Ford's new car will force you to obey the speed limit

engadget ^ | March 24, 2015 | Daniel Cooper

[Paid_Russian_Troll]

I drove 2007 S-Max Turbo a lot and it was quite a race car of minivans.
Who would get it with new ‘option’?

[Paid_Russian_Troll]

‘This isn’t a huge deal. It’s common for European-spec cars to have speed limiters instead of or in addition to traditional cruise control. ‘

I don’t think you are right. Some European-spec cars (mostly high-end) indeed have speed limiters but these are usually set at about 250 km/h or above performance of most non-European cars.

I don’t see at as a big problem, because 250 km/h sounds like a reasonable limit one shouldn’t break on public roads.

Japan is the whole different matter. All their cars sold on domestic market are equipped with speed limiters as well, which are set much lower - at around 110 mph.

It is a major inconvenience in certain situations, when you need some extra speed, especially if you haven’t experienced it before. It works pretty much like traction control, but very uncomfortable at high speeds.

[semimojo]

I don’t think you are right. Some European-spec cars (mostly high-end) indeed have speed limiters but these are usually set at about 250 km/h or above performance of most non-European cars.

I think we're talking about different things. Some high-end cars do have top speed limiters but I'm referring to a function of the cruise control system where the driver sets the limit for a given situation.

Basically, it lets you drive as you like but keeps you from accidentally exceeding the limit you have set - say 130 kph on the autoroute. You can turn it off simply by hitting a button.

I'll admit it is a little disconcerting to hit the accelerator and have nothing happen (which means you forgot to cancel the limit), but once I got used to it I liked it better than conventional cruise control. The only thing new here is that you can choose to have the system change the set limit for you based on the signs as you change speed zones. You can always turn the system off.

[Amity]

I think it must be standard for big cities. We go through Indianapolis and Louisville pretty often, true there. Nashville, Atlanta and points south every couple of years, and, again, traffic flowing way over the limit on city highways.

People speed out in the boonies too, of course, but seems to me law abiding citizens can more often drive the limit safely cross country than in most cities. Although I remember traveling to the east coast from Colorado back when the 55 limit was standard, and realizing that it sort of makes sense back east; many places on the east coast, you couldn’t drive much faster if you wanted to!