I suspect that when these were built traffic was much lighter and also much slower.
Does standing start acceleration even matter?
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Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
Only if you are standing 
There are quite a few of these on RT 2, yes they are a pain but all you can do is wait.
I remember an article in either Car & Driver or Road & Track about this very topic, not long after I started driving. The writer had done the math for: passing on a 2-lane without exceeding the speed limit; passing while just leisurely accelerating; and passing like your life depends on it, because on 2-lanes, your life and safety of others really does.
Long story short: flat-footing it in a fast car vs. just putzing around saves nearly half the time and 4 times the distance that your vehicle is in the oncoming lane. The shorter this time, the safer it is for everyone. It’s become such an imprint on my mind to heed this advice that even my wife giving me the eye and saying “Really??” On every pass can’t break me of the habit.
I watch the oncoming car’s closing speed and get the turbos in my truck on full song so that as soon as that car has gone by, my truck is in the oncoming lane and I’m going 20-30mph faster than the car I’m passing, and can then get back over very soon after passing with no concern of that driver having to slow down because I was too close. It’s the most courteous and safer way IMO!
An overabundance of power has never been about need. It's about how you want to feel when you drive your car. I'm a little different in that I don't enjoy burning rubber. I'm much prefer a car that can throw down some all-wheel drive grip in a stoplight acceleration, or out of a hot corner. Eagle Talon TSi, Mazdaspeed 6... Anything with AWD and a manual, which are nearly extinct.
My prii are great for stop signs to speed limits but fall on their faces doing two-lane passing maneuvers. I did one with literally four miles on the odometer, driving home from the dealer, and all sorts of smoke/ condensation came out the exhaust. 
With an automatic I'll kick off OD while I'm waiting to pass on a two-lane, saving my automatic (or stick ) the time wasted downshifting. At T-2 I back off the slowpoke. At T-1 I accellerate towards the blue-hair so when the oncoming car clears I can yank the wheel into the oncoming lane with inertia already on my side.
With an automatic I'll kick off OD while I'm waiting to pass on a two-lane, saving my automatic (or stick ) the time wasted downshifting. At T-2 I back off the slowpoke. At T-1 I accellerate towards the blue-hair so when the oncoming car clears I can yank the wheel into the oncoming lane with inertia already on my side.
Lots and lots of rear end collisions. Still. Most "victims" blame the merging driver for not accelerating briskly enough.
To address the truck driver's comment above. These roads are devoid of trucks. So you don't have to worry that a semi can't slow in time, or can't pull out in time.
I was just driving Route 15 in CT last week. People were rolling along at 75-80.
Just an FYI, the better of these stop sign on ramps have about 5 crashes per year. The worst ones were much higher. Those are gone now.
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The slowest cars in my garage are the Clubman and Wrangler- with 0-60 times in the high 9 second range. Still, I believe that they have sufficient power for daily driving.
That said, starting with my 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 I always want a car that is faster than the car I'm replacing- both from 0-60 as well as in the quarter mile(yes, I'm addicted to the "juvenile thrill of nailing the loud pedal"). I was actually looking for a car that was faster than the C43 that I eventually ended up with, but the totality of the driving experience is so good that I gave it a pass.
That said, starting with my 2007 Mazdaspeed 3 I always want a car that is faster than the car I'm replacing- both from 0-60 as well as in the quarter mile(yes, I'm addicted to the "juvenile thrill of nailing the loud pedal"). I was actually looking for a car that was faster than the C43 that I eventually ended up with, but the totality of the driving experience is so good that I gave it a pass.
While it is fun to occasionally accelerate hard, and shifting through the gears rapidly, most of the time I don't.
I actually prefer good handling, over all out acceleration.
There is something about going down a twisty road without slowing down that i find super satisfying.
A few years ago going along down the highway, a boat on its trailer, without safety chains done up, came unhitched from the motorhome in front of me.
Thankfully I was driving my Accord, and I swerved around it safely. The SUV behind me who had much more room than me, as the boat was now barely in our lane any more, but didn't handle well, plowed into the boat, killing 1, and seriously injured the other. I watched it happen in my mirrors.
My wife who was riding with me that day, commented several times afterwards, and told many people the story, always praising our cars handling to, allowing me to steer around the boat.
I'm 99.8% sure that if I was driving my pickup that day instead, I would have hit it.
I actually prefer good handling, over all out acceleration.
