Why a GTI, if there is a speed limit?!

[Zolty]

Yeah man, top speed had nothing to do with why I got a GTI. When I test drove the car I was hooked on the acceleration, torque, handling and, don't forget, the car looks amazing. I am sure that I will never drive my GTI close to 130 mph, but it is still so much fun to drive from 0-100.

 

[YYZPILOT]

Why buy a GTI???

A valid question...

To me the turns are everything. Sure you can drive 200km/h in a straight line but that would get very boring, very quickly! Throwing your GTI around corners, chicanes, hairpins, going up and down the gears, on the gas, off the gas...now that's fun.

If all roads were straight I would never have bought a GTI or a motorcycle!:evil:

I would have kept my crappy 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.:barf:

 

[thomaschh]

I agree - top speed isn't as important to me as overall performance. If it were I wpouldn't have bought a car with a governor at 130. BTW - I don't know how many people drive the HUGE interestates out here on the West coast, but I just came down one of the most trafficked ones in the Seattle area (I-90) going with the flow of traffic at 85 or so.

 

[atomoverride]

There aren't any laws that say how fast you can get up to the posted speed limit:thumbup: .:biggrin:

I think hes talking about the on or off ramp this is a suggested speed limit, not a real speed limit, so in this grey area you can go pretty damn fast. =)

And me personaly I have been to 125mph, but it felt like I was going 80. mmmmm solid car I tell ya what.

 

[LordNikon]

No offense, I don't see the point of this thread. Why not just buy a car that has a top speed of 70mph, same as the speed limit

Theres more to this car than just straight line speed, especially twisties.

 

[funnycar]

If I buy a car just for local driving in central Va where it's basically flat & straight, it'd be a Corolla or some POS. But I like to head to WV 5-6 times a year and hit the mountain twisties. Rarely top 75 in the mountains, and rarely back off to the speed limit. :biggrin:

May go to WV more this year - GTI, WRX and a motorcycle. MF decisions... :wink:

 

[MKV GTI]

when you own a GTI the speed limit signs mean how slow you are allowed to go

 

[Scotaku]

As others have pointed out already, we Americans have posted upper limits and we break them all the time. Ours is a society brimming with egos ripe for showing off and in the umpteen races to be ahead of someone else in their car, we plough our way into the world's perception, quite correctly, as a nation of spoiled brats.

There is a television commercial right now illustrating a pay-it-forward kind of phenomenon of people seeing others doing nice things and they themselves becoming inspired to do nice things too. I've tried (and failed) to stir that in myself; especially when I drive. It's hard to do the limit when everyone around is blasting by at 15, 20, 25mph over. It's easier to back off the "slow" lane and let someone merge or even change lanes to remove my car from their path. I still get where I'm going but my stress level is just a bit less.

Why buy a GTI when I can't bury the needles every time I drive it? Because there are places I can take the car for that kind of fun. And when I'm not there (99% of the time) the car quietly obeys and plays nice with traffic... even when most other drivers are flogging their cars toward early junkyard graves.

 

[Plyngntrffc]

And, im sorry, but if u bought this car for speed, im sorry but you made a BADDDDDD choice, 145, actuall 135 w/ the messed up speedo, yeah right if u bought this car for straight line speed, wow, totally not what the GTI is about at all, if it was about speed, y would it handle so damn well?

 

[thomaschh]

I'm sorry, Scotaku, that's just too somber for me. I really despise (not too strong a word for me, personally) when people, esp. fellow Americans, bash all of us collectively for their own personal views.

To be completely frank, I completely disagree with you. I think people in this country (collectively) are much too sensitive. You will not find the kind of overly-sensitive polical correctness (for example) that we have in this country ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. And if you disagree with me, go travel it. I've been all over Asia, Europe, even parts of S. America and people's impression of us is not that we're too aggressive or too unfriendly - opinions about Iraq aside - it's that we're pussies.

I realize this has gotten way off topic now but I had to weigh in on this. You're saying we should slow down to let other people merge? How about we ask those idiotic drivers to speed up to the flow of traffic before tipping their 8,000 lb. Suburban off of the on-ramp?!

And if you really think American egos are bad, go to Australia. No offense - I know there are guys from Australia on here, but I needed to make a point. ; )

+tom

 

[MKV GTI]

i almost got a ticket today. i was drivin down a 40 road going 60 and there was an undercover cop on the side of the road. good thing was he was stopped behind another car and just kind of gave me a funny look when i passed but whatever. its all fun until you get caught right?

 

[Scotaku]

I'm not quite sure where me generalizing (pretty accurately) that most Americans are out on the roads trying to beat everyone else equates to us all being too sensitive. In case you didn't notice, I lumped myself in that group and admitted I struggle with taming my temper behind the wheel. If you think you're a pussy, more power to ya.

Monday this week, some motherf****r in western Maryland just got jailed for running his truck up some other driver's ass and then emptying his pistol on him when he finally got by. Don't believe me? Now, is he too senstive? Could thirty seconds of patience and a little courtesy to another driver have netted him that all-important pass he so desperately needed to make?

I'm trying to set an example. It's something I thought I could foster early on as this forum began to grow. Instead of standaing apart from the ridiculous antics and elevating the GTI enthusiast crowd above the low level nonsense, we teeter closer and closer to just another batch of hotheaded, irresponsible drivers mouthing off online and giving a f*** on the roads. We just happen to have GTIs so we're better than something. Whatever strokes your ego I guess. I'll keep trying to treat other drivers with respect, obey the laws, increase my performance driving skills, and share some of the things I learn... that is until I don't feel welcome or lose interest in what's being said here.