Concrete would wear car and truck tires out much quicker than asphalt, as it is far more abrasive.
As well, asphalt is mixed specifically to increase the traction of tires in a variety of climates and weather, so those benefits would be lost with concrete roads.
One could argue that it should be up to the tire companies to propose a change and a solution, but this is the system we have, and we're probably stuck with it forever.
We had a similar occurence, here in Canada, during our Federal elections. We had a televised debate where every "major" party's leader was invited to debate on live television. Jim Harris' Green Party (which has candidates in EVERY riding in Canada, and a serious and complete political platform) was not invited.
The Bloc Quebecois, however, WAS invited to join, even though they are a FEDERAL political party that a) is a seperatist party and wants Canada's federation to fail, and b) only has candidates in Quebec. Go figure.
I wrote to the CBC and expressed my disgust at this obvious sham, and they gave me some fluff answer about how the Greens weren't invited because the media and the major parties had an agreement to appear together blah blah blah; basically, "they can't play with us because we don't like 'em".
People around here keep confusing the Greens with the Bloc Pot (Marijuana Party - I live in Montreal, btw) because they are so mis-informed about the whole thing. Part of that, in fact a MAJOR part of that, is the "serious" news agencies' vehement refusal to give them any space to try and sell themselves.
In the Montreal Gazette the other week when Putin declared he was going to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, there was a story about major pollution producing nations, and it pointed out that while we don't pollute much (quantity of it), Canadians, as a nation, use more resources per capita than most nations in the planet. Kinda makes me feel ashamed; I thought we were doing pretty well with our general pollution consciousness and recycling programs (not as well as Germany, but then again, who DOES do as well as the Germans?!).
We currently recycle about 14% of our waste, as opposed to Germany's (I think) 68%. Gotta love Germans!
Actually, the proper term is "emergency brake", as some "handbrakes" (your term, which is actually North American "slang", thank you very much, you British Person) are foot-operated here on a few cars. I've even read Top Gear and BMW Car, which both use either term, though "e-brake" is proper.
In addition, the steering lock won't operate until the key is retracted from the steering column switch. It is a physical mechanism, not electronic.
Don't underestimate the strength of the e-brake wires in a modern car. Those which still have mechanical (as opposed to hydraulic or electrohydraulic) e-brake circuits have proper components which are designed to take much worse application than any human could generate.
In fact, the greater danger would be the rear wheels locking up. The Vel Satis is a front-drive car, which means the rear wheels would probably lock up on that car on the highway, and would therefore neutralize any traction the rear end would provide.
In addition, I believe it is illegal, as well as illogical, to program an automatic transmission NOT to shift to Neutral, in any circumstance, when the driver asks for it.
I saw a Charlie Rose show this week, and George Lucas was his guest for the hour. Therein, they, obviously, spoke of Star Wars.
Lucas mentioned how he wanted to make a movie that was just like opening the middle of a book and seeing what happens for a while (not verbatim, merely the gist), and that he didn't originally intend to make more than one movie. However, he wrote quite a bit more than he anticipated, and so made the other two to finish that story.
The Ep. 1, 2 and 3 movies were just to frame the latter trilogy in the Star Wars universe.
Here's the most interesting part: George Lucas himself said that now he wants to move on. He only made Ep's 1, 2 and 3 because the oportunity presented itself. He is DONE with Star Wars, and will now move on and do new things he's always wanted to do.
There's a difference between "socialIZED" and "socialIST" that you should be made aware of. As far as I know, there's no ISM in our social programs....
My friends and I used to have a joke about this in high school. We used to say that Americans would attempt to invade Canada, but since we're *always* stuck under a blanket of permafrost and ice, the Americans would keep driving North until they eventually found snow, all the way up in the Arctic Circle, thus having missed every major city in the country.
Of course, getting back home would be another story entirely, as there'd be more than a millimetre of snow on the roads, you'd all go careening off into the pine trees and die in horrible crashes.
