mikec@petsd.UUCP (Mike Condict) (05/16/85)
Dear Car People,
Can someone please help me out? I just got a new car (it's a Porsche
944) and have observed something very strange, the first time I drove it.
Everybody around me drives slower than they used to. That is, when I drove a
Honda I noticed that I would only be driving up on a lot of cars if I was
consciously driving "fast", but with this car I find that it is really hard to
stay back with the flow of traffic, which is much slower than it used to be.
Are people driving this way around me because they can see I am a novice with
the car and want to get out of my way?
Also, I've noticed that the speedometer is very flakey in this car --
it registers speeds on exit ramps and on long straightaways that are at least
thirty percent faster than I know I am actually travelling, based on my
experience travelling the same road in other cars. Has anyone heard of any
problems with the accuracy of this car's speedometer? I'm worried that if the
odometer is off by a similar percentage, I won't be able to accurately measure
my gas mileage (I want to try to work out the driving style that maximizes my
miles per gallon -- fortunately, Porsche has thoughtfully provided an upshift
indicator light and a miles/gallon meter).
One final question: what does it mean when I pass a Datsun "Z" car at
a pretty good clip, then he speeds up all of a sudden and starts weaving in and
out of traffic behind me, but gradually lets himself fall behind before
overtaking me. If it helps, he had a very intense look on his face when he
was in the speeding-up phase. Was this some sort of car-buff insider's way
of telling me my parking lights were on, or what?
Any help on these matters would be much appreciated and, as usual, if
there's sufficient interest I'll post the answers I receive to the net.
Michael Condict ...!vax135!petsd!mikec
Freelance Compsultant Extraordinaire
currently at Perkin-Elmer, Tinton Falls, N.J.
P.S. to Jan: Oh my God, I just had sex with a car! Wanna go for a drive in a
very nice automobile that's almost a virgin?lip@masscomp.UUCP (John Lipinski) (05/17/85)
In article <523@petsd.UUCP> mikec@petsd.UUCP (Mike Condict) writes: >Dear Car People, > Also, I've noticed that the speedometer is very flakey in this car -- >it registers speeds on exit ramps and on long straightaways that are at least >thirty percent faster than I know I am actually travelling, based on my >experience travelling the same road in other cars. Has anyone heard of any >problems with the accuracy of this car's speedometer? I had a Toyota Celica and I thought everyone was going faster on the highway than when I was driving my Chevette. My speedometer read 70 and I didn't think I was going that fast and it seemed that everyone else was going 70. On the interstates, most go faster than 55mph but not that much faster. In conclusion, I think the speedometer did overread. - john