Am I the only one who takes great pleasure in traveling (relatively) slow? (hyperbole)
Give me a train over a plane any day.
I don't want to seem old fashioned but I think there's great value in seeing the world go by at a speed you can actually relate to; where the things you pass still look the same as if you walked by them. I see it as an extremely value for money sight seeing tour.
Of course, like most things, it's entirely contextual. I agree with you, there's nothing I enjoy more than just looking out the window of a car, or train, or plane for that matter -- and if there isn't an urgency, or I'm traveling for pleasure that's just fine!
Of course if I need to cross a portion of the globe as quickly as possible for any number of plausible reasons, or I have to cover an enormous distance on a regular basis, like I'm sure most people would agree, (and I'm sure for a stiff price) I'd certainly be glad to have the opportunity to take advantage of a hyperspeed way to do it.
It sits between the "Concept Studies" and "Concept and Technology Development" phases.