These cars are smart cars and are commonly seen here in our part of Germany. The very top speed is 90 mph with some only able to go as high as 70 mph, depending on the model. The smart is headquartered here in Germany. The car was originally put forth as a design by Swatch, the watch makers, and stands for Swatch Mercedes Art. On the Autobahn, these cars tend to only be seen in the right lane.
The best selling car for last year was the Volkswagen Golf, followed closely by the Volkswagen Passat, a car close to my heart (since I had one till we moved here.) Although I could not find data that showed the most commonly driven car overall (new and old), I would have to garner a good bet on Volkswagen. In a recent poll by the German Car Blog, the most popular car in Germany is the Audi TT - as my boys would say, "Sweet!" And of course there is still the occasional beautiful Italian sports car (yes, we have seen a Lamborghini being driven around town.) But there are many bikes and motorcycles as well.
Just as in America, the cost of gas (Benzin - pronounced ben zeen) is really the ruling factor. Although Germans do like to drive fast, if they can do it economically, all the better. Fuel cell cars here are almost unheard of. Here, the cheapest fuel is diesel, hence a lot of the cars are diesel cars. Most are economical and get good gas mileage. Most can go faster than 90 mph, but are not driven that way due to the cost of gas. And that is assuming that you even own a car. The train and bus system here is a very common way to get around. The trains go everywhere, and if the station is just a bit out of reach of where you are going, then you can usually catch a bus to the final destination. The buses are well kept and safe. As a matter of fact, there are no school buses. All the children that can't walk to school ride the city buses to get to school. At the end of the day, the children, even 1st graders, walk down by themselves to the bus station, board the bus, and head home. Why own a car that depreciates, spend all the money to get a license and keep insurance, and spend all that money on gas, when you could walk, ride a bike or ride the trains and buses. It certainly is an alternative we don't have in the US in most cities.
But ... wouldn't it be great to just imagine, just once, that long stretch of Autobahn and this ...
Tomorrow my posting will be later than usual, so you may want to wait till after your lunchtime to check. Tomorrow is a holiday here in Germany, and all schools and many businesses will be closed. So needless to say, I will be sleeping in. But I don't want to leave you hanging, so my question of the day relates to my posting for tomorrow: What is German Reunification Day?
The word for today is Race Car: der Rennwagen (pronounced Rehn vah gehn where the g is a hard g as in gas.) As an aside, I believe this word can be interchanged with das Rennauto since this word was in my younger son's homework yesterday. This would be pronounced Rehn ou toe where the ou is like in out.
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
