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Mar 10, 2019 11:04:13 GMT
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It seems that Volvo will limit all it's cars to 112mph from next year on. linkNow that doesn't really bother me because I can't afford a new Volvo (or any other new car) and don't really want one, and I'm not really into driving fast anyway. but I imagine a lot of people will get annoyed about this. Volvo is generally a leader in safety related care design which everyone else takes on as industry standard so will this become another one? On the other hand, in the real world there's nowhere in Britain or most other countries where you can actually drive that fast on roads, so does acceleration actually make more difference to enthusiastic drivers than flat out top speed? In compensation for this modern car content, have a picture of some retro rides that are supposed to be slow. Ventura Nationals by howard gribble, on Flickr
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The End Of Fast Cars?BenzBoy
@benzboy
Club Retro Rides Member 7
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Mar 10, 2019 11:34:47 GMT
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I wonder if this restriction will also apply to their sporty Polestar brand? Or whether that will be used as a point of difference between the two brands.
Also it will be interesting to see how this affects their sales in Germany where some autobahns are without speed limit. I can't see some German business exec being happy that his S90 tops out at 112 while his colleague's 5 series sails onwards.
Also, top speeds are most times about potential. People who own cars capable of 150mph+ rarely drive the car to its max speed... in many parts of the UK it's hard to get a stretch of road clear enough to do so, and with more motorways becoming "smart" (i.e.: constantly monitored by speed cameras) you just can't get away with driving fast like you used to. But people like to have the potential to do it... even if they never do.
Perhaps acceleration will become the big performance selling point in future. Electric cars are good at tear-your-face-off 0-60 times after all...
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Last Edit: Mar 10, 2019 11:37:11 GMT by BenzBoy
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Mar 10, 2019 11:57:36 GMT
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Like you say - in the real world there aren’t really any places you can drive fast without camera’s...don’t I don’t think it’s going to matter to a lot of people.
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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The End Of Fast Cars?luckyseven
@luckyseven
Club Retro Rides Member 45
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Mar 10, 2019 12:59:49 GMT
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Human evolution is turning backwards. Instead of the pioneer conquering spirit that took us to every furthest extreme of the planet and asked "how fast can I do this?" How hard? How far? How much work can I put into it, how much blood and toil? we have replaced with; How safe can we make it? How can we do it by offending the fewest people? ...or, worse yet, why bother when I could just stare at my phone instead? When the apocalypse comes we'll have a human race who can't even remember how to make original fire. with said said, I don't care about speed limited Volvos. My engine is currently limited to about 80 by dint of being utterly feeble and the gearbox runs out of cogs at about 82 anyway Remember, kids, if it saves just one life it's worth it
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luckyseven
Posted a lot
Owning sneering dismissive pedantry since 1970
Posts: 3,839
Club RR Member Number: 45
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The End Of Fast Cars?luckyseven
@luckyseven
Club Retro Rides Member 45
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Mar 10, 2019 13:02:26 GMT
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Mar 10, 2019 13:28:54 GMT
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getting up to speed has been good but now I am old most of the time I think how it will hurt my fuel usage, top speed has never bothered me, never impressed me when looking at car specs
I value my licence over many things things in life.
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Mar 10, 2019 13:37:18 GMT
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I don't see it as a bad thing, what does concern me is the fact for a lot of people owning a car will come toa n end
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Mar 10, 2019 13:45:43 GMT
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quite unlikely it'll be the end of anything, I recall most J imports back int he day had a 112 mph speed limiter. Fantastically amusing creeping past a mate in his Pulsar, in a 1.5 diesel pug 106 pegged on the governor
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Last Edit: Mar 10, 2019 13:45:55 GMT by welshpug
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Mar 10, 2019 14:12:50 GMT
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As has been said elsewhere, this is more thank likely just a tool to extending range on EVs as Volvo looks to get up to speed (yes, intended) on that front. It won't mean the end of anything - some people still want to be the fastest, as Koenigsegg and other companies keep reminding us.
