5 ms·

I had hot cars (mostly German) and drove fast habitually for a long time -- really, through my late 30s -- but almost exclusively on highways. I did it as safel

I had hot cars (mostly German) and drove fast habitually for a long time -- really, through my late 30s -- but almost exclusively on highways. I did it as safely as such a thing COULD be done, in terms of both physical risk to myself and others, and also fiscal risk to me in terms of fines or what have you. I got very few tickets, because if you're careful you can get away with speed most of the time. (I also got pulled over and got no ticket a few times, which I absolutely recognize is an aspect of my white guy privilege.) But I don't really speed anymore. I don't even own a radar detector. It wasn't a big choice or come-to-Jesus moment; rather, it was the fact that the pace I would drive at on an open highway (a max of 85 - 90 MPH, conditions permitting) was VERY illegal in 1995, when the highway limit was still 55 in some places, has become only BARELY illegal. I still drive at 80ish on an Interstate, but speed limits now are 70 or 75 or higher. The world changed around me, while my habits only moderated slightly.

tricky 5y ago
Very much the same, here. One thing people may not realize is that 90mph in a 1980's Porsche feels a lot different than, say, 90mph in any car built today. A few months ago I got one of my old porsches back on the road. Feeling confident it was finally running ok, I punched it when a light turned green. The noise, vibration, smell and feeling from that vintage V8 was unreal. I felt like I was flying but I look over and a mom in a minivan, driving normally, was right alongside me. Modern cars are safe, clean, and amazing.
- gonzo 5y ago
  So a 928 is the minivan of Porsches? Got it.
  - tricky 5y ago
    I got to drive a '77 911S once and it was pretty much the same except with more rattles and the noise was coming from the back. Fun car, but still no match for a 2022 Kia.
    - ubermonkey 5y ago
      I think people don't appreciate this, but back then 165hp -- the rating on a '77 911S -- was nothing to sneeze at. Even into the 80s, sports cars had horsepower figures that are today pretty quotidian; the first gen Nissan 300zx had only about 170hp in the normally-aspirated version. A 2022 Kia Optima -- ie, a fairly bland sedan -- his more horsepower than that. By the 90s the numbers were getting higher. The Porsche I had the longest was a base model 1995 911 (so a 993; last version of the air-cooled cars). It had something like 270hp, which was reasonably serious for the era. The current base-model 911 is something like 380hp if I'm not mistaken. My car was loud, rattly, and smelled like oil much of the time. The interior "domestication" that eventually came to the car was still a generation away, so my car was more like a VW Bug inside than a modern luxury sports car. Driving it was a MUCH more visceral experience than driving a newer car, though. I stopped driving it regularly and ended up selling it when I realized what it was worth (damn near what I paid for it), but it was a great car. The new owner put some money into it and is having some success at autocross. I get visitation rights. :)
      - olyjohn 5y ago
        It's amazing how powerful engines have become in the last 20 years. Driving my Lotus Elise... I'd regularly get my ass handed to me by a V6 Camry or Odyssey. It's not even just engines anymore. A Camry will probably not just be faster in a straight line due to power, but it's probably also going to smoke a good number of vintage sports cars around a track. All that tech really has trickled down into regular cars.
      - ryandrake 5y ago
        It's amazing how refined, shock-absorbed, and quiet modern cars are, compared to the '70s and '80s zoom-zooms. You take a 4 year old BMW up to, say, 120-140 miles per hour, and yea you're going fast, but it's a very muted fast. You can't really even tell unless you're looking at the speedometer. When I took my old '86 944 Turbo up to that speed, the visceral vibration and sound feedback, barebones interior, and visible lack of airbags, made it impossible to forget the reality that you were taking your life into your own hands. Not something to do on public roads.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    A very, very expensive to own minivan. They're lovely, and it's the only V8 I ever really wanted (that sound!), but it was a fairly brief moment for Porsche and not terribly many were made vs. the other two engine platforms of the era: the 911, obviously, and the series of front-engine 4-cylinder cars (924/944/968).
garyclarke27 5y ago
Amusing - How Americans consider driving at 90 mph as fast! In the UK that's average on the motorway - when traffic is not too heavy. I used to regularly travel at 120-130 for many years and have experienced 160 mph (won't say who was driving) In Germany speeds are even higher.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  That's odd. I drove from Manchester into the Lake District, and across to Northumberland, and didn't find the speed limits or active speeds especially higher than interstates in the US (observed speeds 75ish).
- olyjohn 5y ago
  You regularly see news reports on TV with headlines saying how the driver was "Exceeding 100mph!" OMG 100MPH! Any shitbox car made in the last 30 years can do 100mph.
- interknot 5y ago
  Amusing - The statistics from your Department for Transport seem to suggest that you are either an extreme outlier or just entirely wrong[1]! Or maybe this can be attributed to you having some lingering difficulties with kph vs mph? Hopefully we've both satisfied the urge to be obnoxiously condescending for no reason. Moving right along... Assuming SPE0111 is what I should be looking at, UK motorway speeds seem very similar to what I've experienced on US interstates. ------------ 1. SPE0111 and the "Average free flow speed (mph)" for motorways, from the following: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-data-tables-spe https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-...
5555624 5y ago
> I still drive at 80ish on an Interstate, but speed limits now are 70 or 75 or higher. Be careful in Virginia, where 85 is reckless driving, regardless of the posted speed limit. (Reckless driving is also 20+ over the posted speed limit, if you're driving less than 65.)

