These cars have made Germany famous for automotive engineering, and they are fast and powerful enough for these equally famous German roads, which are unlike any other in the world.

這些汽車讓德國的汽車工程技術聞名遐邇，它們的速度和動力足以適應同樣聞名遐邇的德國公路，而德國公路又是世界上獨一無二的。

The Autobahn, a national highway system with no top speed limit.

高速公路（Autobahn），一個沒有最高車速限制的國家高速公路系統。

If you love cars, chances are driving the Autobahn as fast as you can is one of the things you want to do before you die.

如果你熱愛汽車，那麼在死前儘可能快地駕駛高速公路是你想做的事情之一。

Being able to actually put your vehicle to the test and really show its full potential is is the ultimate.

能夠對車輛進行實際測試，真正展現其全部潛能才是終極目標。

Everything about the Autobahn owes a lot to Germany's unique and difficult history.

高速公路的一切都源於德國獨特而艱難的歷史。

So there's this kind of bizarre Cold War moment when German lawmakers argue that being a free citizen, somebody who is not living in a totalitarian dictatorship has to be able to drive as fast as they want.

是以，德國立法者認為，作為一個自由公民，一個沒有生活在極權獨裁統治下的人，必須能夠想開多快就開多快。

So why doesn't the U.S. or any other country in the world have an Autobahn?

那麼，為什麼美國或世界上任何其他國家都沒有高速公路呢？

And is it really all it's cracked up to be?

它真的就是傳說中的那樣嗎？

First things first, what is the Autobahn?

首先，什麼是高速公路？

The full name is actually Bundes Autobahn, which simply means federal highway.

它的全稱是 Bundes Autobahn，意思是聯邦高速公路。

It is a more than 8000 mile system of limited access freeways that run all throughout Germany.

這是一個超過 8000 英里的限行高速公路系統，貫穿整個德國。

The word Autobahn is often just translated as motorway.

Autobahn 通常被翻譯為高速公路。

In simple design terms, it's quite similar to freeways in the United States.

從簡單的設計角度來看，它與美國的高速公路十分相似。

Limited access means cars and trucks only.

限制進入是指僅限轎車和卡車進入。

No pedestrians, no bicycles, no skateboards, nothing other than cars.

沒有行人，沒有自行車，沒有滑板，只有汽車。

There are designated entry and exit points and no stoplights or intersections.

有指定的入口和出口，沒有紅綠燈或交叉路口。

The roots of the Autobahn go back all the way to the early 20th century.

高速公路的起源可以追溯到 20 世紀初。

But really, the first big step in its growth happened under Adolf Hitler.

但實際上，其發展的第一步是在阿道夫-希特勒時期邁出的。

There really was no need for it at all.

真的完全沒有必要。

Few Germans owned cars.

很少有德國人擁有汽車。

Most took public transit, which was plenty fast and got people to where they needed to go.

大多數人乘坐公共交通，速度非常快，能把人們送到他們需要去的地方。

The Autobahn's real potential was as propaganda.

高速公路的真正潛力在於宣傳。

They wanted to build a sort of a futuristic megaproject, something that would lend itself to, you know, talking about the regime as a modern, forward-looking regime at the same time while it was, politically speaking, a very repressive, totalitarian dictatorship.

他們想建造一個未來派的大型項目，一方面可以讓人們把這個政權說成是一個現代的、具有前瞻性的政權，另一方面，從政治上講，它又是一個非常壓制性的極權獨裁政權。

Right.

對

It was about symbolizing power, the conquest of space.

它象徵著力量，象徵著對空間的征服。

By the end of World War II, there were less than 4000 kilometers built, about 2500 miles.

到第二次世界大戰結束時，已建成的里程不到 4000 公里，約為 2500 英里。

It was really from the 1960s through the 80s that the Autobahn system we know today was properly developed.

從 20 世紀 60 年代到 80 年代，我們今天所熟知的高速公路系統才得到真正的發展。

This was obviously a time when the Federal Republic became sort of an affluent Western liberal democracy and also much more of a consumer society.

很明顯，聯邦共和國在這一時期成為了一個富裕的西方自由民主國家，同時也是一個消費社會。

So people actually began to own cars in much higher numbers.

是以，人們實際上開始擁有更多的汽車。

The post-World War II era is also when the Autobahn gained its most famous trait, long stretches with no speed limits.

