Probably fast enough isn’t it?

I was just reading that from next year, Volvo is going to restrict all of its news cars to 112 (180Kph, save you looking).

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/volvo-limit-all-new-cars-112mph-top-speed-2020

Most of the German car industry has been doing this for years, although at a slightly less sane 155.

How do we feel about it? I’ll admit to driving faster than that occasionally, but I can’t see a real downside other than to upset a lot of ‘driving gods’ who probably wouldn’t buy a Volvo anyway. Their concern I suppose, could be 112 now, 70 tomorrow.

112 kph would be better

Be interesting to see if they adjust the gearing so it’s pulling max revs in an overdrive top at that speed – will mean that generally it’s running in a very narrow rev range and swapping cogs a lot for an auto.

Pointless. We should just have cars that are restricted automagically by the speed limit of the road with no override available.

112 kph would be better

This

Pointless. We should just have cars that are restricted automagically by the speed limit of the road with no override available.

And even better, this.

I cannot see it happening, but there was a long time when I didn’t think we’d ban smoking in public places.

Pointless. We should just have cars that are restricted automagically by the speed limit of the road with no override available.

Yep, doing the M6 variable limit section through Brum at the weekend I can only assume the fines are sent at a very high speed. Further up when everyone was playing by the rules it was a much more relaxing place to drive. You either do it by enforcement or restriction.

And even better, this.

I cannot see it happening,

you can’t ? Seems like it will be inevitable with the advent of autonomous vehicles

Surely it’s about time we weaned ourselves off personal transport and embraced public transport. With a bit of thought and political will, we could have a fully integrated public transport system that can deliver goods and occupants anywhere in the UK? And then we could wizz up motorways at 150mph in safety and comfort.

Didn’t volvo make a commitment to zero deaths from it’s cars a few years back? Presumably this is just another way they’ve identified to save a few lives.

Be interesting to see if they adjust the gearing so it’s pulling max revs in an overdrive top at that speed – will mean that generally it’s running in a very narrow rev range and swapping cogs a lot for an auto.

Ehhh? You wouldn’t build a truck that redlined at 56mph, just cut the fuel/restrict the throttle when you reach the maximum speed.

And then we could wizz up motorways at 150mph in safety and comfort.

While everyone else is sweating on the bus?! 😆

then we could wizz up motorways at 150mph in safety and comfort.

and to remove the need for steering etc we could put rails down.

and supply electricity to the vehicle via an overhead wire or metal bar on the ground.

and to remove the requirement for lots of drivers we could join a number of veicles together with a single driver.

and have regular stopping points people can change at for other destinations.

and an automated signalling system to advise when it’s safe to travel at high speed.

no doubt it will affect sales..just because

and to remove the need for steering etc we could put rails down.

and supply electricity to the vehicle via an overhead wire or metal bar on the ground.

and to remove the requirement for lots of drivers we could join a lot together with a single driver.

and have regular stopping points people can change at for other destinations.

and an automated signalling system to advise when it’s safe to travel at high speed.

It’ll never catch on

no doubt it will affect sales..just because

I’d hazzard a guess that 99.999% of people wouldn’t give two hoots and this is just putting Volvo in their minds with a positive association. My C-max is limited to less than that by the laws of physics (105mph IIRC).

and have regular stopping points people can change at for other destinations.

You were doing so well, but blew it with this part

Surely it’s about time we weaned ourselves off personal transport and embraced public transport. With a bit of thought and political will, we could have a fully integrated public transport system that can deliver goods and occupants anywhere in the UK? And then we could wizz up motorways at 150mph in safety and comfort.

Anywhere? Really? Don’t tell me, let me guess, you live in, or near, a major urban centre. Am I right?

Surely it’s about time we weaned ourselves off personal transport and embraced public transport. With a bit of thought and political will, we could have a fully integrated public transport system that can deliver goods and occupants anywhere in the UK?

Realistically? No we couldn’t.

112mph – seems fair enough, it’s pretty quick.

good idea, but speed to high. Why not make it 75 or 80 mph – gives a little bit of flexibility for an overtake but still around the maximum speed limit on UK roads ?

@thisisnotaspoon, when we had Volvo and the guys from Thatcham come into work discussing road safety and lastest technology found in their vehicles, Volvo have a Mission Statement that “by 2020 no-one will be killed or seriously hurt in a Volvo”. The new XC90 has something like 17 air bags including ones on the outside for pedestrians, and the bonnet comes up over the windscreen if you do hit a pedestrian to help protect both them and occupants from memory.

To date no-one has been killed in the latest XC90 or XC60.

At the end of the day, i don’t think any car needs to go above 90mph, the speed limit plus a bit more just in case you needed that acceleration to actually get yourself out of trouble.

The EU are pushing for mandatory Intelligent Speed Assistance for ALL new cars. The system reads road signs and uses GPS to set the speed limit.
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/103530/mandatory-speed-limiters-due-on-all-cars-within-three-years

The auto industry is obviously pushing back. I wonder if Volvos move is designed to encourage other manufacturers to head off the compulsory EU speed limiters??

