Ford System Will Warn, Correct Lane-Drifting Drivers 469
PolygamousRanchKid writes "Ford says its new Fusion, which will debut at the North American International Auto Show in a couple weeks, will be the first mainstream midsize sedan in North America to offer a lane departure system. Lane departure systems are aimed at warning drivers, especially drowsy ones, if their vehicles wander out of their lane. A digital camera mounted on the windshield ahead of the rear-view mirror keeps a watch. The system not only causes the steering wheel to vibrate if it senses an unintentional lane departure, it will also steer the car back into the right lane. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes occur every year as a result of drowsy drivers, leading to 1,500 deaths, 71,000 injuries and $12.5 billion in monetary losses." I'd just like to know how hard the AI will fight if it misinterprets a driver's intentional lane change.
Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, I'd guess that a turn signal will convince the AI to allow an intentional lane change.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if this system could be integrated with parking sensors, to prevent some instances of lane-changing when there's another vehicle in the blind spot.
re: indicators, I welcome anything that even gently enforces their use.
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re: indicators, I welcome anything that even gently enforces their use.
As do I. All these nut bags that refuse to use their signals are a danger on the road.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Funny)
As do I. All these nut bags that refuse to use their signals are a danger on the road.
Turn signals are dangerous. They provide your adversaries with advance notice of your intention; it's much better to take them by surprise. (I came to understand this when I lived in Boston.)
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Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
so if there are no cars that could use my signal than I will not turn it on.
You should also signal to those drivers you're not aware of. Maybe traffic code says things for a reason. But if it's "invent your own traffic rules" day, then I guess anything goes :-)
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
if there are no cars that could use my signal than I will not turn it on.
Ok, so what if there are cars that you don't see? Or maybe you see other cars but you think they don't care about your signal. What gives you the right to decide for them whether or not they want to see your turn signal?
The most important reason to ALWAYS use your turn signal -- even if nobody is around -- is just to form a solid habit. So much so that it should feel strange to turn or change lanes without using your turn signal. If you have this solid habit of using your turn signals every time, you don't need to worry about analyzing every situation to determine who may or may not need to see your turn signals (and sometimes be wrong) and concentrate on the parts of driving that actually do need your brainpower. Just do it.
If you're worried about leaving the signal on afterwards, maybe you should be paying more attention to your driving.
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My car turns off the signal if I turn the wheel to the opposite direction than the signal is indicating. It works most of the time, at other times, the clicking of the relay and the flashing light makes me notice quite fast that it did not turn off automatically.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
You know why motorcycles are dangerous? It's because of people who assume they know what's in (or not in) their blind spot and can't be bothered to signal, let alone actually do a head check.
How about checking your pretense to omniscience at the door and just fucking signalling?
Thanks.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Funny)
Some car manufacturers don't put turn signals on their vehicles. BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, and Cadillac come to mind. Most of these cars don't seem to have them built-in. But I do believe there is an aftermarket turn signal package because a few (very few) do have signals.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
I assume your talking about those assholes that speed up to block you the moment you put on your turn signal. I hate those mfckers.
Which is why this system would prevent my patented "drunk man behind the wheel" maneuver. Asshole does not want to respond your signal and let you in? Just start drifting over a little, correct, and then drift back more forcefully.
If they think you are lucid, they become aggressive. If they think you are having problems it is amazing how much distance they give you right away.
Of course, when I had a F350 raised up, everybody gave me room right away. I miss that beast.
P.S - Yes. I fully acknowledge that I am psychopath on the road, but then I view it as warfare just like the poster you replied to.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Or, perhaps, you dumbAsses(tm) could just *slow down* and merge BEHIND whoever you think isn't "letting you in".
Then it'd just be the next car back that wasn't "letting them in."
This situation actually happens. Don't discount it just because you live somewhere where drivers have at least half a clue.
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You still have to make an aggressive move towards the space if you expect it to merge.
It isn't like power merging here in the NW, where you can cross a large number of lanes in a short time by using your signal and aiming in between other cars... who will surely make some room for a fellow citizen.
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Yep. As much as I like turn signals in theory, the problem in practice is assholes like that who speed up to block you from changing lanes. Maybe if cops would look for people doing dangerous stuff like that instead of just speeding, safety-minded people would have more respect for them.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
You haven't driven in the boston area, then.
If you want to get anywhere inside of route 495, you have to throw out almost everything know about safe driving. That knowledge is useless to you. You are in a battle. It is as important to move forward as it is to survive.
