Ferrel,
V1 is there to say...go or don't go...if you reject, then you have a finite amount of runway to stop the aircraft...and this is the time to do it, so you can stop while there is still pavement under you..
Posters in here seem to negate the understanding that V speeds are related to runway length and position
If you were taking off on a 10 mile deserted highway...adhering to the V speed argument is just academic....You could stay on the runway, untill limitations such as tire speed issues came into effect before lifting off...
V speeds would hardly exist without the presence of a finite amount of runway...at the core V speeds represent the concept of 'assured flight'...if you take off here, your assured of flight..if you stop here, your assured of still having pavement under you....
This where my concern with flex numbers start..that some operators will take a nice safe ten thousand foot field and bascialy fly as close to the end of it, reducing all that margin, in order to save on overhaul costs 5 years from now...with 200 people in back...