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The End Of Fast Cars?Mercdan68
@forddan68
Club Retro Rides Member 68
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Mar 10, 2019 14:17:13 GMT
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Anything that can stop the idiots in BMW’s or Mercedes hope these manufacturers follow volvo Driving flat out on motorways is a bad thing in my opinion A lot of these people think they are indestructible In There metal boxes, top speed has never bothered me A nice mint clean car is enough for me Manufacturers need to restrict cars to sort out the carnage we see most days on the m25 and other major routes Penance rant over
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Last Edit: Mar 10, 2019 14:31:28 GMT by Mercdan68
Fraud owners club member 1999 Jaguar s type 1993 ford escort
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Rob M
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,915
Club RR Member Number: 41
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The End Of Fast Cars?Rob M
@zeb
Club Retro Rides Member 41
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Mar 10, 2019 14:46:20 GMT
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To be fair, much of the carnage on our roads is down to bad driving, bad decision making and driving at the wrong speed for the road conditions. Excessive speed is only one factor and that stat is dwarfed by the sheer volume of incidents caused by the former. Speed limiting may well suit Volvo but it would be the death sentence to the likes of Porsche, Ferrari, Jaguar,Aston Martin and all other models made and sold based on their ability to perform at high speeds. That in itself does not mean that buyers will drive the cars like maniacs, it is merely a statement of power in the pecking order of car ownership. That has been about since we rode horses and Lord Derby decided that we needed to see who had the fastest one.... Ultimately, if compelled to do so by legislation, it would lead to the end of some marques, the end of some premium models ( like BMWs high end performance models) and will be catastrophic for an industry that employs directly and indirectly millions of people across the globe. We have seen what the diesel death knell has done to sales,investment and jobs, it would be bog all compared to what will come if Volvos business decision is both applauded by the naive and adopted by the political establishment as another green/safety policy. Mind you , the second hand car market that would predate limiters would go through the roof.😊
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Mar 10, 2019 15:01:03 GMT
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Surely that is standard on the Japanese Domestic Market anyway? Hence the cottage industry of by-passing or remapping to remove the limit?
Mine is electronically limited to 155. I have never tried to hit VMax - 140 for a brief burst is the most I've done.
Once.
For about 30 seconds.
I quickly realised my talent and aging reflexes limits LONG before the car.
Surely it's better for the manufacturers to head off the green beans at the pass by voluntarily fitting an easily defeated 'soft' limiter at a fairly high 112mph rather than let them push legislators to force hard limiters at something silly like 140kph?
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Mar 10, 2019 16:18:55 GMT
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In some strange way, the thought of living in a post apocalyptic world appeals to me more & more each day
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Mar 10, 2019 16:41:51 GMT
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the techy nerds will bypass that in no time flat...
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'80 s1 924 turbo..hibernating '80 golf gli cabriolet...doing impression of a skip '97 pug 106 commuter...continuing cheapness making me smile!
firm believer in the k.i.s.s and f.i.s.h principles.
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andyborris
Posted a lot
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.
Posts: 2,161
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Mar 10, 2019 18:53:54 GMT
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Fantastically amusing creeping past a mate in his Pulsar, in a 1.5 diesel pug 106 pegged on the governor I think I brought that car after you'd sold it, because the one I brought popped it's head gasket not long into ownership......
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Mar 10, 2019 21:04:13 GMT
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Interesting comment about acceleration being more important than top speed in the real world these days.
At work we have just got a couple of Renault Zoe(s). Yeah, that's what we thought....
BUT. We all love them now! The acceleration is hilarious. Nobody expects a little, girly, city car to be quick off the lights. Blowing off nobhead types in their expensive new BMs and Audis is great fun!
Electricity! It's the future....
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Mar 10, 2019 21:06:51 GMT
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Volvo are doing this to make sure their 'no-one will die in our cars' claim is possible- ie they're basically saying their cars are safe up to 112mph - after that not so much. Polestar, from what I gather is not going to be limited to 112, so will maintain the sportier image. 70mph is the UK limit, (aka 77mph) so anything beyond that is just d*ck measuring anyway.
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Mar 10, 2019 22:55:05 GMT
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"70mph is the UK limit, (aka 77mph) so anything beyond that is just d*ck measuring anyway."
Apart from in countries/states with higher/no limits and when passing slower traffic and getting back on one's own side of the road as quickly as possible.
Speed limiting would definitely be a bad thing if it included power limiting and therefore reduced the available acceleration rate.
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Mar 10, 2019 23:05:54 GMT
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My daily can only reach 60 mph, and I think that is enough for me.
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194? Willys Jeep MB 1965 Volvo 544 Special 1968 Opel Rekord 1975 Opel Kadett Estate 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E 1985 Datsun 720 King Cab 4x4 diesel 1997 Volvo S70 2.5SE (ex. "Volvo544special65" - changed to more reader friendly username. )
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Mar 11, 2019 12:39:59 GMT
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"70mph is the UK limit, (aka 77mph) so anything beyond that is just d*ck measuring anyway." Apart from in countries/states with higher/no limits and when passing slower traffic and getting back on one's own side of the road as quickly as possible. I got a lift across Germany on autobahns 3 years ago in a modern motor, the driver warned that even if driving at 150mph you need to pull in as soon as you've finished overtaking in case you get a 200+mph supercar coming up fast behind you Restricting *anything* over there sounds like a dangerous idea. I decided not to take my "cruising speed is 60mph" daily there a year later
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