If you decide to visit boston, if it is your first visit, and it is raining or snowing or (especially) foggy, don't get on the roads.
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Big problem in NJ then, where lane changes are apparently required every 100ft or so, and signal use is strictly prohibited.
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Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Interesting)
In my car, yes, that is the case. Also, the torque applied to the steering wheel to keep you in your lane is pretty minimal; even grandma would have no trouble overpowering the motor to, say, make an emergency lane change to avoid an accident.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Then I realized that in some emergency situations, a lane change is absolutely required. Vibrating the steering wheel is ok, but if it's forcing you to move back to your lane, then this could cause accidents.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Insightful)
"Some emergency situations" occur how often? No doubt, for every safety feature on a car there is some fringe case that it makes worse, but the net is (usually) better. What if you *needed* to lock up your brakes and slam the car into a skid, and the ABS prevented it? But overall, ABS is a good thing. We (humans) seem easily distracted by "fault", "intent", and "blame", when it would make a lot more sense to just try to minimize the body count.
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It would, but people manage to simultaneously hold in their heads both "I am a better than average driver" and "the anti-idiot squad might come after MY driver's license". There's a huge diversity of opinion about exactly what "good driving" is, too -- I try to be very conservative with following distance (not slow, just plenty of space, and not in the fast lane, either) , and sooner or later someone who ends up behind me will get upset that I am doing this, because look at all that empty space we could be
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:5, Informative)
Not necessarily. You could both be idiots.
Re:Turn signals are a good thing (Score:4, Interesting)
Yes and no. The problem is, in modern North American society, it's pretty much impossible to have a decent job and life without being able to own and operate your own car; all the infrastructure is set up that way. Yes, a lot of people survive on public transportation, but it's pretty miserable, taking 3-6 hours a day to get anywhere like here in Phoenix, so only poor people use it, and it really hurts their lives in many ways wasting so much time sitting on a bus. There are a few exceptions like NYC, but most of the country isn't like that.
A better system would be a Personal Rapid Transit system like SkyTran, where you get a small, private car that automatically takes you wherever you want to go, and eliminates the human factor, but that's not going to happen in the USA any time soon as it requires too much investment and wouldn't make any profit for politically-connected corporations like Halliburton and General Dynamics.
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According to Oregon law, you're never supposed to veer out of your lane to avoid an accident, you're supposed to maintain enough space in front and behind that you can stay in your own lane while making an emergency stop.
It is way more important to save 7 people's lives by staying in your lane and not creating a pile up, than it is you'll actually save that squirrel's life, or to prevent a fender-bender.
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I'm sorry. I can't do that, Dave.
Winter (Score:2)
What will it do in the winter when the clear tire tracks that are safe to follow aren't necessarily perfectly between the lines?
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Re:Winter (Score:5, Insightful)
Then the camera won't be able to see the lines, now will it?
Do you spend much time driving in winter conditions? Sometimes two lanes in the direction of travel end up effectively reduced to one with the painted lane divider line clearly visible in the middle of the lane. Around curves, the position of the painted lane divider line will shift relative to the track of the lane of travel.
I can't imagine that there won't be a disable button for this feature for stuff like winter driving.
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I wonder when the drunk driving patch will come out. Basically that's what ford is doing with this sort of system. If you can't stay awake while behind the wheel your ass shouldn't be driving.
My Prius (Score:3, Interesting)
already has Lane Keep Assist. It doesn't steer me back into the lane, but it does give me an annoying beep when it senses me leaving the lane. Personally, I'd much rather have my car alert me about this stuff and let me control the vehicle rather than have the vehicle do the stuff on its own.
work zones / new pavement with out lines (Score:5, Interesting)
In works zones some times you see lines all over the place will the AI be smart and auto trun off when it sees that?
Also on new pavement you see the temp lines that may not be picked up the AI.
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In works zones some times you see lines all over the place will the AI be smart and auto trun off when it sees that?
The developers must have not thought of that, and just assumed that their cars will be driven in perfect worlds. Probably whatever output the AI gives will be used to turn the wheels, irrespective of confidence measures, speed, driver intention etc. The developers should have clearly come here to Slashdot first, asking for advice.
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I've wondered about this... i'm sure they have a solution but i'd like to know more about it.
