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Mercedes 220 D

"Rear-ended by stupid drivers?" It's the responsibility of the merging driver to match the speed of traffic in the right lane. (Which only makes sense. After all, they were there first.)

This is something of a sore subject for me. Many drivers here in Collyfornia don't know how to merge properly. Instead of making use of the on-ramp to acceleratate to traffic speed, they'll dodder onto the freeway at 45-50 miles per hour with no regard to the speed of the traffic that's bearing down on them. That has the effect of conditioning people to avoid the right lane, which increases traffic density in the remaining lanes.

(Then there's the way the right lane keeps disappearing due to lane merges and its becoming an exit-only lane, but that's a gripe for another day.)

Geoff

Reply to
Geoff Miller
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Juergen . responds:

[...]

It isn't a matter of being late or not, but of being able to accelerate at a rate that's compatible with the flow of traffic. Who wants to be (let alone drive behind) a rolling roadblock?

There's also the need to be able to merge onto the freeway safely. I remember a road test of the 220D in one of the major American car magazines (I believe it was _Car And Driver_) circa 1973. The car's zero-to-sixty (mph) time was an appalling *28 seconds.* And mind you, that was when even the emissions-control-strangled cars of the time could typically reach 60 in about 1/3 as long.

Geoff

Reply to
Geoff Miller

But I have to admit, we polaks are good drivers, maybe when we have more money we'll have Schumachers of our own... Schumanskis ;-)

cp

Reply to
cp

Yes. I was on a road north out of Warsaw a few weeks ago (albeit in a -- good -- taxi) and I am sure we exceeded 130 km/h at times without a problem.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

I drove a W123 200D for two years in the early eighties. It took a week to

60 mph. So what? Fine car and I wasn't late (or in danger) either. It was my first company car and a Merc on top of that.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

So you might've gotten underfoot when merging onto the motorway or "accelerating" (I use the term loosely) away from a traffic signal, or obstructed traffic generally, is what. You might've been having a ball, but the drivers behind you might've been...somewhat less happy.

Most people prefer cars with enough power to accelerate briskly and attain cruising speed within a short interval. If those things aren't important to you and you enjoyed that car, more power to you. But it shouldn't be hard to understand why others may differ on that score.

(*200*D? I didn't know they made 'em that small. When I think back to my late, lamented '85 W123 300D turbo and imagine what it would've been like to drive it in Califor- nia traffic with 1/3 less engine displacement, the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I adored that car, but I it has as little power as I'd ever consider acceptable. Or safe.)

Geoff

Reply to
Geoff Miller

See below.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

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