Edgy01

Is it just me, or is all this research, engineering, and new car design and construction a waste of time? We have some of the most incredible super cars today, yet our roadway infrastructure is returning to the days of the horse and buggy. There are certain parts of my state that I dare not visit, for fear of doing more and more damage to my cars.

Balr14

Try driving in SE Wisconsin. I drive my C2S about 175 miles per month because I can't use it on most streets. Car manufacturers really need to go back to 15" wheels with 6" sidewalls. I have spent a small fortune in the last 5 years for damaged steering, ball joints, alignments, struts, sway bars, bushings, wheels and tires.Two weeks ago I took out a sway bar and bushings and who knows what else (haven't got it fixed yet) on my Mini. I hit a nasty pothole that wasn't there the day before. My Mini is the base model with small wheels and lots of sidewall. I can't imagine how much damage I would have done with 17" wheels.

ADias

I think in part that is why many drive large trucks or SUVs on truck chassis, some with air suspensions to smooth out the horrible road surfaces. It starts with our politicians known to ride in government-supplied large Suburbans.

jamesinger

^^^^
LA has fairly decent roads in some areas but I totally get the obsession with proper truck SUVs because they are pretty chill to sit in traffic in, and you can drive over all the potholes and debris everywhere. I went to the Petersen to see The Porsche Effect show and the only decent route time wise is like a Camel Trophy Route through Silver Lake and into Koreatown from the 2 freeway over to Wilshire and Fairfax. Besides the crazy amount of traffic, I have to weave in and out of traffic to avoid potholes, raised up manholes, debris, ditches, bumps, lumps, jumps, and etc. It makes me want to get a Defender as a daily or do a 997 Safari build.

Petza914

997 based Rothmans Rally Tribute car - cool idea 👍

Tcc1999

Balr14

I have a recumbent tadpole trike. Not quite the tire pressure of a bike, but 3 smaller wheels, so it's still pretty bad. I'm very limited to where I can use it.

okbarnett

you also only need 75hp to get to town , I dont think this is the reason we like good cars

Fahrer

Well, I live in NJ. For years we have been known to have some of the cheapest gas in the country due to lower state gas taxes ( by the way there is no self serve in NJ). Our gas taxes went up significantly last year and are due to go up again as a result of a law change requiring the taxes to go up if the revenues go down ( no doubt due to less driving and/or better collective mpg). On the plus side, those taxes are to be used only for road and bridge repairs so we have seen a lot of repaving over the last year. This may be surprising coming from someone who lives in a high tax state but I getting sick of living with a second class infrastructure, so I applaud the gas tax increases devoted to road improvements.

Very often European cars need to be modified or adjusted ( not lowered, softer springs, shocks, tires, etc.) when targeted to the US market to deal with the realities of US roads. When I lived in Germany, the possibility of a pothole on the autobahn was unthinkable. I guess you can get a lot done with taxes from $8 per gallon. The other theoretical benefit of higher gas prices is fewer heavier vehicles ( SUVs, pickups, etc. ) used by consumers for everyday driving resulting in less pollution..

voiceprint1

Driving in Los Angeles is not very nice, in any neighborhood, except the far suburbs, in the city it's pretty unbearable even if you know the roads, they are not maintained at all.

HenryPcar

Blame it on the likes of the dawning of internet shopping where you have big rigs hauling all the goods on a 7x24 basis. A lot of roads are not build for that kind of loads and yet allow them to clog the system. Here in California you see Caltran working almost round the clock to keep up with road maintenance..

ADias

I do not know where you live but in the California I live in, Caltrans does no such thing. The Caltrans bureaucracy takes care of itself but the roads not so much.

voiceprint1

Please call those eager Caltrans workers to downtown LA, Wilshire BLVD has not been repaved for 15 years, construction sites on western, Labrea, La Cienga, and Fairfax slated for another 8 years.