Who knew a Prius could go 100 mph?

July 4, 2007 3:40 PM

"Al Gore III - whose father is a leading advocate of policies to fight global warming - was driving his environmentally friendly car at about 100 miles per hour on a freeway south of Los Angeles when he was pulled over by an Orange County sheriff's deputy..."
posted by 445supermag (110 comments total)

Heh, I was just going to add that it's hardly precedent-making, however the inconvenient July 4th timing isn't helping his grassroots supporters win any traction.
posted by litfit at 3:45 PM on July 4, 2007

Relatives, children and siblings of Famous Politicians have drug and/or law enforcement issues.

Film at 11.
posted by Avenger at 3:46 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

it's obvious that the faster you go, the less time you spend in any one spot and that's GOT to be good for the environment
posted by pyramid termite at 3:47 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Maybe he'll be next to replace Michael Moore on Larry King Live.
posted by ageispolis at 3:47 PM on July 4, 2007

Xanax, huh? Maybe he'll end up in a support group with Noelle Bush.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 3:48 PM on July 4, 2007

Also, he was driving a hybrid car. What a dick!

Did I mention he was driving a hybrid car?

What a dick. Let's all laugh.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 3:48 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

I don't believe a prius can go 100mph.
posted by mathowie at 3:48 PM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, I've been to Hastings and I've been to Brighton,
I've been to Eastbourne too...
posted by Wolfdog at 3:50 PM on July 4, 2007 [3 favorites]

Well, this clearly proves that global warming is a liberal scaremongering myth.
posted by Flunkie at 3:51 PM on July 4, 2007 [7 favorites]

According to Car and Driver, the Prius is governor-limited to 104mph.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:51 PM on July 4, 2007

Heh.

Al Gore III was quietly expelled from one of the more haughty private schools in D.C. (as, I believe, an 8th grader) after he tried to buy what he thought was pot from a couple of school dealers.

Even though they scammed him by selling him oregano instead of the real thing, the deal came to the attention of school administrators and all three left school shortly thereafter.

So he got scammed, got fooled, and got thrown out -- the whole affair was sort of an in-joke at the aforementioned prep school for awhile afterwards. Hopefully he got to make some well-seasoned dishes with his oregano...
posted by killdevil at 3:51 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Rated at 105mph max
posted by A189Nut at 3:51 PM on July 4, 2007

Huh I guess the top speed possible is 105mph. Still seems unlikely that he'd get up to that speed on a socal freeway.
posted by mathowie at 3:53 PM on July 4, 2007

Reading the article, it seems that Al has finally learned to distinguish the real thing from its doppelgangers among the lesser dried and leafy herbs.
posted by killdevil at 3:56 PM on July 4, 2007

According to Car and Driver, the Prius is governor-limited to 104mph.

it's his father's fault for not running for governor then
posted by pyramid termite at 3:57 PM on July 4, 2007 [4 favorites]

Still seems unlikely that he'd get up to that speed on a socal freeway.

The 405 in south Orange County, at 2:15 a.m., is a speeder's paradise. Huge, wide, well-maintained freeway. Gentle curves. Great weather. Not a whole lot of traffic at that hour, and plenty of lanes to suck it up. If you have the car, getting up to speed here surprises me not.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:01 PM on July 4, 2007

Who says Prius owners aren't cool?
posted by chudmonkey at 4:03 PM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

The 405 in south Orange County

Excuse me ... the 5 in south Orange County. The 405 merges with the 5 in Irvine/Lake Forest, but that stretch south of there in Laguna Niguel is still called the San Diego Freeway.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:04 PM on July 4, 2007

According to Car and Driver, the Prius is governor-limited to 104mph.


Someone out there must have disabled this on their Prius, I wonder what the top end really is?
posted by 445supermag at 4:04 PM on July 4, 2007

Why do people speed when they have drugs in the car?

Why did Gore III consent to the search?

What's wrong with people?
posted by delmoi at 4:09 PM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've been in a Prius only a few times, and they were both driven by supernerds who were kind of in love with the data output. To the point where I wanted to cover the dash so we didn't crash and die. So my question: at 100 mph, does that mean he got crazy-fast barcharting action?
posted by Tehanu at 4:13 PM on July 4, 2007

HURF DURF PRIUS SPEEDER
posted by [expletive deleted] at 4:13 PM on July 4, 2007

Why do people speed when they have drugs in the car?

They're high.

Why did Gore III consent to the search?

