rficalora Rob Ficalora Willis, TX (2764 posts) Registered: 10/24/2007 02:46PM Main British Car: '76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302 |
I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
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Jim Stabe Jim Stabe San Diego, Ca (830 posts) Registered: 02/28/2009 10:01AM Main British Car: 1966 MGB Roadster 350 LT1 Chevy |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
I was in Germany on a trip in 2006 and got to drive on the autobahn. I had pictured a wide super highway with controlled access to be able to drive with no speed limit. It was a 4 lane divided highway with access from side roads. I had an Opel wagon and was usually going around 180 kph (100 mph) with occasional 200 kph stints. It was very tiring because you always had to be watchful for cars coming from the rear at 150+ mph whenever you needed to pass a plumbing van who was only going 85 mph. Might be more fun if you were driving one of the BMW's or Mercedes that appeared out of nowhere blinking his lights at you. Amazing they don't have more accidents with those kinds of closure rates.
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MGBV8 Carl Floyd Kingsport, TN (4571 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 11:32PM Main British Car: 1979 MGB Buick 215 |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
Yes, the speed differential is scary. When you see the headlights flash in the rearview mirror, you best get out of the left lane pronto!
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BlownMGB-V8 Jim Blackwood 9406 Gunpowder Rd., Florence, KY 41042 (6508 posts) Registered: 10/23/2007 12:59PM Main British Car: 1971 MGB Blown,Injected,Intercooled Buick 340/AA80E/JagIRS |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
When I was there it was as the passenger to a mad US army driver in a Deuce & a half and he was up the rear bumper of a small sedan who apparently wasn't moving quickly enough. I seriously thought we were going to drive over him. I don't think drivers going 150 were even a mild concern. (Though I'm sure they would have been had they hit us.) Apparently being a house guest of the local police chief made the man extraordinarily brave. Seemed like a wild sort of society to me, and not understanding the lingo didn't help in the least. Personally, I terrorized the locals by jumping a moped off the two step bridges going across the local stream every time I went anywhere on my own. All this nonsense lasted for about a month in the dead of winter. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it much more in summertime.
Incidentally I was unimpressed with the autobahn, not up to US Interstate standards at all. Jim |
Dan B Dan Blackwood South Charleston, WV (1008 posts) Registered: 11/06/2007 01:55PM Main British Car: 1966 TR4A, 1980 TR7 Multiport EFI MegaSquirt on the TR4A. Lexus V8 pl |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
"....a mad US army driver in a Deuce & a half ..."
LOL!!! |
rficalora Rob Ficalora Willis, TX (2764 posts) Registered: 10/24/2007 02:46PM Main British Car: '76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302 |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
The highway from Frankfurt to Heidelberg was 3 lanes but congested enough the driver had to back off, sometimes breaking to slow down fast enough. He said the best experience is the A9 from Nuremburg to Munich. Next time I have to come here I think I'll rent a car ;)
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302GT Larry Shimp (244 posts) Registered: 11/17/2007 01:13PM Main British Car: 1968 MGB GT Ford 302 crate engine |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
I lived in The Netherlands from about 1990 till about 1996, with half time until 1999.
I drove in Germany occasionally and I still remember the feeling of freedom after crossing the Dutch border into Germany and realizing I could drive as fast as I wanted. The best time was when I had use of an Alfa Milano twin Spark sedan (2 liters). Its top speed was 130 mph (tachometer at the top of the red zone). When traffic speeded up after a slow down to 100 mph, the Alfa would keep up with the 2 liter VW golfs up to about 120 mph, then the VWs would accelerate faster. But top speed was about the same. There was one bad day when I visited a company in the southern part of Germany, it was a long drive in the morning, and when we left in the afternoon I let my colleague give directions. We missed the autobahn and ended driving up the Rhine valley which is very scenic but very slow; and it got dark early so the scenery benefit was not present. I had business contacts with a company in Eastern German (Rostock). To visit them I would fly to Berlin and usually rent a car and drive there. The autobahn was just as it was built in the 1930s; the Russians did not upgrade it. It was being reconstructed at the time and the speed limit was only 100 km/hour. But traffic generally moved at 90 to 100 mph. The interesting thing was that due to construction, the roadway was only a lane and a half wide in many places which made passing large trucks extra interesting. There was also the problem of broken down Trabants by the roadside. Sometimes I would just take a train from Berlin... I also sometimes did rush deliveries to a customer in the south of Holland using the company truck (which was a lime green ex telephone company Talbot). It was like a small car with a cube on the back. The interior was all metal with no soundproofing. One day, just as I started the return trip (of 120 miles) the right engine mount ripped out of the body due to rust. The engine dropped down about an inch and rested on another part of the body, and there was metal to metal contact. It was very loud and I could feel the engine flopping around with changes in speed, but I made it back. I really enjoyed my time in Europe. |
RMO 699F Mike Maloney SW Ohio (531 posts) Registered: 12/09/2007 12:28PM Main British Car: 1974 MGB Sebring GT, 3.9 Rover V8 |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
Very interesting Larry...thanks for letting us know your experience...
My only times spent in Germany was in the airport as we (Chrysler) were building Jeep Gran Cherokees in Graz, Austria and had customers also in Frozinone, Italy. The thing I remember in the airport was they had armed guards with machine guns...that was a new experience for me...this was in mid-late 1990"s.... Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/11/2018 05:42PM by RMO 699F. |
Re: I'm thinking we should all move to Germany...
Many trips to Germany. The hotel we stayed at near Stuttgart wasn't too far from the Autobahn. At night the Autobahn was alive with the sound of sports cars and motorcycles.
Had a blast at this indoor Go-kart track. The karts hall ass, nothing like anything in the US. [www.kart-arena-stuttgart.de] |