Has anyone in the car industry really given any thought to how stupid it is to use telematics in a car? I mean, I'm sure we can all agree that blabbing on a mobile phone while driving is one of the stupidest things a driver can do, and yet every year there is a new car with even more ways to cram some kind of phone feature (or, in Europe, even television!) into a car... it's like they're trying as hard as they can to get the driver to stop looking at the road so they'll have a crash and be forced to use the telematics feature to call the emergency services! I wonder if MS will get paid on a per-use basis?
Also, I'm not sure exactly how thrilled I would be to turn my radio on in the car and get a message that the "required device is malfuncioning or has not been installed". Imagine attempting to use the horn in an emergency, only to be told that it is "currently unavailable"! You'd crash the car, and hours later, with the car on a tow truck, the horn would blare and scare the bejeesus out of the truck driver, sending HIM into a crash....
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As well, asphalt is mixed specifically to increase the traction of tires in a variety of climates and weather, so those benefits would be lost with concrete roads.
One could argue that it should be up to the tire companies to propose a change and a solution, but this is the system we have, and we're probably stuck with it forever.
Or they could have just faxed it around like the CIBC was doing, to random numbers, with customer info.
We had a similar occurence, here in Canada, during our Federal elections. We had a televised debate where every "major" party's leader was invited to debate on live television. Jim Harris' Green Party (which has candidates in EVERY riding in Canada, and a serious and complete political platform) was not invited.
The Bloc Quebecois, however, WAS invited to join, even though they are a FEDERAL political party that a) is a seperatist party and wants Canada's federation to fail, and b) only has candidates in Quebec. Go figure.
I wrote to the CBC and expressed my disgust at this obvious sham, and they gave me some fluff answer about how the Greens weren't invited because the media and the major parties had an agreement to appear together blah blah blah; basically, "they can't play with us because we don't like 'em".
People around here keep confusing the Greens with the Bloc Pot (Marijuana Party - I live in Montreal, btw) because they are so mis-informed about the whole thing. Part of that, in fact a MAJOR part of that, is the "serious" news agencies' vehement refusal to give them any space to try and sell themselves.
http://www.greenparty.ca/
We currently recycle about 14% of our waste, as opposed to Germany's (I think) 68%. Gotta love Germans!
In addition, the steering lock won't operate until the key is retracted from the steering column switch. It is a physical mechanism, not electronic.
In fact, the greater danger would be the rear wheels locking up. The Vel Satis is a front-drive car, which means the rear wheels would probably lock up on that car on the highway, and would therefore neutralize any traction the rear end would provide.
In addition, I believe it is illegal, as well as illogical, to program an automatic transmission NOT to shift to Neutral, in any circumstance, when the driver asks for it.
Lucas mentioned how he wanted to make a movie that was just like opening the middle of a book and seeing what happens for a while (not verbatim, merely the gist), and that he didn't originally intend to make more than one movie. However, he wrote quite a bit more than he anticipated, and so made the other two to finish that story.
The Ep. 1, 2 and 3 movies were just to frame the latter trilogy in the Star Wars universe.
Here's the most interesting part: George Lucas himself said that now he wants to move on. He only made Ep's 1, 2 and 3 because the oportunity presented itself. He is DONE with Star Wars, and will now move on and do new things he's always wanted to do.
And don't get me started on the price of Lego!
There's a difference between "socialIZED" and "socialIST" that you should be made aware of. As far as I know, there's no ISM in our social programs....
At least we can find ourselves on a map! :)
Of course, getting back home would be another story entirely, as there'd be more than a millimetre of snow on the roads, you'd all go careening off into the pine trees and die in horrible crashes.
Also, I'm not sure exactly how thrilled I would be to turn my radio on in the car and get a message that the "required device is malfuncioning or has not been installed". Imagine attempting to use the horn in an emergency, only to be told that it is "currently unavailable"! You'd crash the car, and hours later, with the car on a tow truck, the horn would blare and scare the bejeesus out of the truck driver, sending HIM into a crash....
The possibilities are just endless!
Wornstrom: Now we'll see who gets an A minus!
Just imagine what you'd have to tell the doctors at the emergency room!
Scientist No. 2 (peppering his food): Oh, dear.