Ha! This will never sell to drivers in Boston!

[billski]

"High-end vehicles such as those produced by Mercedes, BMW, and Lexus come equipped with adaptive cruise control systems that use radar to maintain a safe distance between cars. Even if the car ahead comes to a complete stop, the system is capable of sensing that and applying the brakes to avoid a collision. The challenge has been making this type of radar system cheap enough to add to cars with sticker prices tens of thousands of dollars lower. Next year, Robert Bosch, the world’s leading automotive components supplier, will introduce an automotive radar system that fills the bill."

"Today's systems can dramatically reduce your risk of rear-ending someone else's car, and when most cars have such radars, they will also be much less likely to rear-end you."

What fun would that be? How the hell else am I gonna get drivers out of my way?


Source: http://spectrum.ieee.org

 

[Glenn]

I thought the radar system was already out. I beleive Audi was using them; they look like fog lights, but they're radar pods.

Regardless, time to pull the trigger Bill. It'll be nice to park your car after opening the garage door via wifi. :lol:

 

[ALLSKIING]

No thanks...I prefer to drive my car not have the car drive itself. Also, what happens when people get so used to this and stop paying attention completely... then the thing malfunctions?I really do hate all these assisted driving features cars have these days and its only going to get worse.

 

[ctenidae]

Top Gear commented on that system- Jeremy said you could program teh distance you follow, from a nice safe distance several car lengths back all the way up to "Full Audi" tailgaiting.

They don't like Audis or Audi drivers.

If I used cruise control, I'd probably think the adaptive version was grand.

 

[bvibert]

No thanks...I prefer to drive my car not have the car drive itself. Also, what happens when people get so used to this and stop paying attention completely... then the thing malfunctions?I really do hate all these assisted driving features cars have these days and its only going to get worse.

Totally agree!

 

[Glenn]

I can see this being helpful in light traffic. Here's what seems to happen to me more often than not....someone in the right lane wants to pass the car in front of them. I'm in the left lane; CC set at 74ish. The car pulls out in front of me and proceeds to pass the other car at 1.5mph faster than the other car is driving. It's annoying as hell.

 

[ctenidae]

I can see this being helpful in light traffic. Here's what seems to happen to me more often than not....someone in the right lane wants to pass the car in front of them. I'm in the left lane; CC set at 74ish. The car pulls out in front of me and proceeds to pass the other car at 1.5mph faster than the other car is driving. It's annoying as hell.

That's just bad driving on the other guy's part. No nanny system in your car will help that. Unless by "nanny" you mean "bazooka."

 

[speden]

... they will also be much less likely to rear-end you.

That's a nice feature, but I think cooler stuff is on the horizon. Some of the automakers are looking to have cars communicate with each other, to warn you about things you can't see. Each car can report its position and speed, and computers are much better at calculating when a collision is about to happen than humans. So when the car thief or whatever is barreling through the red light, your car could tell you or just stop you before you get t-boned by the clown. Or two cars ahead of you an accident may happen, and the cars in front of you will relay to your car, "You need to stop now or else you're going to be part of the pileup that's about to happen!"

 

[Glenn]

That's just bad driving on the other guy's part. No nanny system in your car will help that. Unless by "nanny" you mean "bazooka."

That's what bugs me. I'm not out to break any speed records...I just want an efficient trip. People just don't get it. It's annoying.

 

[SkiDork]

I actually think that parallel parking assist looks cool.

 

[ctenidae]

I actually think that parallel parking assist looks cool.

Yeah, but that will eliminate a source fo great enjoyment in Boston, watching the 'burbans fail miserably to get their 15 foot land yacht into a 25 foot parallel space. A good Bostonian can get a 10 foot car into a 9 foot space. Cars have bumpers for a reason, you know!

 

[rocojerry]

How bout a giant air-bazooka to keep the car behind you further off your a$$ instead?

May go along well with the yosemite sam mudflaps!

 

[bvibert]

That's a nice feature, but I think cooler stuff is on the horizon. Some of the automakers are looking to have cars communicate with each other, to warn you about things you can't see. Each car can report its position and speed, and computers are much better at calculating when a collision is about to happen than humans. So when the car thief or whatever is barreling through the red light, your car could tell you or just stop you before you get t-boned by the clown. Or two cars ahead of you an accident may happen, and the cars in front of you will relay to your car, "You need to stop now or else you're going to be part of the pileup that's about to happen!"