tricky 5y ago

Very much the same, here. One thing people may not realize is that 90mph in a 1980's Porsche feels a lot different than, say, 90mph in any car built today. A few months ago I got one of my old porsches back on the road. Feeling confident it was finally running ok, I punched it when a light turned green. The noise, vibration, smell and feeling from that vintage V8 was unreal. I felt like I was flying but I look over and a mom in a minivan, driving normally, was right alongside me. Modern cars are safe, clean, and amazing.

gonzo 5y ago
So a 928 is the minivan of Porsches? Got it.
- tricky 5y ago
  I got to drive a '77 911S once and it was pretty much the same except with more rattles and the noise was coming from the back. Fun car, but still no match for a 2022 Kia.
  - ubermonkey 5y ago
    I think people don't appreciate this, but back then 165hp -- the rating on a '77 911S -- was nothing to sneeze at. Even into the 80s, sports cars had horsepower figures that are today pretty quotidian; the first gen Nissan 300zx had only about 170hp in the normally-aspirated version. A 2022 Kia Optima -- ie, a fairly bland sedan -- his more horsepower than that. By the 90s the numbers were getting higher. The Porsche I had the longest was a base model 1995 911 (so a 993; last version of the air-cooled cars). It had something like 270hp, which was reasonably serious for the era. The current base-model 911 is something like 380hp if I'm not mistaken. My car was loud, rattly, and smelled like oil much of the time. The interior "domestication" that eventually came to the car was still a generation away, so my car was more like a VW Bug inside than a modern luxury sports car. Driving it was a MUCH more visceral experience than driving a newer car, though. I stopped driving it regularly and ended up selling it when I realized what it was worth (damn near what I paid for it), but it was a great car. The new owner put some money into it and is having some success at autocross. I get visitation rights. :)
    - olyjohn 5y ago
      It's amazing how powerful engines have become in the last 20 years. Driving my Lotus Elise... I'd regularly get my ass handed to me by a V6 Camry or Odyssey. It's not even just engines anymore. A Camry will probably not just be faster in a straight line due to power, but it's probably also going to smoke a good number of vintage sports cars around a track. All that tech really has trickled down into regular cars.
    - ryandrake 5y ago
      It's amazing how refined, shock-absorbed, and quiet modern cars are, compared to the '70s and '80s zoom-zooms. You take a 4 year old BMW up to, say, 120-140 miles per hour, and yea you're going fast, but it's a very muted fast. You can't really even tell unless you're looking at the speedometer. When I took my old '86 944 Turbo up to that speed, the visceral vibration and sound feedback, barebones interior, and visible lack of airbags, made it impossible to forget the reality that you were taking your life into your own hands. Not something to do on public roads.
- ubermonkey 5y ago
  A very, very expensive to own minivan. They're lovely, and it's the only V8 I ever really wanted (that sound!), but it was a fairly brief moment for Porsche and not terribly many were made vs. the other two engine platforms of the era: the 911, obviously, and the series of front-engine 4-cylinder cars (924/944/968).

garyclarke27 5y ago

Amusing - How Americans consider driving at 90 mph as fast! In the UK that's average on the motorway - when traffic is not too heavy. I used to regularly travel at 120-130 for many years and have experienced 160 mph (won't say who was driving) In Germany speeds are even higher.

ubermonkey 5y ago
That's odd. I drove from Manchester into the Lake District, and across to Northumberland, and didn't find the speed limits or active speeds especially higher than interstates in the US (observed speeds 75ish).
olyjohn 5y ago
You regularly see news reports on TV with headlines saying how the driver was "Exceeding 100mph!" OMG 100MPH! Any shitbox car made in the last 30 years can do 100mph.
interknot 5y ago
Amusing - The statistics from your Department for Transport seem to suggest that you are either an extreme outlier or just entirely wrong[1]! Or maybe this can be attributed to you having some lingering difficulties with kph vs mph? Hopefully we've both satisfied the urge to be obnoxiously condescending for no reason. Moving right along... Assuming SPE0111 is what I should be looking at, UK motorway speeds seem very similar to what I've experienced on US interstates. ------------ 1. SPE0111 and the "Average free flow speed (mph)" for motorways, from the following: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-data-tables-spe https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/vehicle-...

5555624 5y ago

> I still drive at 80ish on an Interstate, but speed limits now are 70 or 75 or higher. Be careful in Virginia, where 85 is reckless driving, regardless of the posted speed limit. (Reckless driving is also 20+ over the posted speed limit, if you're driving less than 65.)