二戰後，高速公路最著名的特點就是長距離不限速。

During the Nazi era, the speed limits were mainly to conserve fuel for the war effort.

在納粹時期，限速主要是為了節省燃料，以備戰爭之需。

The birth of a new free nation for Germany.

德國誕生了一個新的自由國家。

Once West Germany became independent and separate from the Communist East in 1949, it kept the Nazi era speed limits for a few years.

1949 年，西德從共產主義的東方獨立出來後，在幾年內一直保留著納粹時期的限速規定。

But then.

但是

In a really astonishing move, the federal parliament in 1952 decides to abolish all speed limits, not just on the Autobahn, but on any kind of highway and in urban areas as well.

1952 年，聯邦議會做出了一項驚人的決定，廢除了所有的限速規定，不僅是高速公路，任何類型的高速公路和城市地區都是如此。

And you can imagine the results, especially in cities, right, with cars going as fast as they want.

結果可想而知，尤其是在城市裡，汽車想開多快就開多快。

Crashes, injuries and fatalities all rose until the government started reinstating limits on roads.

在政府開始恢復道路限速之前，交通事故、受傷和死亡人數都在上升。

It mostly left the Autobahn alone.

大部分時候，它都不去管高速公路。

Mostly.

主要是

Today, speed is regulated on about 40 percent of the motorways.

如今，約有 40% 的高速公路對車速進行了管制。

Some limits are fixed, others are dynamic, changing according to conditions.

有些限制是固定的，有些限制則是動態的，根據條件而變化。

On the rest of the freeway, the recommended speed limit is about 80 miles per hour.

在高速公路的其他路段，建議限速為每小時 80 英里。

That means if you get into a crash at a speed above that, you can be held liable for the accident.

這就意味著，如果你以超過這個速度發生車禍，你可能要對事故負責。

My parents commute regularly from Nurnberg to Munich and my mom will drive 100 miles an hour.

我的父母經常從紐倫堡往返慕尼黑，我媽媽的車速可達每小時 100 英里。

And it's not a big deal.

這沒什麼大不了的。

It's not that unusual to just travel somewhere at 200 kilometers an hour, which is around 125 miles an hour.

以每小時 200 公里（約 125 英里）的速度在某處旅行並不稀奇。

But all things considered, on average, I would say it's probably best to imagine Autobahn traffic somewhat like driving through Texas maybe or through Kansas.

但綜合考慮，平均而言，我認為最好把高速公路的交通想象成德克薩斯州或堪薩斯州的交通。

People don't drive slow.

人們開車並不慢。

It's quite fast all the way around, but it's not recklessly fast.

一路上速度都相當快，但並不魯莽。

It's not race car fast.

這不是賽車的速度。

German race car driver Rudolf Caracciola is still believed to hold the record for the fastest speed ever recorded on the Autobahn. 268.8 miles per hour.

據信，德國賽車手魯道夫-卡拉喬拉（Rudolf Caracciola）至今仍保持著在高速公路上行駛的最快速度記錄。時速 268.8 英里。

But others have come quite close, such as a Bugatti Chiron that hit 257 in 2021.

但也有一些車型已經非常接近，比如布加迪 Chiron 在 2021 年達到了 257 輛。

So I have driven a BMW B7, it's an Alpina 600 horsepower sedan.

我駕駛過一輛寶馬 B7，它是一輛阿爾賓娜 600 馬力轎車。

I drove that 170 on the Autobahn.

我開著那輛 170 在高速公路上行駛。

That's the fastest I've driven.

這是我開得最快的一次。

It was difficult to do, by the way.

順便說一句，這很難做到。

I'd rather not talk about the fastest I went, even though it's legal to do so.

我不想談論我去的最快的地方，儘管這樣做是合法的。

Let's just say I once went four towns away from us by accident.

這麼說吧，有一次我不小心去了離我們四個鎮的地方。

I didn't want to go that far, but I was just going a little too quickly.

我並不想走那麼遠，只是走得有點太快了。

German automakers don't necessarily make their cars specifically for the Autobahn, but the demands of high speed environments like these highways do influence their engineering decisions and marketing.

德國汽車製造商並不一定專門為高速公路製造汽車，但高速公路等高速環境的要求確實影響了他們的工程決策和市場營銷。

Mercedes refers to their cars as Autobahn proven.

