Amazing Things Your Automobile Can't Do 641
dslmodem submitted this NYT story on nifty automobile technology that isn't coming to the United States. The report suggests that legal liability is a significant reason for not offering various driver-distracting options in the U.S.
Video would be nice (Score:3, Interesting)
:: fingers crossed :: (Score:2, Interesting)
We still don't have a lot of 'em.... (Score:5, Interesting)
Litigous == good?! (Score:3, Interesting)
---NY Times quote---
While the system seems ideal for congested streets like New York's, "we have no plans for the U.S.," said Jon Bucci, corporate manager for advanced technology at Toyota Motor Sales. "This is a very litigious society."
---NY Times quote---
So, to recap: the fact that the auto-parallel park will continue parking even if a 3 year old steps in the way is not a reason to withhold the feature. No, the threat of a lawsuit is the reason.
Seems to me like this is a classic example of why US lawsuits are a good thing (tm). They're preventing companies from rolling out products that could run over little kids without allowing the operator to override.
It's not all about legal liability (Score:2, Interesting)
A friend went to visit me and thought those features were really cool because he had a Jetta but didn't have any of those.
I don't see how VW would get sued for having those features. But I think in North America, the car makers think we don't care about knowing mpg, outside temp or having a rain sensor as much as like having a bigger engine and faster car. It's about preference.
Personally I don't agree with how car makers perceive NA market. My friend thought he would rather have a smaller engine but better features. He prefer the Bora to his Jetta. I think there is a good market for car that are not powerful but more high tech.
Re:Superflous. (Score:2, Interesting)
A) Walk
B) Bike
C) Moped
You can also buy the bottom of the line models that the manufacturers sell without radio or anything else. I, however like to listen to music while driving as it helps me concentrate.
Automotive Technologies Slightly Ahead of Time (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Wow... point and click parallel parking... COOL (Score:3, Interesting)
formula for parallel parking a car perfectly.
i'm pretty sure that everything in math is repeatable.
link here [www.exn.ca]
Re:Gas (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Litigous == good?! (Score:3, Interesting)
Who said the operator couldn't override it? I think the point the article was making was that in the US, people like to look for someone to blame other than themselves. So, if a three-year-old did get run over because of the driver's negligence when using the system, a US citizen would be likely to blame the car manufacturer for their own failings.
Note that I am not a US citizen, and therefore may display bias in this interpretation :-).
Re:Stop sueing everybody! (Score:4, Interesting)
Darn it, look at all the death, chronic pain, and permanent disability we could have if we just had more distractions while driving.
Re:Gee, I can't figure out why this is bad... (Score:3, Interesting)
Notice how people can have normal conversations in the their car. But put that hand to their ear, and they're all over the road!
Re:Tort Reform Redux (Score:4, Interesting)
Last I heard, something like 6% of doctors were causing 66% of the malpractice payouts. Yet what ends up happening is that a hospital hides the records, in order to move the doctor elsewhere. The doctor has no visible blackmark, and is free to continue practicing (Perhaps the ordinary meaning of 'practice' is appropriate, here.) medicine.
If I mess up at my profession and am 'encouraged' to leave, the black mark would follow me. Doctors should be the same, if there's some clear indication of incompetence or negligence. I'll presume that that 6% of doctors isn't a matter of 'bad luck,' it's the bottom of the bell curve, and those people shouldn't be doctors.
Some cool Braking functionality (Score:2, Interesting)
More about year 2003 SBC technology [whnet.com]
'cause it would be stolen in 4, 3, 2, 1.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, TVs are illegal in the front seat in Japanese cars. If you have a factory installed system it has to blank itself when the car is in gear. GPS is OK, but no TVs or DVD players. Of course, that's not to say that people don't put them in illegally. When I was in Japan in 1998, my boss had a hi-8 vcp and a 5" trinitron monitor bolted to the dash of his subaru. He would dub rented VHS tapes to hi-8 and watch them in his car.
Re:good, we don't need that crap. (Score:3, Interesting)
What's the point of actually getting an urban assault vehicle if I can't stop paying attention the road? That's the whole point of armor, man.
Re:Tort Reform Redux (Score:5, Interesting)
A couple of true stories I have personal knowledge of:
- A friend's girlfriend ate something that gave her food poisoning at a restaurant while traveling. On the flight back, she got violently ill and had to be admitted to a hospital. A few days later, the airline (I believe it was Northwest) called her and offered her $10,000 if she promised not to sue them. This, inspite of the fact that it was not their fault - she hadn't eaten anything on the plane.