He's dumb.

What's wrong with people?

See answer No. 2.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:13 PM on July 4, 2007

Now I want to see one of Arnie's kids caught going 200mph in a Tesla Roadster.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 4:15 PM on July 4, 2007

I didn't know anybody went 100mph on a southern California freeway. Was he driving on the shoulder?
posted by salishsea at 4:16 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

With anabolic steroids and coke in the car, of course.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 4:16 PM on July 4, 2007

Why did Gore III consent to the search?

Also, he may not have had a choice.

Do I have to give consent to a law enforcement officer to search of my car?

If you feel that you have nothing to hide, and that challenging the law enforcement officer would be more bother than it's worth, you can give law enforcement officers consent to search your car. With consent, the officer does not need a warrant, does not need probable cause and can take custody of evidence obtained.

You do not have to give consent to a law enforcement officer to search your vehicle. While you do not have to consent, bear in mind that the expectation of privacy in a car is less than the expectation of privacy in your home. Based in part on the lessened expectation of privacy in a car, law enforcement officers are permitted to conduct a warrantless search of a car if the officer has probable cause.

Probable cause exists where the facts and circumstances would cause a reasonable person to believe that evidence of a crime could be located in the area to be searched. With probable cause, law enforcement officers may search any area of the vehicle where the probable cause leads him/her to believe that evidence may be found. In addition to a probable cause search, any time a law enforcement officer sees evidence of a crime in his/her "plain view," s/he can immediately seize the evidence without a warrant.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:17 PM on July 4, 2007

.
posted by availablelight at 4:17 PM on July 4, 2007

I didn't know anybody went 100mph on a southern California freeway.

Traffic permitting, I don't know anybody that doesn't frequently drive less than 80 mph on SoCal freeways.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:19 PM on July 4, 2007

Cool Papa Bell: But what would be the probable cause in this case? Just driving fast?
posted by delmoi at 4:19 PM on July 4, 2007

That of course implies all the stuff about global warming is a sham ! Yeah, right !
Of course, the fact the 9/11 rescue workers get worse healthcare then Gitmo prisoners, means 9/11 is a sham !

But also the contracy ! NIAAAH !
posted by elpapacito at 4:21 PM on July 4, 2007

I think the fact that he smelled like weed was probable cause.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 4:21 PM on July 4, 2007

"Even worse, when they pulled the young man over, they smelled marijuana and, on further investigation, found less than a small quantity of the illegal substance inside the car..."

What's less than a small quantity?

And just like this case, the Xanax again. That shit fucks you up.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim at 4:21 PM on July 4, 2007

What a fuck up.

My parents aren't famous and I've never been caught with drugs, speeding, like an idiot.
posted by four panels at 4:21 PM on July 4, 2007

I don't believe a prius can go 100mph.

I got my 2001 Prius up to 101 mph on an especially empty stretch of the 5, but the barcharting mpgs were awful--wind resistance, doncha know. Haven't dared try that with my 2004 Prius on the East Coast.
posted by commander_cool at 4:23 PM on July 4, 2007

So it is possible to behave like an out-of-control, drug-addled celebrity in a hybrid car. That's probably the best thing to ever happen to the hybrid-car image, perversely enough.

A modified Prius hit 130+ MPH on the Bonneville salt flats a couple of years ago. The Prius has a very low drag coefficient, as production cars go, so that's really not so surprising.
posted by Western Infidels at 4:25 PM on July 4, 2007

That's probably the best thing to ever happen to the hybrid-car image, perversely enough.

No shit! I wonder how long it will be before people start up websites to talk about performance-modding their Prii.
posted by lodurr at 4:30 PM on July 4, 2007

I really hate it when the family members of politicians make the news for shit like this. It poisons the more important discourse.
posted by Kwantsar at 4:31 PM on July 4, 2007

Looks like somebody's following the George W. Bush Guidebook to Becoming President. Good for you, Al.
posted by spiderwire at 4:32 PM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

But did Al Gore III get a blow job? That's all the public cares about, still.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:38 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

This is kind of a lame story. If Al Gore Environmentalist did this, that's one thing, but come on, this is just dirty laundry.
posted by hodyoaten at 4:40 PM on July 4, 2007

Three questions in honor of the subject of this post:

I) This is news?

II) This is the best of the web???