梅賽德斯將其汽車稱為 "經過 Autobahn 驗證的汽車"。

Driving at high speed is not a video game.

高速行駛不是電子遊戲。

It should be relaxed cruising.

應該是輕鬆的巡航。

And a big challenge for us is controlling the energy in the car, which increases with the square of speed.

我們面臨的一大挑戰是控制車內的能量，它隨著速度的平方而增加。

And that becomes very important at speeds over about, I would say, 60 miles per hour.

當車速超過每小時 60 英里時，這一點就變得非常重要。

It starts with aerodynamic designs, but axles, suspension systems, springs, dampers, roll bars, the tires, the braking systems are all tuned to perform at this level.

首先是空氣動力學設計，其次是車橋、懸掛系統、彈簧、減震器、防滾架、輪胎和制動系統，所有這些都是為了達到這一水準而調整的。

We tune the vehicle safety, the comfort and agility, yes, to deliver a typical Mercedes-Benz driving character at high speeds.

我們對車輛的安全性、舒適性和靈活性進行了調整，以在高速行駛時提供典型的梅賽德斯-奔馳駕駛特性。

Mercedes even has an onboard system designed to keep the car on course when it is hit from the side by a strong gust of wind.

梅賽德斯甚至還設計了一個車載系統，當汽車被一陣強風從側面吹襲時，該系統能使汽車保持正確的行駛路線。

Even with startling events like, for example, powerful wind gusts.

即使是令人震驚的事件，例如強風。

So our aim is to keep the car stable and safely on course at high speed without permanent steering corrections while damping out bothersome chassis motions.

是以，我們的目標是使汽車在高速行駛時保持穩定並安全行駛，而無需進行永久性的轉向修正，同時抑制令人煩惱的底盤運動。

And the car will always support the driver by being tolerant of mistakes.

而且，汽車會一直支持駕駛員，寬容地對待錯誤。

To understand why Germany is basically the only country in the world with a mostly unregulated highway like this, it is probably best to look at what makes Germany's driving laws and car culture so different from, say, the supposedly freedom loving United States.

要理解為什麼德國基本上是世界上唯一一個擁有這樣一條基本不受管制的高速公路的國家，也許最好先看看德國的駕駛法律和汽車文化與所謂熱愛自由的美國有什麼不同。

First of all, it's a lot harder to drive a car in general in Germany.

首先，在德國駕駛汽車一般要困難得多。

You can't get a license in the country until the age of 18.

年滿 18 歲才能在該國獲得駕照。

In the U.S., the law varies, but in most states, people can obtain learner's permits at 15 and receive licenses allowing them to drive legally under at least some conditions by the age of 16.

在美國，法律規定各不相同，但在大多數州，15 歲的人可以獲得學習許可證，16 歲時可以獲得駕照，至少在某些情況下可以合法駕駛。

It is also far more expensive and challenging to obtain a license.

此外，獲得許可證的成本和難度也要高得多。

Many hours of instruction are required and the tests are demanding.

教學時間長，考試要求高。

It's much more difficult.

這要困難得多。

It's more expensive in a lot of people feel that driving tests, myself included.

很多人都覺得駕駛考試更貴，包括我自己。

Fees for a license and all of the associated instruction in Germany can run twenty five hundred to thirty five hundred euros when you add up the costs.

在德國，許可證和所有相關指導的費用加起來可達 2,500 至 3,500 歐元。

The fee for a driver's license in the state of California is forty five dollars.

加利福尼亞州的駕照費用為 45 美元。

But that state, as is common in the U.S., requires driver education classes as well.

但該州與美國其他州一樣，也要求開設駕駛教育課程。

Then the certification process for your car in the country is also extremely stringent.

那麼，您的汽車在國內的認證程序也是極其嚴格的。

I had to get my 500 euro minivan through it.

我不得不把我的 500 歐元小貨車開過去。

It was not easy.

這並不容易。

And that sort of makes the Autobahn feel safer.

這讓高速公路更有安全感。

You know, you're surrounded by cars that have been rigorously checked.

要知道，你周圍的汽車都是經過嚴格檢查的。

A lot of cars here in the states, especially in the Rust Belt, would probably not be fit for the Autobahn.