- A partner in my brother-in-laws real estate firm took a client (a lawyer) out to look at houses. While they were driving, they got into a minor fender bender. 6 months later, the lawyer sued the real estate agent complaining of neck pain - inspite of the fact that a month after the accident the lawyer had fallen in her boat and broken her neck. His insurance company decided not to contest and settled for $150,000.
In both cases, the "plaintiff" was awarded/offered a undeserved large sum of money for something that was not the "defendants" fault. The reason? In most cases the cost of fighting the suit would be more than the settlement offered.
The tort reform we need is expediting the process and costs of tort suits rather than limiting the damages.
I miss Fiats (Score:4, Interesting)
They were good basic cars that were fun to drive and easy to work on. What more can you really ask for?
Now to see what they offer in Europe, hell, I'd kill for one of them.
Sometimes people would tell me that FIAT stood for "Fix It Again, Tony." I'll admit that I have my share of problems with the cars, but then I was really driving 'em a little harder than I should have too. Besides, they were fun to fix. I could lift the engine out of an 850 all by myself and a complete engine swap only took an afternoon or so. Frankly, I'd bet that had I been driving American cars I would have had as many problems and would have had to spend a lot more to fix 'em.
A junk yard I knew spliced a 124 and a 128 together, it was just sort of a joke but they had a two engined car to show off!
I only regret that I never got around to owning a X/19 or 2000.
Re:good, we don't need that crap. (Score:1, Interesting)
More Americans died in September 2001 from traffic accidents than because of international terrorism.
Re:Instead of adding, why not remove shit ? (Score:1, Interesting)
The trick is, you polarize the headlights and the windshield at 45 degrees.
The stuff that reflects back from your headlights comes through no probs, but the lights from oncoming traffic is completely blocked by your windshield, because it's at 90 degree polarization to your windshield!
He did test in the 1960s, and said the results were spectacular. The only downside was that headlights need to be a bit brighter to compensate for the polarized windshield.
Re:Car Insurance (Score:1, Interesting)
Furthermore, insurance companies get away with the one thing society says we shouldn't do; base a decision on gender. Why should I have to pay more for the same coverage as my sister, yet we both have the same driving experience and history? It's amazing that they are allowed to get away with it at all, but not surprising, given their position (deemed mandatory in the U.S. for anyone unable to post a $30k bond) and lax regulations in pricing.
What we need is an open database with history and rates open for everyone to see. The ones unlikely to post their information are those with something to hide, so the insurance company would be free to dictate pricing for that sub-market. As for the general population of no-claims drivers, we would be able to put the hurt on the biggest offenders by voting with our wallets.
Re:You have to talk to the owners then. (Score:3, Interesting)
Another similarity is the DOT spec for headlights, which requires their beam pattern to be poor, and to blind oncoming drivers. The E-code spec used in Europe is far superior, and provides for a cutout that reduces the glare to oncoming drivers, and directs more of the light onto the road ahead. But of course, since we didn't invent it, we can't have it here.
Another one is the aspherical rearview mirrors used in Europe, in the side mirrors. Instead of just being flat, they are slightly convex at the ends, so that you can see vehicles in the blind spot. In America, these are illegal because they might confuse drivers.
Re:Paranoia (Score:1, Interesting)
I think you have identified what people in the US have such a hard time grappling with: time scale. For example, the average Joe doesn't realize that approximately 40,000 people die on US road each year [dot.gov] yet freaks out over flying in a plane.
On a related note, what is so astonishing is why someone in a random rural town honestly thinks terrorism will come to their doorstep. This is clearly a byproduct of the media and government furthering their own agendas. Whether you like the movie or not, Fahrenheit 911 (and Bowling for Columbine, for that matter), has a great snippet where such a resident displays outright fear that their little crossroad town will be invaded by terrorists. I lived in a first strike nuke zone and on top of a fault line for years and rarely thought about either. Truly mind boggling.
Re:Paranoia (Score:5, Interesting)
For the American public, that is; apparently not for the intelligence services.
>There is evidence that the IRA received funding, weapons, and other support from Libya and from the PLO at times in its history.
Birds of a feather... Far more relevant is that the IRA for decaded received a lot of it's funding from Irish-Americans. Just goes to prove that one man's terrorist is (often) another man's freedom fighter.
Re:Glad (Score:2, Interesting)
See how this sort of thing works yet? What will you be unable to do without in 15 years time?
Can I get.... (Score:3, Interesting)