III) Matt commented in this thread instead of deleting it?????
posted by grouse at 4:40 PM on July 4, 2007 [4 favorites]

You think his son has issues, you should have lived in DC when his daughters were in high school. It wasn't the sticky-icky, more like the white and powdery.
posted by bardic at 4:43 PM on July 4, 2007

The inconceivable truth.
posted by Elmore at 4:44 PM on July 4, 2007

Video report, if no one has posted it yet. And if someone has posted it already, it's still a video report.

Fuggin Prius drivers. Bah.
posted by The Deej at 4:44 PM on July 4, 2007

100mph is not that impressive, really. Just about any late-model car can do that if it's stable enough not to fall apart at that speed. With Cd=0.26 and generously guessing a frontal area of 20 square feet, it ought to take only about 35 horsepower to overcome aerodynamic drag at 100mph.
posted by sfenders at 4:46 PM on July 4, 2007

Why didn't he just cut off into a wheat field or something?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 4:50 PM on July 4, 2007

But what would be the probable cause in this case? Just driving fast?

No idea. But let's say for conversation's sake that he had a bong in his lap, a baggie on the dashboard and a dead hooker in the passenger seat, and when the cop walked over to the window, he could easily see all three from outside the car. That'd be an example of probable cause.

Important safety tip: Keep your dead hookers in the trunk.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:58 PM on July 4, 2007

What a fuck up.

Doesn't this guy live with the aftermath of brain injuries from a bad accident when he was younger? That might be part or all of the reason he's a fuck up.
posted by zarah at 5:00 PM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

Know what? I don't care what Bush's daughter does. That's like judging Jimmy Carter for Billy's exploits. Okay, maybe not entirely since Jimmy didn't raise his brother...still, this is just pure smear.

Seemed appropriate. I'm hoping it's the Prius stuff that's keeping this up. Btw, lots of other interesting comments in the many, many Bush kid threads.
posted by mediareport at 5:02 PM on July 4, 2007

Rush Limbaugh will be strangely quiet on this one.
posted by stavrogin at 5:11 PM on July 4, 2007 [2 favorites]

Delmoi/Cool Papa Bell: Consent to search and probable cause likely were not an issue. If Al Gore III was driving 105 miles per hour on an interstate, the police almost certainly had probable cause to arrest him for reckless driving or some other traffic-related offense. Ditto if Al Gore III seemed impaired, which appears to have been the case.

After you have been arrested and your automobile has been impounded, police generally may conduct an inventory search of your car without a warrant and without probable cause. The extent of the search may turn on local regulations and the facts of your car, but as a general rule, don't think that things in your car are sacrosanct.
posted by Slap Factory at 5:13 PM on July 4, 2007

Rich kids. Meh.
posted by zardoz at 5:16 PM on July 4, 2007

The 405 merges with the 5 in Irvine/Lake Forest

*excited that hometown finally mentioned on Metafilter*
posted by mdonley at 5:23 PM on July 4, 2007

Spiderwire- If you think GWB was bad back then, think how bad it will be in 10 years. I'm no AA expert, but he has all his ducks in line for a very hard fall. Of course, we'll probably never know about it.
posted by tfmm at 5:25 PM on July 4, 2007

Wait a minute, you mean there's young men out there who like to use drugs and drive fast? Wotta revelation!
posted by jonmc at 5:26 PM on July 4, 2007

I'm curious about how many "probable cause" car searches are successfully contested.

It seems to me that the reality of the situation would be that if a cop wants to look in your car, the cop is gonna look in your car. Whether he's ultimately justified in doing so is just something for people to talk about later.
posted by chudmonkey at 5:32 PM on July 4, 2007

Spiderwire- If you think GWB was bad back then, think how bad it will be in 10 years. I'm no AA expert, but he has all his ducks in line for a very hard fall. Of course, we'll probably never know about it.

I'm just sayin' -- Al's just gettin' his ducks in a row for his '42 race against Jenna. I just hope Chelsea's making sure to not inhale, because he'll need that incumbent advantage -- Jenna's got a much better stage presence.
posted by spiderwire at 5:39 PM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

Rush Limbaugh will be strangely quiet on this one.

Exactly.
posted by ericb at 5:42 PM on July 4, 2007

Rush Limbaugh will be strangely quiet on this one.

Exactly.
posted by ericb

Ha. Ha ha. HA HA HAAAAAAAA!!!!

No he won't.
posted by The Deej at 5:43 PM on July 4, 2007

I think Al III, The Bush Daughters, The Gore Daughters, Geraldine Ferraro's kids, Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton should all get together and form their own party: The Guilty Party.

