How I beat a GT-R by bus – Weblog

Last year, in the midst of the Covid crisis, I would have fired up the Volvo without hesitation. You then drove straight through traffic-free Netherlands in two and a half hours from Norg to Raamsdonksveer, a journey that took me an average of three to four and a half hours before the pandemic. The fun of driving was back. I enjoyed the long, lazy rides again and secretly hoped that the lockdown was forever. Folks, keep working from home, I thought.

For a moment it seemed to happen. When the Corona fumes lifted, everyone predicted a new world. Trend watchers had the upper hand. We would continue to work from home more often, and the number of leased cars would drastically reduce traffic jams. They have already adjusted their lease policy to this, Nieuwsuur heard spokespersons of 23 large Dutch companies say in May. Office space would be scrapped and existing lease programs were cut, because almost all of them expected substantially less traffic.

I had two reasons to predict a rapid return to the old normal. The employers wanted their control back, the employees their habits and their mouth-detested but cherished private moments in traffic. My right came faster than I could have ever imagined. The first post-pandemic monster peaks are now behind us. If you now drive from Groningen to Raamsdonksveer, you will come across all the highlights just like in the past.

I do not feel like it. For example, early in the morning I cycle in the darkness to Groningen station for the public transport route. This can be divided into two parts: first without transferring with the Intercity to Utrecht, from there with bus 400 directly to Raamsdonksveer. Just laugh. The Brabantliner literally stops right outside the door at Toyota/Lexus. The only downer there is the detour to the main entrance, a ten-minute walk around Louwman’s hip neighbours. In total you will be on the road for three hours and fifteen minutes. That seems like a lot, but in normal times it is almost always faster than the car.

Also now. Out of glee or vanity – who doesn’t want to be the smartest? – I keep a close eye on the traffic jam reports from the train. They quickly go into top gear. Between 7.26 and 8.35 hours, the number of traffic jams shoots from 27 to 87. At the high or low point, 371 kilometers come to a standstill. That’s what the ANWB calls an average striker these days, I see. In my employee days, up to 2003, a medium striker was half that. You can bet that on the A28 and A27, and at the interchanges Zwolle, Amersfoort and Utrecht, I would have received the full blow. Now I am content to finish a long book. Even if the bus on the A27 gets stuck for a while, you won’t hear me complaining. No running and standing still, no lame feet from coupling and braking; I save myself 150 miles of pure frustration. From the silent bus I see a Porsche 911 and a Nissan GT-R undergoing the driver’s fate in fits and starts. Then you stand with your cool supercar. I wouldn’t enjoy it.

Minutes after I get out, I hear a heavily armed supercar sound approaching behind me. I look around and see the great GT-R, the same monster. Maybe he needed to refuel. But he was not a second faster than that dull, nice, soothing bus 400. Recommended, and for those who still hesitate; take a nice car magazine with you, you have the best of both worlds. Because really, this is a country where the bus beats a GT-R, a country incapable of changing.