I've always heard about the American DMV.
Is it really that bad ?
What is it for ? Just road taxing and insuring your car ?
Can't you do that online now ?
In most places I've seen, it really is that bad, but I suppose it can vary from state to state, because it's tied to the state government. In Michigan back in the 80's, if you had to go there for any reason, you just cleared the whole day. You might be out of there in a few hours, but you could also be there four or five hours, or more.
In Maryland in the 90's, it was a bit better. You could usually do what you needed to do in an afternoon, but if you could do that, you might as well go there first thing in the morning, because it's all first-come, first-served. You get there after lunch, there can be a few hours' worth of people in line already. (My problem was getting my ass out of bed early and going down and dealing with that shit.)
I'm in Illinois now, and most of the time I'm in and out in an hour, tops. But you're right; a lot of it can be done online now, which I'm sure cuts down on the number of people they have to deal with.