179 and you can shove your snark up your ass. In most civilized countries, using a deceleration lane AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE USED would be respected, and someone obeying the rules regarding decleration lanes would not even be nearly hit ONCE, let alone TWICE.
i am a soviet space shuttle
And what case would that be? You have no grounds to snark at me and you know it. Just let it go already. Is it really that important to you to try to look better than a total stranger? Go find something else to snark at where you actually have grounds to argue.
i am a soviet space shuttle
So you automatically judge people based on what they drive? I see. So that must mean that everyone with a Honda is a ricer, too, doesn't it? After all, there's a lot of ricers out there in Civics, so all Civic drivers must be ricers, right? My family owned a Civic for a long time (we drove it for over a decade, then sold it, and I still see it around, so it's not dead yet 20 years on). Yet, we're not ricers.
Yes, it's a good idea to anticipate what someone ahead of you will do -- but you should do that based on their behavior, not what they drive.
i am a soviet space shuttle
Translation: Wah, I'm a cry baby.
After all, I am strangely colored.
You're not much for reading the whole thread before posting, are you?
i am a soviet space shuttle
Such incisive wit. It almost makes want to yell "BUUUUURN". Almost.
After all, I am strangely colored.
Go look up 'deceleration' and how it applies to exit lanes and try again. And yet again you're making a judgmental comment about me even though you were never there. I'm not a slow driver. I'm a very average driver. But you couldn't possibly know that without being there, could you? Nope, you're just another internet asshole who thinks all-caps self-righteous judgmental snark is warranted.
You also seem to think that everything you don't like is a conspiracy to steal your money never mind the fact that there is probably a good reason for the low limit; why don't you ASK the local roads department? I'm sure they'd explain to you if you did. And you know what? You won't get a ticket if you don't break the law.
i am a soviet space shuttle
Did the police actually tell you that? (And even if they did, how do you know they didn't make it up because they, like so many people these days, think it's cool to sneer at anyone who does something good for the environment?)
Did they, or the paper you looked at, tell you how the limits are actually chosen? Did they explain why the limits might be different at times?
Also, yes, there are recommended limits for particular types of road, but there can be circumstances that apply to specific roads that cause limits to be higher or lower on those roads but not on others of the same class -- presence of or lack of sight distances, lots of intersecting streets or driveways, whether there are center turn lanes, etc. etc. Lots of things can have an influence on the limits. You can't say "the limit is XX on the road over there, this looks like the same kind of road, so I'll go XX when I'm on this road, even though the limit says YY." If it's lower, there is probably a good reason for it.
Real speed traps are easy to detect (sharp drops in limit for a short time, suddenly, often on a downhill slope, for instance), but when you see a lower limit than might be expected without the signs of a speed trap, it probably isn't one.
It's also not unknown that cops don't go after everyone, but "everyone does it" won't get you out of a ticket -- the cop will just say "we can't catch them all".
i am a soviet space shuttle
No, you missed the part where he's a self-centered prick. He complains that passing on the right is not legal, but he still drives in the left lane at less than the speed of traffic - which means that he is deliberately driving in a way to prevent people from passing him, because he is the king of the road.