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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.)
You're not much for reading the whole thread before posting, are you?
i am a soviet space shuttle
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