在美國，尤其是在鐵鏽地帶，很多汽車可能都不適合在高速公路上行駛。

Having such barriers in the U.S. would really limit the number of people and cars who can drive in a country that is right now far more car dependent than Germany is.

美國目前對汽車的依賴程度遠高於德國，如果在美國設置這樣的障礙，就會真正限制美國的駕車人數和汽車數量。

Americans drive about twice as much as Germans.

美國人開車的次數大約是德國人的兩倍。

Germany is much more urbanized country.

德國是一個城市化程度更高的國家。

There's lots of people who live in major cities who don't even have a driver's license.

有很多住在大城市的人甚至沒有駕照。

They get around using public transit and use rail.

他們利用公共交通和鐵路出行。

Then there is the cost of this.

然後是成本問題。

A lot of engineering goes into keeping these motorways drivable at these speeds.

為了保證這些高速公路能以這樣的速度行駛，需要大量的工程設計。

The pavement is extremely smooth and is more or less constantly maintained.

路面非常平整，而且或多或少都會進行維護。

That's expensive.

太貴了

The German government spends five times more on the Autobahn than it does in its other federal highways.

德國政府在高速公路上的投入是其他聯邦公路的五倍。

If you look at the average American freeway or interstate, you will usually just find concrete surfaces.

如果你看看普通的美國高速公路或州際公路，你通常會發現只有混凝土路面。

And in Germany, it's way more intricate than that.

而在德國，情況要比這複雜得多。

You can drive through the pouring rain on modern streets of Autobahn that were recently redone and you don't have any spray whatsoever.

你可以冒著傾盆大雨，行駛在最近重新修整過的高速公路的現代化街道上，而且不會有任何水花。

You can travel at very high speeds through the pouring rain and that is no issue at all.

您可以在瓢潑大雨中以極快的速度行駛，這完全不是問題。

Though the U.S. population is far larger than Germany's, building up a such high speeds would require much investment and U.S. infrastructure suffers both criticism and financial insecurity.

雖然美國的人口遠多於德國，但建立如此高速的交通需要大量投資，而美國的基礎設施既飽受詬病，又缺乏資金保障。

The thing is, Tracy says, Americans might not be missing as much as they think they are.

特蕾西說，問題是，美國人錯過的東西可能並沒有他們想象的那麼多。

I have found that the reality is just it's a little bit anticlimactic in a way.

我發現，現實只是在某種程度上有點反高潮。

It's just not quite what you want it to be.

只是和你想要的不太一樣。

Just because there is no speed limit doesn't mean you will always be able to drive fast.

沒有限速並不意味著您可以一直開快車。

Across Germany, there were about 516,000 traffic jams in a single year.

在整個德國，一年內大約發生了 51.6 萬次交通堵塞。

The number of hours Germans spend in traffic has been rising.

德國人花在交通上的時間一直在增加。

Several highways had traffic jams that were longer than 40 miles.

有幾條高速公路的堵車時間超過了 40 英里。

It's under construction a lot.

這裡經常在施工。

It makes sense.

這是有道理的。

If you have an unrestricted highway, it has to be perfect.

如果你有一條不受限制的高速公路，它就必須是完美的。

You can't have a deep pothole like in Detroit, where I used to live.

你不能像我以前住過的底特律那樣有很深的坑洞。

If you had one of those potholes on the Autobahn, you'd see cars getting air.

如果高速公路上有這樣的坑窪，你就會看到汽車在喘氣。

Germany's Autobahns are also major thoroughfares for international commerce.

德國的高速公路也是國際商貿的主要通道。

Germany is kind of right smack dab in the center there.

德國正好處於中心位置。

Of Europe, it's sort of this connector between east and west, even north and south.

在歐洲，它是連接東西方甚至南北方的紐帶。

So you see a lot of commerce.

是以，你會看到很多商業活動。

A lot of trucks are traveling on that Autobahn and they are not fast.

許多卡車在高速公路上行駛，速度並不快。

If you come to Germany and expect a large and vast countryside and you can go wherever as fast as you like, then you might get disappointed because it's quite crowded and we have large cities.

如果您來到德國，期望看到廣闊無垠的鄉村，可以隨心所欲地去任何地方，那麼您可能會失望，因為這裡相當擁擠，我們有大城市。

The absence of speed limits on German motorways divides even German opinion.