There is something about going down a twisty road without slowing down that i find super satisfying.
A few years ago going along down the highway, a boat on its trailer, without safety chains done up, came unhitched from the motorhome in front of me.
Thankfully I was driving my Accord, and I swerved around it safely. The SUV behind me who had much more room than me, as the boat was now barely in our lane any more, but didn't handle well, plowed into the boat, killing 1, and seriously injured the other. I watched it happen in my mirrors.
My wife who was riding with me that day, commented several times afterwards, and told many people the story, always praising our cars handling to, allowing me to steer around the boat.
I'm 99.8% sure that if I was driving my pickup that day instead, I would have hit it.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Years ago @Shannow told a story about how he thought he was being cut-off by a Grand Cherokee SRT exiting a gas station, but it turned out he never had to touch his brakes, as the vehicle quickly got up to speed.
As @dnewton3 and the OP both mentioned, passing is a big plus and these things correlate. As @Cujet illustrated, short on-ramps are also a spot where rapid acceleration can be important.
So, yes, it's something I feel is important, and having been spoiled with vehicles that have strong acceleration in these areas, I'd not be happy to make a downgrade in that department. That was one of the things that I was very impressed with in regards to the BMW X5 X-Drive 45e PHEV, it had VERY strong acceleration (the electric assist helps) from both a stop and at speed. The i4 M50 is dialed-back a bit out of the hole, but handily out-accelerates a Tesla Model 3 Performance at speed, which is more important IMHO.
As @dnewton3 and the OP both mentioned, passing is a big plus and these things correlate. As @Cujet illustrated, short on-ramps are also a spot where rapid acceleration can be important.
So, yes, it's something I feel is important, and having been spoiled with vehicles that have strong acceleration in these areas, I'd not be happy to make a downgrade in that department. That was one of the things that I was very impressed with in regards to the BMW X5 X-Drive 45e PHEV, it had VERY strong acceleration (the electric assist helps) from both a stop and at speed. The i4 M50 is dialed-back a bit out of the hole, but handily out-accelerates a Tesla Model 3 Performance at speed, which is more important IMHO.
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As kids it most certainly did. When I got my first new car it certainly did (1998 Maxima SE 5 speed, I think brochure said 6.7 0-60?? but mags said 7.4).
My next new car brochure said 5.3 but mags said 4.8 (still have this car).
But who actually cares, right? Many cars nowadays are what in the 3's and even 2's?
I used to care about top speed, maybe I still do. I want 186 speed limited on my next.
My next new car brochure said 5.3 but mags said 4.8 (still have this car).
But who actually cares, right? Many cars nowadays are what in the 3's and even 2's?
I used to care about top speed, maybe I still do. I want 186 speed limited on my next.
When I was a kid, I couldn’t afford a muscle car. These days I like a little pep in the engine, but I’m certainly no kid anymore. Even so, I use the power of my 6.2 NA for passing slower moving traffic or darting out of the way of a compromising situation. If I live long enough, I may drop in a 427 to replace the 6.2 for a little extra margin. 
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It matters for stoplight to stoplight bragging rights.
60-100 or 40-70 matter far more to me, though. Electronic wizardry can turn an otherwise underwhelming car into a quick 0-60 car.
60-100 or 40-70 matter far more to me, though. Electronic wizardry can turn an otherwise underwhelming car into a quick 0-60 car.
For some people, image and ego and bragging rights are the only things that matter. Everyone's different.
Acceleation for me matters most when merging onto the interstate. The 0-60 time is a good indicator. I've driven low powered cars in the past and that part of them was annoying (and a little dangerous). These days, most vehicles are capable enough to do the merging easily.
Absolutely...I thought I was being cut off, by a person who hesitated for far too long, a bellowing roar, and then they were at highway speed.
The ability to enter and merge with traffic is a must have...and if you can't then you are a hazard.
Loved my BRZ...but my Torana's with my home built sixes and 8s would beat it to 120km/h handsomely...the BRZ from 100 to 200 would thrash them...The BRZ was at risk of being run over by a Hilux from a standing start.
As a road user, you owe it to everyone else to be able to take off and merge safely.
Once my boys got to driving age, then they had experience with other peoples rides...then they announced that our cars were FAR more powerful than so&so's moms or dads car. I will never own a car that provokes anxiety at the on-ramps. Having said that, I try not to waste fuel with jack-rabbit starts,