I'd register immediately.
posted by jonmc at 5:46 PM on July 4, 2007

The AP story had some especially snarky remarks about why the kid hadn't been bailed out yet, and went on at some length, talking about where Daddy was and how the cops took checks and credit cards for bail. Odd, very odd, commentary.
posted by etaoin at 5:53 PM on July 4, 2007

Wait a minute, you mean there's young men out there who like to use drugs and drive fast? Wotta revelation!

That's ageist.
posted by nervousfritz at 5:54 PM on July 4, 2007

Cool Papa Bell: But what would be the probable cause in this case? Just driving fast?

I think the fact that he smelled like weed was probable cause.

On the radio report I heard this afternoon they stated that the officer smelled marijuana and had probable cause to search the automobile.
posted by ericb at 5:56 PM on July 4, 2007

The AP story had some especially snarky remarks about why the kid hadn't been bailed out yet, and went on at some length, talking about where Daddy was and how the cops took checks and credit cards for bail. Odd, very odd, commentary.

What's odd about about it? The middle classes enjoy watching the rich and powerful (or in this case, their larvae) get in trouble. I know I do. I imagine the police enjoy arresting them as well.
posted by jonmc at 5:59 PM on July 4, 2007

Al Gore III was quietly expelled from one of the more haughty private schools in D.C. (as, I believe, an 8th grader) after he tried to buy what he thought was pot from a couple of school dealers.

Details of Al Gore III's 2003 Pot Bust.
posted by ericb at 6:00 PM on July 4, 2007

Now all he's got to do is avoid being sent to fight overseas and dodge some National Guard service and in thirty years he'll be president.
posted by Clay201 at 6:03 PM on July 4, 2007 [3 favorites]

Ah. Regression to the Mean in action!

"It appeared from these experiments that the offspring did not tend to resemble their parents in size, but always to be more mediocre than they" - Sir Francis Galton

I think Al III, The Bush Daughters, The Gore Daughters, Geraldine Ferraro's kids, Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton should all get together and form their own party: The Guilty Party.

I would attend that party.
posted by deanc at 6:07 PM on July 4, 2007

"Wait a minute, you mean there's young men out there who like to use drugs and drive fast? Wotta revelation!

That's ageist."

And soberist.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:11 PM on July 4, 2007

Yeah, let's organize a Million Man Stagger against soberism.
posted by jonmc at 6:21 PM on July 4, 2007 [3 favorites]

Bush in West Virginia: I Will Pardon Al Gore's Son
posted by homunculus at 6:22 PM on July 4, 2007

The Million Man Lurch?
posted by anthill at 6:29 PM on July 4, 2007

The Guilty Party can run against Kerry's daughters in '28.

I know who I'm voting for in that one. Rowr.
posted by spiderwire at 6:47 PM on July 4, 2007

A friend of mine in college claimed that his buddies had smoked out with the Gore daughters. We all mocked him at the time because of Tipper Gore's rep as a big time moralist.

Oh well.
posted by wuwei at 6:49 PM on July 4, 2007

Traffic permitting, I don't know anybody that doesn't frequently drive less than 80 mph on SoCal freeways.

I haven't had any Xanax or reefer, but I still can't work out all the freakin' negatives in this statement so that it means what I think Cool Papa Bell thinks it means.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:55 PM on July 4, 2007

Lame. Where's the transvestite? Where's the blow? Some soft prescription pills and an ounce of bud? That's basically what any good prep school graduate carries at any given time.
posted by geoff. at 7:01 PM on July 4, 2007

> A modified Prius hit 130+ MPH on the Bonneville salt flats a couple of years ago.

The land speed record for a bicycle is 152. Prius guys got to pedal harder.
posted by jfuller at 7:12 PM on July 4, 2007

"Important safety tip: Keep your dead hookers in the trunk."

Man, thank you. That was funny.
posted by davy at 7:16 PM on July 4, 2007

Rush and his fellow turds will be all over this with 'LOL FAG CAR' cracks.
posted by 2sheets at 7:20 PM on July 4, 2007

Yawn...
posted by runningdogofcapitalism at 7:21 PM on July 4, 2007

I blame Tipper and her failure to suppress questionable music.
posted by Sailormom at 7:36 PM on July 4, 2007 [4 favorites]

Yep, he's a dumbass. Moving on?
posted by OverlappingElvis at 7:55 PM on July 4, 2007

A friend of mine in college claimed that his buddies had smoked out with the Gore daughters. We all mocked him at the time because of Tipper Gore's rep as a big time moralist.

