We all have a car, or have at least been in a car, where when you hit a certain speed, generally 10-15 mph, the doors automatically lock. But why is that?
The claimed reason is "safety"citing that it's to prevent opening the doors while the car is in motion at higher speeds. But we all know that's bologna because we all have that friend who thinks it's funny to open the doors at 50 mph, and if you don't know which of your friends that is, then stop opening my car doors, you twat.
"Yeah, but what about child locks? That works!" To which I answer, yes, they do, they can also be turned off by opening the rear doors and flipping a little switch.... And to add to the woes they're the opposite of safe, in the event of a crash having the doors automatically locked was such a hastle for EMTs that the US had to instill a law saying that in the event of a crash the computers had to unlock all of the doors. SO WHY DO THEY EVEN EXIST?
You might be asking why I'm ranting (Hey, I'm not ranting) about the locking mechanisms on car doors. I'm not, I have a point and here it is:
It's for hobos. Or shady invididuals in general. Think about when you were a kid and automatic doors and electronic locks weren't a standard feature, driving through a "rough area" your parents would tell you to lock your door. You asked why, they said because they said so, and you did what you were told, only to put two and two together a few years later. Well these automatic doors take all of the hastle and hasty, awkward reach-over-to-the-locks-so-no-hobo-sees-you-through-your-window locking motion away.
And so we pay $2000 for automatic doors, instead of giving the homeless guy selling newspapers one dollar.
It is no secret that I'm an Audi fanatic. My blog is mostly going to be about German cars, I drive a Volkswagen, and I'm even taking German 101 this coming fall.
It is also no secret that Audi dominates at 24 Hours of Le Mans, and has so for the last ten years. This year will be no different, in fact it'll be easier. Their main competition, Peugeot, has dropped out of the race. They have also left manufacturer racing entirely because they can no longer afford the venture.
So who will be left to stand between Audi and the title? This year it will be Nissan with the Delta Wing and Toyota with the TS030. Not to mention that Audi themselves have a brand new weapon, the R18 e-tron.
These two cars thrown in against Audi will make for an exciting race, invariably worthy of a movie no doubt?
See three years ago, when Peugeot had a car that was significantly faster than the old R15, a documentary of Audi's race season was made, "Truth in 24", and this year they will be making another one of these documentaries.
If you are a fan of Audi, racing, Le Mans, or any sort of combinations of the three, I suggest you watch it. It is 90 minutes of pure adrenaline, watching one of the best teams and one of the best cars attack Sebring, Monza, and Le Mans.
Remember, Le Mans is on June 16th, so stay tuned to hear more about the race and Audi!
Go Team Joest!
Audi USA: http://progress.audiusa.com/
Audi Sport: http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/exp/motorsport.html?csref=inid_motorsport
Le Mans: http://www.lemans.org/en/
Peugeot: http://www.peugeot.com/en.aspx
Nissan Delta Wing: http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/nissan-deltawing-launch-le-mans-2012-03-13
Toyota: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_TS030_Hybrid
