[ExI] What would Rafal drive? was Fwd: Americans are poor drivers

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

On Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 11:21 AM, Eschatoon Magic<eschatoon at gmail.com>
top-posted the following question:
> WWRD?

### "What would Rafal do? which could be also interpreted as meaning
"What would Rafal drive?" and "Where would Rafal drive?". So let me
address the meanings in turn:

What would Rafal do? Nothing. I am not a revolutionary, if 320 million
idiots choose to literally put roadblocks in their (and my) way, I
will just live with it, until I can find a better place and move
there.

What would Rafal drive? A car with a titanium sphere fully enclosing
me, gimbaled to allow free rotation in an accident (a human can easily
survive 130 - 150 g deceleration in the antero-posterior direction,
much less otherwise). Of course, I would need fully synthetic,
multispectral vision inside, a motorized deceleration harness, a
supply of air (in case I get into an accident where the car bursts
into flames, trapping me inside), creamy Italian leather seats, and a
kick-ass audio system.

On the outside of the sphere, the car should have a titanium-carbon
fiber skeleton that allows sliding of the sphere during impact, to
provide maximally long deceleration pathway at about 150g, enabling me
to hit a concrete wall at 100 mph and never even lose consciousness.
It should also have 8 wheels with in-hub electric motors (with active
electromagnetic Bose suspension!), with at least 600lb/ft of torque
combined, powered by a gas turbine hooked up to an ultracapacitor.
There should be also computer-controlled gas-rocket motors mounted in
front, to provide extreme deceleration thrust (>10g) during panic
braking.

With these gizmos I could drive at sustained 200mph safer than in my
present car at 60 mph, and probably still burn the same amount of gas
per mile.

All that should be wrapped in a smoothly aerodynamic fuselage,
brightly polished stainless steel, raked uprights, bright crystal LED
lights, all low to the ground (but capable of jumping curbs if needed,
thanks to the Bose suspension), the very image of automotive beauty.

Finally "Where would Rafal drive?" - Anywhere the cops wave you on
with a smile as you pass them at 215 miles an hour.

Rafal