德國高速公路不限速的做法甚至引起了德國輿論的分歧。

Polls have shown that a slight majority of Germans favor introducing a hard limit on the Autobahn for safety reasons and to help the country hit environmental goals.

民意調查顯示，略佔多數的德國人贊成出於安全原因在高速公路上設置硬限速，以幫助德國實現環保目標。

Speed does worsen the severity of crashes and raises the risks of injuries and deaths.

超速確實會加劇車禍的嚴重程度，增加傷亡風險。

That said, most of Germany's vehicle fatalities happen on rural roads, followed by urban ones.

儘管如此，德國大部分車輛死亡事故都發生在鄉村道路上，其次是城市道路。

The share of motorway fatalities is also smaller than those in some other OECD countries such as Slovenia, Luxembourg and Belgium.

高速公路死亡事故所佔比例也小於其他一些經合組織國家，如斯洛文尼亞、盧森堡和比利時。

I guess there are studies supporting each side of that argument.

我想有一些研究可以支持雙方的論點。

But, you know, the numbers don't lie.

但是，你知道，數字是不會說謊的。

You don't have much differences in fuel consumption, for example.

例如，在耗油量方面沒有太大差別。

It just doesn't make a whole lot of difference to drive 130 kilometers per hour or keep it open.

以每小時 130 公里的速度行駛或保持開放狀態並沒有多大區別。

And you also have to consider the fact that you don't always travel at full speed all the time.

你還必須考慮到一個事實，那就是你並不總是一直全速前進。

There are also strict rules.

此外，還有嚴格的規定。

The left lane is for passing.

左側車道用於超車。

Unlike highways in many other countries, you cannot pass on the right.

與許多其他國家的高速公路不同，這裡不能靠右通行。

If someone is behind you in the left lane, you have to move over.

如果左側車道上有人跟在你後面，你必須靠邊行駛。

Tailgating is a serious offense that comes with heavy fines.

尾隨是一種嚴重的違法行為，會被處以高額罰款。

It's also for everybody a high responsibility.

對每個人來說，這也是一項崇高的責任。

So that's why we are not allowed to pass on the right lane.

這就是為什麼我們不能在右側車道超車的原因。

You have to also adapt your speed.

你還必須調整你的速度。

Statistically speaking, Autobahns are safer than other roads, but that mostly has to do with the fact that there's only cars and only trucks.

據統計，高速公路比其他道路更安全，但這主要與只有汽車和卡車有關。

I mean, there are people who literally are afraid to drive on the Autobahn because of the lack of a speed limit.

我的意思是，有些人真的不敢在高速公路上開車，因為沒有限速。

In like manner, the data on how much introducing a speed limit would reduce carbon pollution has met with skepticism, though some recent numbers suggest it might be more than previously believed.

同樣，關於實行限速能在多大程度上減少碳汙染的數據也遭到了懷疑，儘管最近的一些數據表明，減少的碳汙染可能比以前認為的要多。

Anybody who owns an electric car will tell you when they go fast on the highway, their range plummets.

任何擁有電動汽車的人都會告訴你，當電動汽車在高速公路上快速行駛時，其續航里程會急劇下降。

BMW i3, which was developed right there in Munich, and that car, I can drive it in the city and I'll go 180 miles in the city on a charge.

寶馬 i3 就在慕尼黑研發，我可以在市區駕駛它，充電後可在市區行駛 180 英里。

But on the freeway, I'll do 115.

但在高速公路上，我會開到 115 碼。

So in many ways, Americans envious of these German speedways might be missing out on a bit of fun, but it might also be true they are envious of something that is more myth than reality.

是以，從很多方面來說，羨慕這些德國高速公路的美國人可能會錯過一些樂趣，但他們羨慕的也可能是一些神話多於現實的東西。

I think a lot of Americans probably would travel to Germany, they'd get a fast car and they'd say, let's do it.

我想很多美國人可能會去德國旅行，他們會買一輛快車，然後說，我們開始吧。

And then they'd be stuck behind a truck in traffic and they'd be like, what the heck's going on?

然後，他們就會在交通堵塞時被堵在一輛卡車後面，他們就會想，這到底是怎麼回事？

It is not a racetrack, but every now and then the right stretch of the and the right time of day and the right car, you can reach automotive nirvana.

這裡不是賽馬場，但每隔一段時間，只要有合適的路段、合適的時間和合適的車，就能讓你達到汽車涅槃的境界。