Re: RANT: Stupid gov't measures (low Audi content)

[Trisha Bethen <trishab@mv.mv.com>]

And I thought the US was bad!!!!


On Mon, 7 Oct 1996, Tom Nas, DTP Direct bv wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
> Just thought I'd give my feelings of frustration an airing. While watching
> the TV news yesterday I was outraged by the latest stupid !@#$%R^&
> hare-brained government scheme here in Holland- they want to reduce speed
> limits in built up areas from 30 to 20mph! For the out-of-town roads
> (currently 50mph) they want to go to 40mph. After the announcement of yet
> another tax raise on fuel for which we get nothing in return, this will be
> the last straw. I will vote for ANYONE who has sensible ideas WRT traffic
> management. For every litre of fuel we buy (95 RON unleaded = DFL 2 per
> litre) we pay DFL 1.43 of taxes! Fuel prices are about four times as high
> here as in the US, and rising. It's even 25% more expensive than in the
> UK...
> 
> Just for fun, yesterday I tried what 20mph felt like. Man, that was slow! I
> kept on being passed by cyclists, mopeds, even some joggers came close! Of
> course I only tried this when I was sure not to hinder traffic :-)
> How are they going to enforce this? Well, by introducing yet more road
> humps (thank you on behalf of all ambulance personnel!) and reducing road
> widths (= more stop-start traffic = *more* pollution and noise).
> 
> Quite probably this will also be enforced by installing yet more speed
> cameras. Even the city police forces admit that this is a ploy of the state
> police to get their quota of tickets, to finance other activities. A major
> organization for promoting traffic safety, usually the first to insist on
> lower speeds, say that the constant use of speed cameras contributes
> NOTHING to road safety. So my cynical insistence that this is a ploy to
> wring some more money out of us poor drivers was right... and I hate being
> right about such things.
> 
> Well, that feels a lot better. Anyone living in the US of A reading this:
> if you envy us europeans, just remember this post. And even the Germans,
> lucky above average compared to us poor Dutch folks, have something to
> think about these days. The German gov't has dreamed up a super-tax on
> non-catalysed cars. Remember, a cat became mandatory in the mid-80s in most
> countries here in Europe. This means that the classic scene in Germany gets
> a big crunch... wonder when this stupid idea passes the border.
> 
> Mandatory Audi content: Friday I went to my local Audi dealer to look at
> some nice Audi gifts (keyrings etc.) I encountered the sales guy who gave
> me my A3 test drive a week ago and still thinks he can sell me an A3.
> Anuway, I mentioned A3 models to the guy and he got me a 1:43 Minichamps
> model (beautiful!) in a special Audi promo box for a bargain price. I was
> waiting for a monsoonlike rain to stop and looked around the showroom some
> more- so the sales guy reached into his desk drawer and got out a super
> 1:87 promo A3 model which he *gave* me! Nice thoughts about Audi dealers
> this weekend...
> 
> Sorry for the length and the low Audi content of this post. I *had* to get
> it off my chest. Feels much better now, thank you.
> 
> Tom
> 1988 80 1.8S (which I think I'll keep for a bit, as it's easy on fuel and slow!)
> Lotsa 1:43 Audis
> 
>  _______________________________________________________________________
>    Tom W. Nas, graphic design                        tnas@dtpdirect.nl
>    DTP Direct bv                              Voice +31 (55) 5 790 799
>    Apeldoorn, the Netherlands                   Fax +31 (55) 5 790 125
> 
>              I think animal testing is a terrible idea;
>              they get all nervous and give the wrong answers.
>                                  --'A Bit of Fry and Laurie'
> 
> 
>