Having gone to undergrad at Texas, a number of my friends can say the same about the Bush daughters.

I'm sure that comes as a huge shock.
posted by spiderwire at 8:11 PM on July 4, 2007

I couldn't get my Prius to 100 if I dropped it out of an airplane.

And I do find it almost to speed in, as my eyes are locked on the MPG readout instead of the road.

Of course III is driving a Prius, that's what Daddy bought him. I think it's past time to revive an old concept.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 8:31 PM on July 4, 2007

That is a concept I can get behind!
posted by HappyHippo at 9:36 PM on July 4, 2007

Blatant viral marketing. Shame on you, Toyota, using an innocent Xanax junkie like that.
posted by gompa at 9:39 PM on July 4, 2007

How is this best of the web? How does this inspire thought, or solicit thoughtful interesting discussion?

Someone explain that to me.
posted by orthogonality at 9:53 PM on July 4, 2007 [3 favorites]

How is this best of the web? How does this inspire thought, or solicit thoughtful interesting discussion?

Someone explain that to me.
posted by orthogonality

You see, orth, when a MeFite loves a news story very much...
posted by The Deej at 10:01 PM on July 4, 2007

I don't believe a prius can go 100mph.
I couldn't get my Prius to 100 if I dropped it out of an airplane.

Well here in Australia, I was driving my Hyundai at 130kph and was overtaken quite completely by a Prius last year. That thing would have been pushing 150kph, which isn't too far off 100mph.
posted by Jimbob at 10:02 PM on July 4, 2007

hey, speaking of adderall, can any fellow add-ers tell me how adderall compares to ritalin?

I need a new safety blanket.
posted by lastobelus at 10:15 PM on July 4, 2007

What a fucking twat this guy is. If you wanna kill your brain cells, do it in the comfort and safety of your own home; not on the public freeways. A car is a deadly weapon, and this is like the 3rd time he's been busted which means he's probably done the same thing a few times and not been caught.

He's 24 - old enough to know better. I don't know what line of work he's in - if any - but I'm sure mommy and daddy highly subsidize his life and they should've taken the keys away long ago.

I live in a town where too many people die from piece of shit drunk drivers like this kid. They should throw the book at him.
posted by b_thinky at 11:26 PM on July 4, 2007 [3 favorites]

Christ, what an asshole.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 11:57 PM on July 4, 2007

hey, speaking of adderall, can any fellow add-ers tell me how adderall compares to ritalin?

I don't know if you're serious, but I'll take a stab at that. One of my study-group-mates has been on a fairly high dose of Ritalin for some years -- he tells me that when they switched him to Adderall, he was fine for a week and then woke up screaming one night with the howling fantods.

If have a suspicion that since Adderall doesn't trip the exact same neurotransmitters or what have you, and he was experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I imagine that it could be beneficial, if you wanted to decrease your Ritalin tolerance, but for the most part, I've heard nothing but bad things. Upshot: it compares poorly.

A car is a deadly weapon, and this is like the 3rd time he's been busted which means he's probably done the same thing a few times and not been caught.

I've heard the ratio of incidents:arrests is more like 100-500:1, actually.
posted by spiderwire at 12:32 AM on July 5, 2007

I don't believe a prius can go 100mph.
posted by mathowie at 6:48 PM on July 4 [+] [!]

Well, my wife is dead set on getting one and I think it would be reasonably easy, yet so much fun, to turn it into a 0-60 burner and 1/4 mile, in 11 seconds, in your fucking face screamer, but it is so not happening. Perhaps I will just put a big fucking wing on it's tail.
posted by caddis at 1:02 AM on July 5, 2007

I look forward to being outraged about his pardon.
posted by srboisvert at 1:27 AM on July 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

I get my Prius up to 90 on a regular basis and 100 doesn't seem out of the question on a very flat road. Several people have got theirs up to the rated 104-105.