The one that bugs me is where they've altered the road and painted over the old lines in black paint and painted on new lines. Under some circumstances (wet road and low sun) the paint on the old lines becomes quite reflective because it's smooth (new paint on old paint makes it more level) and makes the old lines look white while the new lines are almost invisible.
I guess that's a corner case though... the computer
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I have a vehicle with a similar system: a European Honda Accord with LKAS (Lane-Keeping Assist System).
It's very particular about the lines being painted a specific way, and if the lane markings don't meet the spec, the system stays in standby. That said, it was able to cope with the yellow work-zone lane markings on the Autobahn, which seem to take priority over the normal ones.
Re:work zones / new pavement with out lines (Score:4, Informative)
I've only had the system in my volvo get confused a couple of times in work zones. I haven't figured out the exact combination that triggers it, but when you have temp lines that got over other lines gradually that seems to confuse it a bit. but if the lines are at more severe angles to each other it seems to handle it just fine.
`why not stop the car? (Score:5, Informative)
The idea that we should promote drowsy driving by making it (hypothetically) less fatal to do so is laughably absurd. Sometimes a driver needs to swerve to miss an accident occurring--no time to signal, so into the pileup we go? Hmm...
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I would agree with you, but I'm not sure that people who drive while drowsy are thinking rationally. It's something I avoid, but it's not always obvious until it's too late. And figuring out where exactly the line is isn't always easy. Really any technology that can prevent a drowsy driver from killing other people is something worth considering.
But, more than that, what needs to happen is for the consequences of drunk or drowsy driving to be aligned with similarly dangerous behavior out of the car. Around
Re:`why not stop the car? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:`why not stop the car? (Score:5, Informative)
The idea that we should promote drowsy driving by making it (hypothetically) less fatal to do so is laughably absurd. Sometimes a driver needs to swerve to miss an accident occurring--no time to signal, so into the pileup we go? Hmm...
From the linked story, (which you clearly didn't read):
When the system detects the car is approaching the edge of the lane without a turn signal activated, the lane marker in the icon turns yellow and the steering wheel vibrates to simulate driving over rumble strips. If the driver doesn't respond and continues to drift, the lane icon turns red and EPAS will nudge the steering and the vehicle back toward the center of the lane. If the car continues to drift, the vibration is added again along with the nudge. The driver can overcome assistance and vibration at any time by turning the steering wheel, accelerating or braking.
The return to lane feature only works if you start to drift into the other lane, not if you actively turn into the other lane, or supply any other common control input to let the system know you are in fact paying attention.
Its not too hard to distinguish an alert driver at the wheel from someone nodding off, because a normal driver supplies 10 to 30 small control movements to the steering wheel per minute (Steering Reversal Rate), and these are typically Greater than 2 degrees and less than 6 degrees regardless of road curvature or lack there of. Once this rate falls to less than 5 reversals per minute, the car's computer can assume from this single measurement alone that the driver is getting drowsy, and when there are almost no reversals at all, that the driver has fallen asleep.
So the mere presence of control frequent movements on the wheel would sufficient to distinguish an intentional lane cross from an unintentional one.
There is a large amount of research already available on the web about his stuff. Google steering wheel reversal rate. This stuff has been known and measured for decades.
Bad Timing (Score:2)
Bad timing for that feature, after Toyotos troubles. People now know that steering wheels, accelerator pedals, brakes are just interfaces, not the actual "controls". I think many people would prefer for cars to be less automatic and give them more control from that perspective.
What happens when Ford, like Toyoto, outsources some component to a third party who fucks up? You are driving along one day when you car decides you aren't driving properly and decides to ram you into a tree.
Is this a poor mans self driving car? (Score:5, Interesting)
So if I get on the highway can I set my cruise control and take my hands off the wheel?
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...that, with adaptive cruise control (one that slows down to speed of vehicle in front), and yah,... can prolly cruise for hours without touching the controls. Can't wait!
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In my dreams... I'm sure we'll get there eventually. :)
I have a vehicle with a similar system: a European Honda Accord with LKAS (Lane-Keeping Assist System). It seems to have a watchdog timer in place that checks for input on the steering wheel, and if it doesn't detect anything with circa 14 seconds, the lane-keeping system automatically disables itself (with chimes and flashing yellow warning light on the dash). It's immediately re-enabled the moment you apply any force to the wheel. (It's actually a bit
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I don't know about ford's implementation, but generally the idea is to give you not quite enough torque to stay in the lane. Take your hands off, and you *will* drift out of the lane. It just reduces fatigue on long drives, as it's the one doing the thinking, and you just provide a minor torque assist to it to confirm you're still awake and have your hands on the wheel.
