This is because I just had an encounter with the drive of e new MASERAT sprts car (Mucilage?). Anyway, this guy was truly afraid of his car-he entered the highway with the thing lugging-then downshifeted and shot ahead-nearly hit the car ahaed of him! then, he hit the gas and made it to the LH lane-while i was observing this. He then (lugging the engine again0 managed to downshift and took off like a rocket.
The NY Times did a great story “HONEY, I CRASGED THE MASERATI”. What is the jsutification for selling high-performance cars to people untrained in driving them? These things are capable of 150 MPH-isn’t allowing some poeple to buy them, tanatmount toselling loaded revolvers to children? 
What are you suggesting, special driving tests every time you buy a new car? Because all cars are deadly weapons in the hands of the wrong driver.
[Navin R. Johnson]
Ah, it’s a profit scheme!
[/Navin R. Johnson]
Well, the good news is that if the driver of one of these luxury rockets hits you (and you survive), you know he has the deep pockets to pay a huge lawsuit judgment.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Agreed-but the Maserati model in question has an engine SO powerful, you can smoke the tires in 4th gear! That amount of torge, transmitted to the wheels at the wrong time, can cause a terrible accident. A F-1 race car drive is capable of handling such a car (he has the reflexes and experience to drive something this powerful). But some rich idiot who’s experience is with luxo-barge cars is totally out of his element with such a car.
Making money.
Any other answer is outside the scope of General Questions.
Why are any cars sold in North America capable of driving faster than 80 mph (the highest posted speed limit on the continent)? Seems irresponsible.
Because you want to get from zero to 70 in a timely fashion. Some people like to go up hills etc. All of these things take more power than just cruising at 80 on a level road.
As a side point, it would be quite easy to set an electrical governor at 79 or 85 or what have you.
This is going off into IMHO or GD though.
We could start a thread there.
Some cars already have them. My parents used to have an Aerostar (probably a 94) that had one. The engine would cut out at a little over 100 and then come back on when you dropped back down.
Are you sure this was a Maserati ? because you have wrong model name, I wonder if you mean the Murciélago ? The latter is a Lamborghini, which is rather more pricey than anything that Maserati make, unless we are talking of vintage - serious vintage too, they haven’t really done anthing special in supercar terms for quite a while, except for the MC12, and I would be surprised to see something costing around $750k or more conoodling around the streets.
Either way 150 mph sound rather low, if you had said something like 200 mph then it would be much more realistic.
You also have to realise that these things do not have automatics, and anyone used to autos would get quite a reality check, even if they were to go for one with the paddle shift lever on the underside of the steering wheel.
Go for a manual version, and it has a very traditional supercar clutch, very heavy.
Here is your Lambo
…and your Maserati
I bet the Lamborghini marketing guys are thrilled to hear it called a “Mucilage” 
On a side note, 150mph is hardly “supercar” territory. I recently sold my Mazda RX-8, sporty but hardly a supercar, and that had a top speed of 142mph. Allegedly, anyway. Most I got was 136 before I ran out of straight track…
My favorite series from WreckedExotics…
he should have just signed it over to me
No current stock Maserati sold in the US can smoke the tires in 4th.
Nor for that matter can the Lambo.
The engineer who picked the gear ratios for any (stock) car that can smoke them in 4th would be summarily fired.
I find that very unlikely. Do you have a cite for this claim?
along the same lines a Volvo V70R station wagon is speed limited at 152. They will do it.
I’ve had my Dodge Charger up to 140, and still had plenty of engine left…
All BMWs sold in the US shut off at 155, although I’m told that glitch can be fixed rather cheaply. You don’t need to go Italian to do 150, a crappy old vette or camaro could get there.