"MegaSuper" (megasuper)
05/22/2015 at 10:40 • Filed to: None
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"MegaSuper" (megasuper)
05/22/2015 at 10:40 • Filed to: None | 1
| 12 |
If you look at the top-25 most developed nations in the world, I’d say most anyone who’s well-versed in cars can draw some connection between them;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developed…
They’re either large-scale manufacturers: USA, South Korea, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, UK, Sweden
Small-scale manufacturers Netherlands, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark
Or have made some other kind of contribution/are known for something:
Switzerland and the Stelvio Pass,
Iceland and their off-roading/truck culture,
Finland and rallying,
New Zealand, I think there may be some kit car companies, but I can’t think of one. Oh well, they have great driving roads + Bruce McLaren is a Kiwi, right?
Norway made that one electric car + people know it for being Tesla-land
With all due respect, I’m drawing a blank on Slovenia.
Hong Kong, Singapore, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg get a pass because A) They’re quite small, B) Public transport is huge in the first two at least, and C) They are likely in other countries’ spheres of influence when it comes to automobiles.
So that leaves Israel. It’s off in its own corner of the world compared to these other countries. It’s considered a small country in size, but not as small as the last ones listed above. Plus, tons of technology companies as far as I know. So I’m thinking there just has to be something. I’ve literally never read about it or heard about it ever in multiple decades of reading car magazines, watching car TV shows, etc.
The southern bit is mostly desert, so I’m just going to assume that’s a bit boring for driving (I think I read somewhere that headlights are always required to be on on the main desert highway just because people would fall asleep.) But there are major hills in the north, I think.
So is there anything really interesting, important, historic, cool, anything at all relating to both car culture and Israel? Is there a well-known racetrack or racing league, some unusual law on the level of Japan’s fender-mounted mirrors, an unusual model that’s for sale or something?
The only thing I can think of is the Sabra, a rather nice-looking Israeli roadster. But that was a few decades ago, and I think only a few hundred were ever made. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
So in today’s world, what is there? Are people generally enthused about cars like in most of the major-manufacturing nations? Or is it just too small of a country to really enjoy them or something? I’ve also read that wages in Israel aren’t that high relative to the cost of living, so maybe it’s difficult for the average Israeli to have a 2nd “fun” car, or maybe the population density means large garages aren’t a thing?
Thoughts?
EL_ULY
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 10:46 |
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paging JayhawkJake
KnowsAboutCars
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 10:49 |
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This guys Flickr stream suggests that there is.
crowmolly
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 10:49 |
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There are vintage car clubs in places like Tel Aviv, but I would assume the Israelis have a lot of bigger things to concern themselves with.
SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 10:52 |
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Palestine does -
http://mentalfloss.com/article/63841/…
Racescort666
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 10:53 |
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New Zealand is big on rallying also. I seem to remember something about Slovenia being a big supplier or something of that sort. I’d throw them in with small-scale manufacturers. Also, the World Factbook says that they produce trucks, automobiles and other stuff that would probably be pertinent to automotive manufacture.
ETA: Israel is big (and by big I mean huge) in the aviation sector so that might be your missing link.
Little Black Coupe Turned Silver
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 11:05 |
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Yeah, there is...
And they are women at that!
Twinpowermeansoneturbo
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 11:11 |
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I’ve been, there’s not much of a “car culture” per se. They get most of the models we have in the US, but I never saw anything particularly exciting there. Mercedes ships cars there each year as reparations for the Holocaust. Most of them end up being taxis.
Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 11:57 |
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Israel is incredibly small (its smaller than road island), so I cant see driving to be fun there
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MegaSuper
> Racescort666
05/22/2015 at 20:30 |
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Ah, so you’re suggesting that the aviation industry there is connected to the auto industry somehow…?
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MegaSuper
> EL_ULY
05/22/2015 at 20:32 |
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Is he an Israeli Oppo? Do you have a link to any posts he’s done about the car culture there? That would be really cool!
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MegaSuper
> SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie
05/22/2015 at 20:33 |
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Yeah I recall hearing about this…I’m just curious why there isn’t as much coverage of Israel considering they’re even larger than Palestine (I don’t know where they find the room to race!)
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EL_ULY
> MegaSuper
05/22/2015 at 23:00 |
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He has posts here on oppo very recently about some tie-rod issues, ask him about what he knows :]