And yes, of course you can override the damn thing with minimal force. Engineers aren't complete morons.
(I do love all the people who think
Other people controlling your car? (Score:2)
I wonder what some of the sci-fi/big brother application of this technology might be.
Hackers/terrorists taking over cars on a major freeway to guide people to their deaths?
The police/government deciding they have a problem with you and then seizing control of your car while you are driving it?
Hmmm (Score:3)
It's going to go hoarse here in Alabama.
When I first moved here and experienced my first traffic jam, I watched in amazement as the people drove over the median, onto sidewalks, around light poles and right on the edge of ditches.
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True dat.
Here is Calhoun County, the state/county seems to think that "repaving the roads" means patching the potholes.
The little town I live in can afford to buy the cops brand new Dodge Chargers with all the fruit, but can't seem to repave the roads more often than once every 10 years.
Of course there is a mason lodge on every streetcorner, so what else can you expect?
Buick (Score:4, Insightful)
Too many qualifiers (Score:2)
My Prius already does this. But I guess maybe that's a "hatchback", not a "sedan". And admittedly, it's an option available only on the premium configuration, so there might be an argument to be made of whether it's "mainstream" or not. Or maybe they don't consider it a "midsize" vehicle; I hear it has the interior volume of a midsize, but a smaller wheelbase than many midsize cars. It is, at least, "North American", though.
Point being, every one of those qualifiers is there because somebody else really did
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Does the Prius actually keep you in the lane, or just warn if the car's drifting? If so, how close is it to a self-driving car, assuming freeway travel and no intersections; can you just take your hands off the wheel and let it auto-follow the lane?
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The Prius Lane Keep Assist feature does steer a bit, gently - the wheel tends to drift toward it's best guess of the center of the lane. It won't drive for you, though: if you take your hands off the wheel it notices (I think it notices the absence of any applied torque over some reasonably short interval), sounds an alarm and turns off the feature.
Re:Too many qualifiers (Score:4, Interesting)
smart cars lead to dumb drivers (Score:4, Insightful)
smart cars lead to dumb drivers. On good roads people drive faster, not better. In smart cars people will drive thinking they are safer and will take more risks. As nice as the idea is, the people that this system targets should not be driving.
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More stuff to go wrong (Score:2)
Thanks
Re:More stuff to go wrong (Score:4, Funny)
And a transmission.
This isn't new (Score:2)
No effing way I'm trusting my life to this... (Score:3, Insightful)
How long will it be before someone dies because a bug in the software caused their car to steer unexpectedly into something, or causing the driver to overcompensate (telling the computer "NO!"), causing a crash?
This has disaster written all over it.
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I've known two people killed by sleeping drivers. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:I've known two people killed by sleeping driver (Score:4, Insightful)
Nah, it will just encourage people to perform non-driving tasks while behind the wheel, such as apply eye makeup, shave, eat breakfast, text, look at other people in car while talking, sleep, and so forth.
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Come to think of it, why do we as a society have so much pressure on people that they even NEED to try doing this crap while driving?
Has the rat race of one upping our fellow citizens driven us to this extreme?
exactly how far behind are they? (Score:4, Informative)
from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_departure_warning_system
snippets:
In 2007 Infiniti offered a newer version of this feature, which it called the Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) system. This feature utilizes the vehicle stability control system to help assist the driver maintain lane position by applying gentle brake pressure on the appropriate wheels.
In 2004, Toyota added a Lane Keeping Assist feature to the Crown Majesta which can apply a small counter-steering force to aid in keeping the vehicle in its lane.
2003: Honda launched its Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS) on the Inspire.[13][14] It provides up to 80% of steering torque to keep the car in its lane on the highway.
Another feature (Score:5, Funny)
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What does it do if you miss the Ford dealership? (Score:5, Funny)
again, not solving the problem makes it worse (Score:3, Insightful)
it's not difficult to change lanes, nor to stay in one lane. that's, quite frankly, the easiest part of driving. I don't need help. And keeping me between lines when the road ignores the lines -- construction zones, test paint strips, icons, etc. -- is a terrible idea.
but more than anything else, why should I avoid driving drowsy when my car can help me out? you'll get more drowsy drivers, and more drunk drivers, than ever before.
you'll also have a whole host of drivers blaming a crash on this feature, whether or not it's true.
you've just taken both responsibilty and accountability away from the driver, and put it into something that can't be held accountable, and doesn't have a drivers licence. congrats.
but hey, here's the truth. this is EXACTLY like letting your 8-year old child steer from the passenger seat, while on a long highway drive. it's very dangerous and very illegal. not because your child can't stay between the lines. because the driver is the driver.
