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Why can cable cars only go 9 ½ MPH? Because that's how fast the "cable" goes.
Cable cars have no motors at all, only a metal claw (or "grip") that grabs onto a constantly-moving metal cable under the street, which travels at (you guessed it!) 9 ½ MPH. Hanging onto this cable pulls the car along for the ride.
Appropriately enough, the person who grips and ungrips the grip is called the gripman.
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