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elsiesvg said:
Well done to the Germans for fighting this sort of thing. In France people just tend to take things lying down, and then end up all surprised to find their personal freedoms severely impaired.
France is a beautiful and wonderful country (and I say this as an American, who also has the same high opinion of Germany), but I was once told by French officials (government officials and senior private sector executives) that the French people put a lot of faith in their government officials. Why this may be justified in some things, I would think that the citizens of France should spend more time thinking for themselves and not buying into (or believing) everything told them by the government of France.
Can you imagine the quality of cars coming out of Europe if both France, the UK, and Italy also ended speed limits on most portions of their super-highways? That type of action would get the politicians in the U.S. to: 1) require that better interstate highways are built in the U.S; 2) that speed limits, for those in the left lane, be unlimited on interstate highways; and, 3) that drivers get a special license to enable them to travel at the higher unlimited speeds legally in the left lane (that is, applying - if I remember my German correctly, "recht-fahren," to U.S. interstate highways). The latter would provide loads of work for folks in building better U.S. roads and a superior internal, land-based, transportation system. And it would ultimately lead to vastly improved U.S. - made cars, as U.S. manufacturers would have to produce better-performing cars to survive.
For those worried about the cost of fuel, my response is "so what?" The cost of fuel drives improvements in fuel economy and, of course, engine efficiency. And if you can't afford the fuel, get a car that uses less fuel and probably doesn't perform like a Porsche or a Ferrari. If gasoline prices in the U.S. reached $10-15 U.S. per gallon (given the current level of prices for other goods in the U.S.), I might even consider selling my 911S for an "econo-box.
Just a few "opinionated," but based in fact, thoughts.
The bottom line is that Porsche should not be "cowed" by Angela Merkel or EU politicians into turning its cars into "gutless wonders," which would end up helping no one.
Jim
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