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And keeping me between lines when the road ignores the lines -- construction zones, test paint strips, icons, etc. -- is a terrible idea.
What part of your brain stops you thinking that they've already considered this???
but more than anything else, why should I avoid driving drowsy when my car can help me out? you'll get more drowsy drivers, and more drunk drivers, than ever before.
Because you're a sensible and responsible driver? Other people aren't, but I doubt they are going to be any less responsible just because a car exists with this feature. And i'd prefer that other people have cars with this feature because they are less likely to drift across the road and suddenly be driving the wrong way in my lane.
you'll also have a whole host of drivers blaming a crash on this feature, whether or not it's true.
And this is new how? People will try and blame everything else first before accepting responsibi
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the part of my brain that's very familiar with the false positives associated with computer decision-making algorithms.
people started driving faster when they got airbags. welcome to humans. there will be more drowsy drivers as a result of this. look up humans in a book and start to learn about them.
there are very few things that you can blame for a drowsy crash now. after weather and an actually broken car, you're down to minutia. by car crashed by itself will now become a legitimate reason -- whereas
Will it wake me when my exit's coming up? (Score:4, Funny)
Also I'd like to request a 'snooze bar' feature, sometimes I like to get a few more minutes sleep before getting off the highway.
Phrasing... (Score:4, Funny)
I hope they mean "correct" (or "current") lane.
Keeping Dangerous Drivers on the Road (Score:4, Interesting)
This new system defeats the purpose of the rumble strips by preventing your from getting to them and keeps you on the road until you hit someone else. It turns a dangerous, incapacitated driver's vehicle into a guided missile. This is a very bad thing. I'm not at all convinced the a vibrating steering wheel will wake them up... Rumble strips violently rock the whole car and make a loud, disturbing noise.
Re:Keeping Dangerous Drivers on the Road (Score:4, Interesting)
... Rumble strips violently rock the whole car and make a loud, disturbing noise.
That sound may be disturbing if you are a responsible driver who may for one reason or another have momentarily lapsed in control of your vehicle. Out in Las Vegas the sun destroys painted lines so quickly that they have more or less given up repainting them and now delineate lanes with little round plastic domes. I've seen many times where a drunk driver will use that 'loud, disturbing noise' to navigate. They call it driving by Braille. You and I consider that noise to be disturbing, they consider it to be reassuring. It's one of the reasons that I will absolutely not be out on the roads tonight (New Years Eve).
The single best law that could be enforced.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Congratulations, Ford! Welcome to 2005! (Score:3)
It's great that you're making such huge advances in automotive technology. Incidentally, have you seen the the Citroen C5 from seven years ago that had this as part of the standard base-level fit?
I wonder what amazing things Ford will introduce in 2012? Suspension that works? Engines that deliver enough power to pull you out of bed?
Prius already had this. (Score:3)
The Prius already has "Lane Assist", and I know the 2011 model is a mid-sized car, because I'm 6'2" and there is plenty of headroom, it seats five, and I was able to fit an over 6 foot tall Christmas tree in it and close the back door(not the at same same time as seating five, obviously I had to fold the back seat down). Plus, the insurance company lists it as a mid-size car.
So, unless they are saying the Prius is a luxury car, the Fusion is not the first.
Re:More Crapware by Software "Engineers" (Score:4, Insightful)
but none of the responsibility or liability.
sort of like, ohhh, I don't know - maybe posting as an AC ??
you'd be the expert on that, then.
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If the system malfunctions I can't sue anybody, because it was provided "AS-IS" and "WITHOUT WARRANTY" or "FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE".
I have to assume that the sue-happy culture of the USA is probably part of the reason why this system isn't already being sold on a mainstream vehicle in North America. (I own a 1.5-year-old vehicle with a very similar system)
Slightly off-topic: After growing up in the USA, then spending some time living in Europe, I've often been shocked by some of the seemingly dangerous things that are allowed here, compared to the USA. I guess they expect people to exhibit some common sense here, rather than go crying t
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Re:More of a distractionary feature. (Score:5, Insightful)
"Proper, US-sized engine blocks" aren't selling well, and when you consider the cost savings they'd forego if they didn't share parts between their US, European, and Asian lines, are even less cost-effective to sell.
