Cars & driving
My Current Car (Audi RS4)
The most amazing thing of this car is the traction. I only once got the ASP involved – when starting from a stop and making a right turn at the same time. Even when it rains there is no slippage.
The stability of the car is amazing. I find myself driving faster than I used to because the car is so stable.
Acceleration is great. Some passengers were screaming when I accelerated fast in the first and second gear.
The car was delivered with Americanized red rear blinkers. I ordered tail light lenses from Europe to get around this. But there was a problem – Audi had anticipated this and made the plugs a different form for US vs. Europe. But nobody had anticipated taking only the outer, colored part of the lens and using it on an American base.
Driving in U.S.
from my point of view
Driving in US is relaxed. Nobody is flooring the accelerator -- at least not when already driving 50miles/hour. There aren't big speed differences between cars on the highway.
As an example let's assume that the maximum speed allowed is 65 mil/hour (about 104 km/hour). Nearly nobody will drive slower. Nearly everybody will drive 5-10 mil/hour faster -- a few will reach 80 mil/hour (about 130 km/hour). Nearly nobody is ever driving faster.
Speeds faster than 80 mil/hour are considered dangerous and the one doing such speeds is considered a public hazard. Speeds higher than 100 mil/hour (160 km/hour) are considered special and there are special punishment laws for this.
People are used to keep a very small distance to the car in front of them. In Germany the one driving the car in front would consider this as an attempt to provoke him or as a hint, that he should leave the left lane. But not here -- it is quite normal.
In contrary to Germany passing a car in a lane to the right is normal.
Nobody will yield the left lane to you in case of you want to drive faster. People stay in the left lane and can't be convinced to yield to you.
Automatic gearing
My estimate is that about 95% of cars in U.S. are using automatic gearing. This is probably the inverse number compared to Germany.
There is no way around: I hate automatic gearing.
Suspension
Cars in U.S. usually look like they are currently jacked up for changing a tire. Means these cars have considerable more way for suspension. This of course does not lead to better handling or better security.
On my Honda this weak suspension can be felt, when accelerating from a stop -- the front wheels loose contact which results in less acceleration which again gives contact for the front wheels which are thus able again to provide acceleration which again makes them loose contact -- and so on.
The weak suspension way seems to have a feedback on the size of speed bumps and the other way round. Both, speed bumps and weak suspension reinforce each other.
Quality
of Roads
Roads are usually more bumpy than in Germany. This is especially true if one leaves a public street to enter anything non-public, e.g. supermarkets, apartment areas. The entrance to this area should only be passed with a very slow speed -- it is similar to a speed bump.
People don't recognize the influence of a straight, smooth road and grip of the pavement on security. The most well-known feature of Germany over here is that "in Germany there are no speed limits". I usually tell them that there are speed limits, especially if the quality of the highway is only on the level as most highways in US.
Yes -- speed bumps -- they seem to really like it. And since anyway nobody is flooring the accelerator, speed bumps do have the wanted effect -- people are driving slower.
Street pavement is usually much more slippery than in Germany. During my very first days in Dallas I had a series of near crashes -- especially during rain.
Once I was trying to start from a traffic light in Dallas during rain. The street was very slightly sloping uphill. I was trying to start but I kept nearly on the same position -- advancing only like a pedestrian -- the engine did sound like when pressing the accelerator with the clutch pressed -- using the first and the second gear. The car did even turn slightly.
Thus, the traction of my this car (1997 Honda Civic EX Sedan) on a rainy road is comparable to traction of my car in Germany (Seat Ibiza Gti) on an icy road.
Traffic
signs
To stay on a highway one should not stay in the right lane! In general: One has to change lanes to stay on the highway. In Germany one got to change lanes to leave a highway.
Highway exits and entrances are not always on the right side of the highway.
There is no yellow phase when the traffic light changes from red to green.
Pretty often lanes are merging -- two lanes become one. This isn't as dangerous as it would be in Germany, since the again -- the speed differences are not very large.
Blinkers
This is a very big subject for me. Not for US citizen -- they usually don't care. The car is supposed to look cool -- security is of secondary importance. Thus one can see the following impossibilities:
- red rear blinkers are quite common
- Front blinkers, which are sometimes located between the
front, lights (least somebody looking from the side could see them!)
- Front blinkers are usually yellow. The problem is, that
yellow isn't only used for blinkers but US cars are supposed to have a
yellow light at the front of the car, which should be visible from the
side. I think this yellow light does more danger than it does good.
Sometimes, the same light is used for both, this yellow light and as a
blinker. In case of the blinker is switched on, the light blinks from
bright to dim. On some older cars the difference can hardly be recognized
anymore -- but who cares?
- I've even seen yellow breaking lights together with red
blinkers!
- I've seen front blinkers with two front blinker lights
on each side -- blinking alternating (this is supposed to be cool)
- I've even seen rear blinkers which are done the
following way: All three (red) tail lights on the blinking side are
alternating in a sequence starting from the inner side of the car to the
outer side -- this is probably supposed to be very cool.
Tail lights
It is considered as cool if a car has combined break and taillights. Sometimes even tail blinkers are combined with the rest. Means -- there is one light, which is only getting brighter to signal breaking. Pretty often the taillight is done by 2*2 lights together -- to get another point of coolness, which is: The taillight must be as broad as possible.
As I said, sometimes even the blinker is combined with the rest. Thus, if you can see only one taillight you can't know whether the car is blinking or breaking or whether the taillight is just a little bit brighter. But who cares?
This influences even German carmakers -- probably there is a direct relation to the number of cars sold. Thus most German cars adapt to this and combine tail and break lights and make rear blinkers red (Audi, some VW).
I remember, that people in Eastern Germany were complaining about the insufficient signal lights of cars of the Russian Military in Eastern Germany -- they also combined blinkers with tail lights and breaking lights and they also did not bother to use yellow for blinkers. Well, in US this is fashionable.
Front
lights
Small front lights are supposed to be cool. Anyway: Good front light isn't as important in US, since there are usually cat eyes on the road.
Big
cars
Cars like VW Golf (they call it hatchback in US) are considered cheap and for poor people since they are too small and the design has the aura of being cheap. Because of this Seat Ibiza or 3 door Audi A3 isn't sold.
On the other side the VW beetle (VW Keafer) is very popular in US -- especially for women.
Breaks
Breaks at least in my Honda are horrible. Even on a dry road the ABS is starting very soon and the breaking deceleration is negligible. This resulted more than once in a near crash.
Spinning wheels
Spinning wheels are a feature in US. Yes -- no kidding. What's the need of a powerful car if you can't show off? And since you can't show off with high speed and since nobody is showing off by accelerating from 50 to 80 mil/hours on the highway (probably because of automatic gearing) people found a different way to show off -- starting with spinning wheels.
This isn't as damaging to the tires as it would be in Germany, since the roads are so slippery.
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