BJ, there are also places like Texas, where you can see forever and on the highway from Midland to El Paso you could easily safely drive 100 mph and other wide open expanses out West. Until the federal government forced a change in 1999 there were some highways in Montana where the speed limit was "Reasonable and Prudent". Fatal wrecks actually doubled after the federal government forced Montana to impose speed limits on those highways.
yea I read that in an article where the accidents and fatalties went up appreciably in Montanta after they went back to a speed limit. But man I didn't know they doubled :yikes:
The bottom line is this. yes traffic is much heavier now, but a responsible driver will not be going 100 mph when there is traffic, again it has everything to do with the driving conditions, weather etc. today with no lane discipline, with trucks allowed to go to any lane, with idiots texting and talking on the cell phones etc the flow of traffic on say a heavily traveled 95 or even 495 around DC is going about 70 mph. if you try to go 55 you will be run over, and if you try to go that speed on the left hand lane you are by far the biggest danger on the road.
I want to see the quality of driving training and testing increase in this country appreciably because that is one thing that still causes the most accidents.
Using the Autobahns in Germany as an analogy to some US highways doesn't work out, only because of the mentality and the laws in the US regarding driver etiquette. There is generally a higher degree of "I own the road" in US drivers minds. Thus it is not uncommon to be on an expressway with some guy going 60mph in the far left lane, refusing to move over to the right because he just feels he is going fast enough. In many parts of the world, the left lane is only for overtaking, not cruising, and is actually respected.
Personally I have a hard time determining if speed limits created this mentality, and in turn lead to less safe driving practices, or if American drivers are bigger A holes than in other countries. I found that in Israel and China (two countries I have had the pleasure of driving in) that on the outside looking in, they drive like insane people. Just like they have lost their minds. But once you integrate into their driving patterns, and you realize that a simple thing like merging is aloud, even if the driver in that lane needs to slow down to let you in. He may not like it, but they do it without honking at you and vowing to kill your family...
In contrast, I drive on 76 in the philly area all the time, and the concept of giving up anything to another driver is foreign. :tsk:
Personally I have a hard time determining if speed limits created this mentality, and in turn lead to less safe driving practices, or if American drivers are bigger A holes than in other countries. I found that in Israel and China (two countries I have had the pleasure of driving in) that on the outside looking in, they drive like insane people. Just like they have lost their minds. But once you integrate into their driving patterns, and you realize that a simple thing like merging is aloud, even if the driver in that lane needs to slow down to let you in. He may not like it, but they do it without honking at you and vowing to kill your family...
In contrast, I drive on 76 in the philly area all the time, and the concept of giving up anything to another driver is foreign. :tsk:
I think is just a matter of necessity... in my last trip to NYC I saw that driving mentality after taking several taxi rides. From the outside it looks insane, but once inside the taxi I realized that the only way to keep moving in the "mess" is by mutual cooperation. And everybody did merge, pass and stop like they were actually talking to each other... amazingly to me.
BMW 3 Series 7653, 8640, -11.4
Infiniti G 7365, 4490, 64.0
MB C-Class 5663, 4554 24.4
Audi A4/5 4762, 3587, 32.8
Lexus IS 2296, 2305 -0.4
Cadillac CTS 4743, 4449, 6.6
Lexus GS 1662, 326 409.8
The 3 still has the lead, but G is very close. I added CTS and GS because I think some of those buyers cross-shop in this segment, good to know the numbers.
It would be fair to say that, if the 3 Series delivery was a factor, then many 3 prospective buyers went to Infiniti, Audi and MB, in that order.
Apparently as the economy continues to recover more and more BMW drivers are finanacially able to move to more upscale cars like Audi, Mercedes, Lexus and Infiniti.
Actualy I think that the statistics are skewed becuase BMW is in the middle of a model change. It would be interesting to see what the sales figures on the E46 coupe and convertble looked like during the period that BMW was selling the E46 coupe and convertible but had replaced the E46 sedan with the E90.
I still believe the lack of xdrive models are hurting F30 sales, but I love this quote about people being on vacation and not buying cars.
"High summer is typically a time for vacations rather than car buying which makes the July result satisfying, especially with the unsteady economy and the very short supply of new models in our dealerships," said Ludwig Willisch, President and CEO, BMW of North America, LLC. "August will be the tightest month as we complete the model year transition, so we're very much looking forward to September and Fall and the much stronger availability of our popular new models." ******
Yes this is true, especially in Canada and Northern US states. In addition, the carryover coupe and convertible models are selling in low numbers and will continue to do so until the F32/33 replacements become available. Also, no wagons will be available until spring 2013.
What happened to this thread? What happened to the other ones, posting the same thing?
What happened to posting the 3 series sales that come out each month and then bitching and moaning that the F30 is a failure and is proven by the declining sales? Remember the 7-8k 3 series sales, the decline of at least 10%?
You know, back when there was not a full model roll out, like Xdrive, and how E92/93s were in the mix...those terrible sales.
How come no one posts the past couple months, you know those terrible sales, the declining numbers?
Someone can post up the terrible sales of the 3 from say May and June.
What happened to this thread? What happened to the other ones, posting the same thing?
What happened to posting the 3 series sales that come out each month and then bitching and moaning that the F30 is a failure and is proven by the declining sales? Remember the 7-8k 3 series sales, the decline of at least 10%?
You know, back when there was not a full model roll out, like Xdrive, and how E92/93s were in the mix...those terrible sales.
How come no one posts the past couple months, you know those terrible sales, the declining numbers?
Some can post up the terrible sales of the 3 from say May and June.
Because they are ****ing idiots, and most owned 2011 e90's lol
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