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If only Ford didn't go all Eurotrash and eviscerate anything American from their lineup, favoring globalized-to-hell golfcarts with fancy electronics as the mass market option.
The USA's push for higher fuel efficiency requirements across a company's product line is having that effect.
More globalized-to-hell golfcarts is exactly what we'll get, because European gas taxes already created a market for small cars with small engines.
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If only... then they'd still be circling the drain like they were before they made the change.
A "proper US-sized engine block" is a selfish and environmentally damaging pointless excess. Thankfully the sales figures these days appear to corroborate that.
Won't stop the Al Gores, but it reduces choice. (Score:2)
It won't stop the Al Gores from driving even more offensive vehicles which have the proper-sized engine blocks. It reduces choice for the rest of us that live with environmentalists' overkill demands.
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You mean proper sized engine blocks like the 2.0L twin turbo that makes more torque at lower engine speed, and more power than most of the other engines in the lineup, and providing better fuel economy to boot?
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It's a nice feature and all, but it seems to be more of a distraction from the lack of a proper, US-sized engine block under the hood than anything else.
What, sheer mass makes an engine "better"? I'll put my EcoBoost V6 up against the old 385 V8 Big Block, just because it's about 2/3 the weight for the same HP. And that thing just purrs like a happy kitten. A finely tuned happy kitten.
Of course the car it's wrapped in still comes in at over 2 tons. :-( Still, it gets better than twice the mileage of the old land whales that used to have the 385 (when I'm not driving it like I stole it.) Yes, I'd rather have it in a Mustang than a Taurus, but that wasn
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Re:More of a distractionary feature. (Score:5, Insightful)
US-sized in that you get more car for the dollar. (Score:4, Funny)
Versus Europe and Asia, you get more car in the US, and it is built for the wide open spaces that frustrate golfcarts.
What is it with Europe and their hate on ordinary people having Detroit-like power under the hood, up to the point where people let V8 behemoths rot in garages for fear of taxes?
US cars are hardly inelegant or antiquated - they just weren't built with austerity, but built with pride. You don't see General Motors/Chrysler/Ford cars being blown up by terrorists; you see them use cheap-as-shit Toyotas, Hyundais, Mitsubishis, Peugeots, and other non-US cars that are made with no attention to quality or design.
The US made the mistake of allowing transplants in the door during the days of import quotas in the 1980's. That, and we haven't protected our manufacturers enough to keep US cars that are truly built with only a US audience in mind.
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US automakers, set to their own devices, produced SUVs and muscle cars, and pretty much crap otherwise.
When oil was suddenly $100 per barrell, they couldn't sell them. Not very far sighted.
Your "Everything's bigger in Texas" attitude is just a bunch of "rah rah rah" and very little pragmatism or business sense (nor general empathy or social awareness).
While I do enjoy my sporty car, it's 2.0L flat-4 and the new models produce almost 240hp. It's not exactly a gas hog, and can accelerate at almost uncomforta
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Might be grating for your ears to hear that, Anonymous Coward, but if someone is willing to rig a car to blow up, the car isn't something that has any value to it. This usually means you have cars like those made from Japanese, Korean and austerity-minded European designs. Who's going to miss that golfcart when there are tons of others just as bad?
On the other hand, US cars don't have such affliction for having some actual quality and attention to detail not given to cars for developing nation markets.
Ja
Re:Sedans? (Score:5, Funny)
A "sedan" in US English is what UKians call a "saloon car".
I'm not sure the UK wins less ridiculous name on this one, unless your saloon car also has swinging wooden doors, serves alcohol, and has several cowboys as passengers.
Re:Goodbye Ford. We knew you well... (Score:4, Informative)
They aren't the first company to implement this.... its a fairly tested setup outside of the US
Re: (Score:3)
Despite this, planes have crashed in classic stall / spin accidents.
It's quite possible that AF447 crashed _because_ of such a system, as the stall warning apparently turns off when the airspeed is too low, so when the pilot stalled and then pushed the stick forward, airspeed increased until the stall warning came on and he then pulled the stick back again so it went off, ensuring that they were going to die. Any pilot in such a situation without a stall warning should have figured out that the plane was stalled and pushed forward until it recovered.
Automation has made 'eas
Re: (Score:3)