I was flipping through August of 2014’s Car and Driver and noticed a couple interesting passages, both about things German.

In a M4 vs. 911 comparison test, regarding the M4:

Throttle progression, steering weight, and shift speed can be set to one of three modes, as in the outgoing car. For the steering, sport-plus is unnaturally stiff, comfort is unnervingly light, and sport mode is just right. It takes us 20 miles to configure the system with our preferred settings, and that’s long enough to grow even fonder of the 911, which ships with the proper calibration as the one and only setting.

The paradox of choice, it seems. I do admire Porsche’s dedication to there being only one truly right answer.

Additionally, regarding driving on the Autobahn:

There’s plenty of traffic, but it’s moving quickly and with the relentless lane discipline we’ll soon grow used to. Unlike in America, where drivers disperse all over the road according to the laws of molecular diffusion, German cars stay to the right whenever they aren’t passing. Germany thus seems to move more volume swiftly on a four-lane road than America can with ten lanes.

Having been on the Autobahn in 2013, being chauffeured around Germany in a brand-new BMW M5, I got to experience the Autobahn first-hand as a passenger. The thing that struck me the most was not the speed — which was astounding — but was the unwavering dedication to responsible and courteous driving. German drivers have to be seen to be believed; it is clear that driving is treated as a privilege in Germany.

Quite the contrast from America, where driving is also a privilege, but is treated like it is a right.