In-Car Technology Becoming More Important Than Horsepower 344
Gunkerty Jeb writes "It seems, and I think a lot of people have prophesied this for some time, that in-car features like internet radio and assisted driving technologies are surpassing horsepower, handling and design as automotive selling points. I just hope manufacturers have put in the time to consider all the security dangers that exist in owning internet synthesized cars."
Re:This is a good thing, in the long run. (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually, NO, the current stuff google is testing handles uneventful driving on carefully selected courses.
It still drives thru every pothole, can not handle sudden avoidance maneuvers safely, and has no clue about the child running toward the street from behind a row of parked cars, can't get out of the way of emergency vehicles, or even anticipate the jet-wash of a passing semi.
Re:ABS does not decrease stopping distance (Score:4, Interesting)
I talked to my insurance company about this, and they said it's a wash. Fewer cars going out of control in a skid is pretty much directly balanced by cars rear-ending the ones in front because of increased stopping distance
That's not a wash if it trades front-end collisions for rear-end ones. Of course, from the standpoint of the evil fucker bastard insurance companies it's a wash because either way they have to pay. Actually for them it's probably a problem because people who survive can cost more than dead people.
I took it to a parking lot after we got about 4 inches of snow, and did some panic stops with the ABS on and with it off. Stopping distances with ABS off were consistently shorter, although the car tended to stay in a straight line with ABS on and tended to yaw with the ABS off.
Yep, that's what they're for.
Some ABS systems are worse than others. In general, the more the channels, the better.
Yes, that's very true. However, anything is better than nothing.
Four channel four wheel systems are optimal for cars of course. This type of system used to be only found on luxury cars.
When was that?
I don't know what's being sold now days but I suspect that low end cars still have low end single channel ABS systems, which significantly increase stopping distance because the brakes for all four tires cut out if any one tire loses traction.
Vehicles with only one channel of ABS almost uniformly have ABS only in the rear, and the ABS is run from the vehicle speed sensor. This is the case in my 1992 Ford F250, which has a Kelsey-Hayes Rear Wheel Antilock Brake System (Kelsey-Hayes RWAL System for short.) Most vehicles which have more than one channel have three or four channels. Four channel ABS is amazingly common today and you'll find it on most anything with ABS.
The most advanced ABS can detect pretty well if you're on snow or gravel, and it locks up the brakes for a moment to build up a pile of the appropriate medium in front of the wheel to assist in stopping, so modern fancy-schmancy ABS is capable of outbraking you in pretty much all conditions. You'll only find that on luxury and super cars for the most part, with a few exceptions.