So, er, leave the Prius out of it. Ahem.
posted by mmoncur at 1:34 AM on July 5, 2007

Meanwhile here in Ontario, our environment minister Laurel Broten has applied for a building permit to add a four-car, two-storey garage to her property. That's four cars for her, her husband, and 20-month old twin boys. But one of the cars is a hybrid, so it's okay.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 6:05 AM on July 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

As mentioned earlier, 100 mph., while fast, isn't going to be setting any land-speed records. Most cars these days can hit 100 mph.; how much you feel like you're going 100 mph. will depend a lot on how well-built your vehicle is (and perhaps more if your tires aren't rated to handle that kind of speed), but just about any car can hit three digits if given a long enough stretch of open highway. Hell, in most of the Midwest people hit 100 all the time. The posted speed limit west of Omaha is either 75 or 85 mph.

Color me unimpressed.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 7:18 AM on July 5, 2007

Prius drives through train tunnel.
posted by serazin at 8:08 AM on July 5, 2007

100 mph is not fast, people. Sheesh.

In SoCal people hit 100 on the 405 and 5 all the time, and in way wussier cars than Prii.
posted by The World Famous at 10:24 AM on July 5, 2007

I've had the Egglet up in the 95mph range in what was literally a life/death situation and there seemed to be a surprising amount of space between the pedal and the floorboard. I've also thought that properly harnessing/enhancing the torque of the electric motor would make the Egglet a pretty decent 0-60 burner. The one drawback is that revving the engine while in neutral or park is pretty anti-climatic.

As for III, well, BitterOldPunk calls it. Although I'd feel the requisite woolly liberal guilt about exporting my problems a la NIMBY-ism.
posted by Fezboy! at 10:28 AM on July 5, 2007

How does this inspire thought, or solicit thoughtful interesting discussion?

I think many comments are very funny, and reading of the antics of the spoiled fuck-up kids of celebrity parents is always a fine source of Schadenfreude

thanks to this thread I also learnt exactly when and how an American cop can legally search my car, that was good too.
posted by matteo at 10:43 AM on July 5, 2007

FWIW, I live in SoCal, and I drive a minivan on occasion. On the 134 heading west on an average traffic day, I've often -- often -- been going with the flow of traffic, watching the occasional car pass me, then looked down and found I was going 85-90. And this in the middle of the day.

I grew up elsewhere, and if I heard of someone driving 100mph there I'd be shocked. Here, though, it doesn't even warrant a meh. Even on the day I drove my wife to the hospital for the birth of our twins (she had a placental abruption and was rapidly bleeding out, which is life-threatening for the baby, or in our case babies) I was able to take the minivan on the 134 west in the middle of the day and maintain 85-90 without passing many people on the way.

Do I think this is a good thing? No (although to get my wife to the hospital it was) but in SoCal it is a common thing. Something about the wide, flat roads. Oh, and at about 11pm at night driving on the 5 back from SanFran, me and my little Nissan Sentra were cruising between 90-100 for quite some time, and I'd say I passed only a handful of trucks, and was passed by a handful of cars going much faster.
posted by davejay at 11:27 AM on July 5, 2007

Yeah I've driven my '97 Tercel upwards of 109. It takes like 4 minutes to from 100 to 109 though
posted by delmoi at 11:59 AM on July 5, 2007

I got my 2001 Prius up to 101 mph on an especially empty stretch of the 5, but the barcharting mpgs were awful--wind resistance, doncha know.

Wind resistance (a.k.a. drag) increases with the square of the velocity. So the drag at 100 mph would be more than double the drag at 70 mph.
posted by neuron at 1:13 PM on July 5, 2007

Al Gore III is just nailing down his qualifications to run for president as a Republican, following the Bush/Cheney Double-DWI example.
posted by kirkaracha at 2:16 PM on July 5, 2007

I once drove my Subaru Justy at between 90 and 105 for about 40 miles on route 17 in southern NY state. Then I lost my "rabbit" (a late-model Lexus I was shadowing at a distance in hopes he'd get stopped before I did), because I couldn't keep up. Then I slowed down -- a Justy at 100 mph can be kind of a scary ride.
posted by lodurr at 2:42 PM on July 5, 2007

The Consequences of a Marijuana Conviction
posted by homunculus at 3:34 PM on July 5, 2007

The fantastically named bookmaker Paddy Power has been paying out on the arrest.

Bookmaker Paddy Power, which offered 14 to 1 odds that Al Gore would be the next high profile American to be arrested, paid out today... the bet did not specify which Al Gore it had to be.
posted by clarkie666 at 9:53 AM on July 6, 2007

Paddy Power must have decided it was worth the publicity to pay out. Certainly they would not be legally liable to pay out, any more than if a random unknown named Al Gore would have been arrested.
posted by The Deej at 10:35 AM on July 6, 2007