Volvo could have used the intelligent system instead of setting the limit to 112mph

CountZero

Anywhere? Really? Don’t tell me, let me guess, you live in, or near, a major urban centre. Am I right?

It’s voodooo I tell thee…

Witchcrafty stuff

Why not make it 75 or 80 mph – gives a little bit of flexibility for an overtake

If you need to break the speed limit to overtake, should you be overtaking?

no-one will be killed or seriously hurt in a Volvo

‘in’ but not ‘by’?

It’s voodooo I tell thee…

I’m not sure what a link to an explanation of GPS has to do with a public transport system that reaches everywhere.

Why not make it 75 or 80 mph

Marketing. 112 is much higher than the vast majority of people drive, so Volvo look good but it wouldn’t really affect anything, but if they limited the speed to 75-80 then many people would not buy a Volvo as other manufacturers would have a higher/no limit and they’d be constantly overtaken by the BMW/Audi’s on the motorway

Mister P

Member
If you need to break the speed limit to overtake, should you be overtaking?

If you make an error of judgement does the car coming the other way deserve to get ploughed?

what about driving on the autobahn? seems ridiculous to me.

Don’t know if I’ve related this before but …

A good few, at least ten, years ago I was heading over to the Lakes to see my brother. As I drove past a relative’s house that’s next to the main road I noticed that it was covered in scaffolding and was being re-rendered. Got to my brother’s and asked what was going on.

Turns out someone had wanted to commit suicide so came along the road (at an estimated 85mph) and simply drove straight into the house (the configuration of the driveway allowed this). The impact had enough force to shift the footings of the house back a metre (talking rather old farmhouse here). The guy got out the car with little more than bruising and probably a bit of whiplash. He’d been in a BMW 5 series.

Not sure how many people die in Volvo cars annually but I’d guess that most aren’t due to “simple” traffic collisions.

good idea, but speed to high. Why not make it 75 or 80 mph – gives a little bit of flexibility for an overtake but still around the maximum speed limit on UK roads ?

You might not be travelling on UK roads…

Imagine arriving on the Autobahn, or even the Nurburgring, and your vehicle is restricted to 75mph.

And there’s the question of track days.

And of course, all the people who ignore speed limits anyway. They would lose a lot of sales, so it would have to be a blanket ban applied to all. But you still have the above questions…

112mph is a compromise most people wouldn’t bat an eyelid at. And quite sensible in an age where it’s not uncommon for cars to have the potential to get near 200mph.

Doesn’t bother me. Going to ruin the day of any rep using the M1 who didn’t read the small print when they picked a Volvo for their company car.

Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection voted last week to approve a range of new vehicle safety standards including automatic detection of pedestrians and cyclists, and a new direct vision standard for lorries and buses to enable drivers to have a better view of other road users around their vehicles. MEPs also voted for the installation of ISA devices on all new cars from 2022.

MEPs also green lighted the requirement for motor vehicles to be fitted with aviation-style “black box” Event Data Recorders, which record critical information on the status of a motor vehicle in the moments before a collision.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/02/27/all-new-cars-to-have-speed-limiters-fitted-rules-european-parliament/

It’s the poor buggers the XC90 drivers hit ! Perhaps it should be re-phrased ‘How many people has an XC90 killed’.

School run Tanks anyone !

sharkbait

I’m not sure what a link to an explanation of GPS has to do with a public transport system that reaches everywhere.

If a fully linked up public transport system included ‘public use’ self driving vehicles then we would have no need for private ownership of cars or vans etc. Self driving trucks have been in testing for years. Uber are using the same technology too. They use GPS systems to navigate, extend that to self driving cars and bingo, you can get anywhere you choose. Tis the future I tell thee.

I would guess most cars get used 1 or 2 hours a day, so should we be asking ourselves why we need to pay something we actually use for such a short amount of time? Do away with private ownership and then you start paying for the amount of time you actually need and use the vehicle.

The technology for this is trivial – gps and cruise control. Since both of those techologies are already fitted to the vast majority of cars sold in the last 10 years in theory retro-fitting could be as simple as a software update that could be done as part of annual service.

But i can imagine the fightback from Association of Bad Drivers and others

Volvo XC90 you say? Automatic braking you say?

The “black box” data recorders will probably have a bigger impact (sic) on road safety: “I was driving safely when the car lost control.” – “Really? The data recorder shows you were doing 55mph in a 30mph limit and on the phone.”

It should probably be pointed out that Polestar is now a seperate brand – so it will actually still be possible to get a faster Volvo anyway

I wish the motorways were clear enough of road works, congestions and other hold-ups to do 70mph never mind 112mph

112 kph would be better

This +1

And..

limit 0-60 times to no quicker than 15s

by 2020 no-one will be killed or seriously hurt in a Volvo

Like any accident matters what make of car is being driven….
For those who never get my cryptic posts: Need to do something about the morons behind the wheel first.

Volvo XC90 you say? Automatic braking you say?

No one in the car was injured…

Are a high percentage of accidents or deaths caused by people going over 112mph I wonder?