That sounds like an absolutely horrible idea to me. I don't ever want a car that automatically applies the brakes for any reason.

 

[speden]

That sounds like an absolutely horrible idea to me. I don't ever want a car that automatically applies the brakes for any reason.

You probably don't like anti-lock brakes then. If your car has them and you've ever felt them kick in when you pressed the brake, that means the computer just did it better than you could. Stability control automatically applies the brakes independently to the wheels to keep people from skidding off the road or into oncoming traffic. That kind of fine control of braking isn't humanly possible with a single brake pedal.

Most people overrate their ability to avoid an accident. It's simple physics and biology that many accidents are unavoidable without computer assistance. That's why so many people die and get injured in car wrecks year after year. Car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers. Improved braking features will save their lives. In the future you might be telling your grandchildren a car wreck story, and they'll say, "That's silly grandpa, why didn't the cars stop?"

There was a story in the news just yesterday about a teenage girl who was huffing compressed air and then ran over two pedestrians. You'll never stop people from behaving irresponsibly, but you can make cars that don't kill people.

 

[darent]

I actually think that parallel parking assist looks cool.

If you can't parallel park, you shouldn't be driving, that's my story and I'm sticken with !!it

 

[darent]

You probably don't like anti-lock brakes then. If your car has them and you've ever felt them kick in when you pressed the brake, that means the computer just did it better than you could. Stability control automatically applies the brakes independently to the wheels to keep people from skidding off the road or into oncoming traffic. That kind of fine control of braking isn't humanly possible with a single brake pedal.

Most people overrate their ability to avoid an accident. It's simple physics and biology that many accidents are unavoidable without computer assistance. That's why so many people die and get injured in car wrecks year after year. Car accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers. Improved braking features will save their lives. In the future you might be telling your grandchildren a car wreck story, and they'll say, "That's silly grandpa, why didn't the cars stop?"

There was a story in the news just yesterday about a teenage girl who was huffing compressed air and then ran over two pedestrians. You'll never stop people from behaving irresponsibly, but you can make cars that don't kill people.

I'm fine with anti lock brakes, to a point, it won't allow you to do certain winter driving saftey maneuvers efficiently because you can't lock up your brakes. as far as stability control, wait till you get stuck in snow on a flat surface, you better hope you can switch it off. spend the time to learn how to really drive . go past your highschool drivers ed coarse and invest in some driving skills and you won't need your car to drive you.

 

[Geoff]

I'm fine with anti lock brakes, to a point, it won't allow you to do certain winter driving saftey maneuvers efficiently because you can't lock up your brakes. as far as stability control, wait till you get stuck in snow on a flat surface, you better hope you can switch it off. spend the time to learn how to really drive . go past your highschool drivers ed coarse and invest in some driving skills and you won't need your car to drive you.

Yep. I hate ABS when I'm snow driving. In deeper snow, you really do want the brakes to lock up to stop the car.

My VW GTI is pretty funny when the ESP is enabled in the winter. Driving up a snow-covered hill, it will just coast to a stop... and that's with good snow tires.

My high school/college car was a 1972 Maverick. Nobody had snow tires back then and I couldn't have afforded them. I was a Vermont every weekender in my youth and I went to UVM. By the time I was 18 or 19, I was a pretty competent snow driver. You don't need to "invest in some driving skills" to learn how to snow drive. You just need to drive in the snow a lot with a crappy snow car. It's way easier to master than a crosswind landing or docking a boat with current and windage.

 

[bvibert]

In the future you might be telling your grandchildren a car wreck story, and they'll say, "That's silly grandpa, why didn't the cars stop?"

I seriously hope not. What's next, cars that steer themselves? No thanks. Might as well ride the bus.

How much is all this fancy technology going to cost and weigh? What happens when the computer that everyone becomes accustomed to stops working properly? Will the car just stop in the middle of the road? Will the zombie drivers be able to figure out how to operate the vehicle without HAL there to help?

I'm all for technology, but I'm not at all a fan of the pussification of the driving experience (or life in general).

Have you ever watched Demolition Man? That's where we're heading with your stream of thought. I guess I'll be hanging out in the sewers with Dennis Leary...

 

[ctenidae]

I guess I'll be hanging out in the sewers with Dennis Leary...

I'll bring the beer.

 

[SkiDork]

If you can't parallel park, you shouldn't be driving, that's my story and I'm sticken with !!it

I can parallel park.

I can also drive. But if I could afford a limo to take me everywhere I'd certainly do that.