fast1

All cars in EU will require speed limiters by 2022: https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/27/tech/...utm_term=image

Will California be far behind and then the rest of the US?

garfunkle

Speed has never killed anyone in a car. This is dumb.






It's the sudden stop that gets you.

minthral

Might happen in liberal regulation lovin CA, but not all of a'mukra.

I travel to EU plenty and US has a completely different mindset on things. Capitalistic freedom.

mikeearly

The last sentence in that article is key.... "The EU rules must now be formally approved by member states and the European Parliament."

Peter80

Exactly. Also, that's for new models introduced from 2022. Existing models can continue in production until 2024. Plus, you'll be able to over-ride it by hitting the accelerator. And, like our stop-go engine cut off button, you'll be able to turn it off, albeit it'll default to on every time you go back to the car. Poor old EU get's a lot of stick. Could actually be quite useful when going through the UK's dreadful average speed cameras and the cruise control is so irritating when you have to keep 'resuming' it when car in front slows you down. I would probably do a mod to disconnect it though.

Peter80

I'm not so sure. Might only be with guns. Remember the EPA in the 'seventies. Destroyed British sports cars by making us redesign them with big rubber bumpers or make them triangle shaped to meet your regs. Then of course there was the catalytic converter I think you guys were first with.....

fast1

Obviously beauty is subjective, but the Triumphs of the 1950s and 1960s were among the most beautiful sports cars ever made. Then the 5 MPH front bumper standard was introduced, and the beautiful Triumphs instantly became hideous. So Triumph sales fell precipitously and the two Triumph dealers in my area closed within five years. A certainty is that there are politicians in this country who would enthusiastically support speed limiters from safety and air pollution perspectives. The 2020 election will be the key. If a liberal blue wave sweeps the country, then anything is possible.

Denny Swift

I wish I could share your optimism. This is guaranteed to be mandated in the US. The only possible caveat is if it’s implemented in the EU and the fatality rate doesn’t drop. However, even if that happened for some crazy reason, they would just make stricter laws that we would then implement here. Political party is 100% irrelevant on this issue. Everyone in government has bought into autonomous cars, and the general public isn’t going to fight against a law that will save 10,000 lives/year because the new law prevents people from breaking the old law that most people ignore. Autonomous cars will certainly prevent speeds greater than the speed limit. This law on non-autonomous cars is just a small step toward inevitably. The idea of a car not having a speed control will be as foreign as a car without seatbelts, airbags, crumple zones, TPMs, and backup cameras. On top of all that, vehicle location and speed will be observable to any government agency who wants to watch via the gps systems.

J**2

just more reason to have my 911 NOW
im 60 and plan to drive my baby till the wheels fall off. By the time all of this becomes reality I won’t be able to drive anyway.

dkhm3

The rich do plenty fine here in CA, sir.
Lots of Lambo, Ferrari, Porsche dealerships to choose from.
Lived here almost all my life and traveled quite a bit too, still lots of small businesses and innovation going on in socialist CA.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Peter80

For each of my last three Porsches I've told the wife 'This one will see me out'.

Wujohn

I read the bold typed section in the voice of the villain from the Matrix. Fitting, I think.

stout

So much doom and gloom. I am not buying into it.

As for the environmental laws of the 1970s, yes, they made for some bad cars back then—but their move toward efficiency via total burn paved the way to O2 sensors, which paved the way to the current (and long) golden age of the automobile. Similar lines can be drawn with regards to the ugly bumpers of the 1970s driven by safety legislation that has undoubtedly saved a LOT of lives...and eventually led to integrated PU bumpers, which allow greater styling freedom.

As for the speed limiters, that last line is critical—as is the idea that they can be overridden. Perspective from Europe is critical, too. Last time I was in Stuttgart for a week, I was surprised at how un-fun it is to drive around its sprawling streets and thoroughfares. Speed limits vary widely, and there are 5-10 types of speed cameras all over the place waiting to nab you, even for small overages. 30, 50, 30, 50, 70, 30, 50, 30, etc. I found myself driving for cameras, and looking for them, rather than driving for safety—it was so awful I found myself understanding why Porsche execs in Stuttgart think PDK is totally superior period, and also thinking that I'd happily accept a bug red button I could hit that would limit my speed in various parts of town to whatever the posted limit is. It really was that tedious–and that's saying something. We don't know how good we have it. Go down to LA and the flow is well past the limit, enforcement is pretty chill so far as I can see (except certain spots, usually for good reason), and our speed limits (or at least, actual speeds) are often quite a bit higher than in Germany.

I remember when a German engineer asked where I was from, then said, "The U.S.? Pity, as you have no good roads to enjoy our cars on." I chuckled, as...autobahn aside, I think we have better roads for pleasure driving. Wider, typically, with shoulders that allow for a chosen line without going into the other lane. Typically reasonable dirt shoulders instead of white plastic pegs right next to the road. A lot of land, even (or especially?) in CA with a LOT of roads vs a much smaller country with fewer ways to cross a given stretch. More great roads to nowhere. A lot more. Only thing we give away is the autobahn, which to be honest, doesn't do a lot for me after getting over the initial novelty. Do wish we could run at 100-140 mph on long trips when safe, but we've still got it pretty good—and I see less threatening what we have here in the U.S. than I see threatening what they have in Europe. France, for instance, has really changed. Some other EU countries, as well, I'm told.

Peter80

So true. And every time a new model range is introduced, not only Porsche, horse power is increased.

As said above, our average speed cameras are a big problem here. Cruise control isn't any good usually so speed limiter would be useful. So long as you can turn it off. Also, horror stories on lane control above but on our RR Evoke, all it does is give you a visual warning on the display. You can turn off the audible warning. Certainly doesn't take over your steering wheel.

jfischet

well said, stout ^^^