[DDayMace]

Speaking as an American, I spent a summer in Germany, Austria and Denmark delivering cars shipped from California. They were largely turbo diesel and stick shift, and I loved every minute of it. My friend's business had us hunting in LA for good used deals that went under the "old-timer" tariffs.

German roads are far superior in every sense: materials, construction, maintenance, drainage, etc. They pay a price in taxes and construction traffic to be sure. But driving there makes you realize that half your experience with a fancy car will be shit no matter what, if your roads suck.

Driving is really "a privilege and not a right" in Germany, not just a slogan. Last I checked, a license cost thousands of euros and there are many other ways to get where you need to go besides driving, compared to the USA (depending on where you live of course).

That's not to say I don't appreciate that I can buy and maintain German cars and usually spend less money than the Germans would at home, (awful!!!) here in the states, and we have tons of great roads, however the quality.

Any idiot can get a driver's license in the US. This is not true of Germany. The consensus among the Germans I knew when I was there was they are better drivers. (Of course they would say that, right?) And if there was a bad accident, it would be less frequent but bad. Totally anecdotal but that was the truth I felt/experienced.

The driving enthusiast in me could never accept additional speed limit restrictions in Germany, regardless of how rationally the data may argue against them. <shrug />

It's Mecca.

I always buy used/CPO German cars, with stick if I can get them, and I'll do that to my grave. (despite unfortunate changes to the market against the enthusiast). Love babying them, love the maintenance (really), love the superior feel and handling. :-)

[WalterBright]

When we lived in Deutschland in the 70s, my Dad would joke that the "D" sticker on German cars meant "Drag racing" as the Germans drove with their foot on the floor. He would putt putt along the autobahn at an agonizingly slow pace.

I asked him why he didn't enjoy driving fast. He replied that he'd firewalled Mustangs and SabreJets on the deck, and driving fast on the autobahn was boring in comparison.

If you vote for me for Governor of the state, I'll get some autobahns here in the US!

P.S. If you ever watch "The Battle of Britain" movie, in the first combat scene you'll see an Me109 flying balls-to-the-wall at about 10 feet off the ground. Incredibly fun, and incredibly dangerous. No model work with that shot.

P.P.S sometimes you'd see jets hedge-hopping over the countryside. I asked why didn't the citizens complain about that, he said they understood why the pilots had to train that way. Radar cannot see them, the flak gun crews cannot hear them coming, and they cannot move the gun fast enough to line up on the aircraft.

[watersb]

"Firewalled" and "balls to the wall" are aviation terms for full engine power, and refer to the forward wall of an airplane cockpit.

On a good day, the wall keeps any fire from the engine from entering the human-rated zone.

The engine power control, by convention, pushes forward to increase power. So full power is at the maximum excursion towards the front of the plane, towards the firewall.

In the very few general aviation aircraft I've flown, the throttle was literally a rod with a plastic sphere on the end. You grab the ball and push it all the way into the instrument panel for full power: that's "ball to the wall".

Also in the other direction, reducing the throttle setting, that's "pulling power": you pull it out. Usually on time. And yes all of the jokes are that childish and it doesn't matter because hey, you're flying and it's awesome.

[DDayMace]

I hear you brother! Sounds like an awesome movie. Reminds me of the Reno Air Races :)

[dashundchen]

It's not just the license requirements. The standard for maintenance and at a German TÜV inspection is far beyond most state level inspections in the US (if they are required at all in your state).

In Florida it was very common to see cars with bald tires, dangerous lifts and modifications, and plenty of heaps broken down littering the road side.

Even in New York where inspections are required annually and are stringent for the US, there's a lot of ways a poorly maintained vehicle will still pass. I wouldn't want a car with worn brakes, summer tires in the snow, etc trying to do 100+ on the highway, it would not end well.

[DDayMace]

Genau!!!

I had to do several TÜV inspections. The requirement to have uniform headlight brightness and color is really awesome and much safer!