why they made cars so fast and limits the speed on the roads (highway)
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There’s little demand for laws that would require car manufacturers to add devices that automatically cut power or apply brakes after a certified speed.
If you only provided enough power to reach the speed limit, you would be in trouble when you needed to pass, or going up a steep hill or mountain. You wouldn’t have the power required to do those things.
Two reasons:
1. there are still roads without speed limit (hello German Autobahn!), and car manufacturers won’t design and develop two different models just because of that
2. the real reason is that there’s a difference between max speed and cruise speed. A car is designed to run at cruise speed, which is typically the general speed limit of the highest tier of overland routes, e.g. US Interstates. At those speeds, the car should run smoothly, silently, and fuel efficient. It wouldn’t work if that was also the speed limit of the car, because that means it would then require “petal to the metal” driving to cruise at that speed. Alternatively, manufacturers would have to limit the speed in other ways (BMW and Mercedes-Benz limit their cars’ top speed to 225 kph, which is about 140 mph), which would be very unpopular for lower speed limits and would be dangerous in practise when considering overtaking etc.
Most highways with speed limits have one for safety reasons. The curves, angles of the road, and how many exits or on ramps they have all contribute to the speed that can be safely driven on. Speed limits are not arbitrarily set and have zero to do with the capability of cars to achieve or maintain a speed.
Highways like the autobahn etc are extremely straight without many things that would make them dangerous to drive at higher speeds.
Because what we can engeneer and what we safely can control in our layman hands is very very different.
And sometimes you need that extra power. Going up a hill while staying at the speed limit? Takes extra engine power than what it takes to keep at the speed limit with no incline. When a moter is engeneered to run effecient at speed limit, there is still option to add extra gazoline to the engine because Max Fuel In Engine =/= Best Efficientcy.
And, there is sales in engine power. A lot of ppl like having an engine that goes Wroom real loud, and with power to both accelerate fast and go fast. And all those speedsters who get tickeded (or here en denmark, confiscated their cars for going way too fast, called ‘vandvids kørsel’ or legit ‘crazy drivning’) shows such idiots exist. And those ppl with more money than common sense do buy powerfull cars that can go over the speed limit. Wanting to sell your product is a big factor for car producers.
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One aspect that wasn’t mentioned.
Because people buy them.
Imagine all consideration mentioned below. An engine powerful enough to theoretically go faster than speed limits (so it has reservoir power and can react in emergency). Best fuel efficiency at speed limits. Etc.
Then imagine this engine electronically limited to speed limit, without the law forcing this limit. Such car would still have the same sound, the same acceleration, all the same but couldn’t go faster than the highest speed limit. Even could be programmed to temporarily exceed the limit assuming emergency if the driver suddenly hits the pedal.
Then would come the other car manufacturer with the same engine and without the electronic limiter.
Which one would buyers choose? Which one gives you the more feeling of freedom?
There would be even petrolheads stating on YouTube that in an imaginary scenario of wildfire or so, a speed limited car couldn’t get away from the fire and other nonsense.
Long experience of car manufacturing is that cars are not only practical objects but a lot of emotions are connected. It’s considered “manly” to have unnecessarily strong car, some cars even failed because they didn’t sound manly enough. Peer pressure is important, buyers of certain cars were actually bullied or mocked. Would it be manly enough to have a limited car?
So as long as there’s no required electronic limiter by law, no manufacturer will add it.
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