PTF97.S3.Q08 - Automobile manufacturers began... (Outside Knowledge for LR?)

strawcapnia28

People who don't know that going high speeds uses more gas are at a disadvantage with this question... I picked a wrong answer because I thought about not using outside knowledge.

Admin Note: Edited title. Please use the format: "PT#.S#.Q# - brief description of question”

maco4538

you don't need outside knowledge to get this right; you just need to spot the assumption the author is making. For any questions on flaws, strengthening or weakening, you should have a grasp of the author's assumptions before heading to answers. I promise spending extra time thinking about it will save you loads of time when browsing the answer choices.

So, let's spot the assumption:

Conclusion: the manufacturer avoided the dilemma of the lighter vehicle being less safe on high-speed highways by producing two types of vehicles: a lighter vehicle for local transportation and a heavier, safer vehicle for long distance travel.

Why?

Premise: (because) most automobile traffic is local.

Assumption: if most traffic is local then a vehicle designed for local transportation won't be travelling at high speeds.

We need to attack this assumption, which D does.

D says many drivers use high-speed highways even when travelling locally.

if D is true then the safety concern is not resolved.