Are cars too high tech for our own good?
Super Moderator
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10,795
Likes: 5
From: Pflugerville, TX
Vehicle: 2000 Elantra
IF there is a mechanical link, why not just use that? (I know: it is a pretty safe bet that your average driver sucks at driving and any advantage a computer might give is probably saving lives as we speak)
P.S. get off my lawn!
P.S. get off my lawn!
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 12,515
Likes: 2
From: Lacey, WA
Vehicle: Two Accents, Mini, Miata, Van, Outback, and a ZX-6
Technologies in cars I dislike existing at all:
electronic throttle control
electronic parking brakes
non-replaceable stereos
electronic power steering
Technologies I don't want forced on me but are fine for those that want them:
automatic transmissions
stability control
traction control
power windows
power door locks
non frontal impact air bags
electronic throttle control
electronic parking brakes
non-replaceable stereos
electronic power steering
Technologies I don't want forced on me but are fine for those that want them:
automatic transmissions
stability control
traction control
power windows
power door locks
non frontal impact air bags
Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 3,837
Likes: 0
From: Floating around the AUDM
Vehicle: X3 Sprint, S-Coupe Turbo
You can NOT seriously tell me that a steering shaft with u-joints and a gearbox is less reliable than steer-by-wire. And make that key/transponder, a $150 needless expense with an added security risk that allows a thief to drive off with your car without breaking in, using a clever handheld radio.
If the engine computer in an RD fails altogether the only failure mode is graceful: the engine stops, but steering and brakes remain active. If the everything computer in an everything-by-wire car fails, you're f*cked.
If the engine computer in an RD fails altogether the only failure mode is graceful: the engine stops, but steering and brakes remain active. If the everything computer in an everything-by-wire car fails, you're f*cked.
What cobra said. Throttle by wire defaults to closed, 'electric power steering' isn't electric steering, it just means that the power steering pump is run by an electric motor instead of a drive belt.
Car companies and the DOT are both shrewd and results driven. If a new mechanical technology doesn't improve the car, and if it isn't fail-safe, then it doesn't make it off the drawing board. You might be able to find some exceptions to that rule, but I counter that if we were having this discussion 20 years ago, you'd be exactly as doubtful about EFI and airbags.
I really do understand where you are coming from, but understand that it's a slightly irrational feel to cast off new technology. Someone probably smarter than us probably studied the cost/benefits more than us and made a more rational decision than us to include (technological device) in the car.
Super Moderator
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10,795
Likes: 5
From: Pflugerville, TX
Vehicle: 2000 Elantra
My airbags are disabled, but that's another story. I'm not against new technology, I'm against stupid. I was a fan of fuel injection from the time it was mechanical and unreliable because the promise was there before the technology existed. Personally, I have no use for power anything except windows and mirrors - including automatic transmissions with the exception of a well-implemented CVT which is fantastic. I realize this puts me in a small minority.
Don't kid yourself that everything is an improvement. TPMS is not an improvement. Lead-free electronics that control the car, tin whiskers and all, are not an improvement. 300VDC batteries on the road are not an improvement.
Changing the subject only slightly: One point that a lot of people miss is that lots of the gee-whiz features are designed to help olderly people. Arthritic hands can't pull a handle or turn a key? Keyless. Can't stop fast enough due to slow reaction times? Auto-brakes. Too forgetful to check tire pressure/oil change interval/doors all closed? The car will remind you! Market it to young people so they'll think it's for them!
Don't kid yourself that everything is an improvement. TPMS is not an improvement. Lead-free electronics that control the car, tin whiskers and all, are not an improvement. 300VDC batteries on the road are not an improvement.
Changing the subject only slightly: One point that a lot of people miss is that lots of the gee-whiz features are designed to help olderly people. Arthritic hands can't pull a handle or turn a key? Keyless. Can't stop fast enough due to slow reaction times? Auto-brakes. Too forgetful to check tire pressure/oil change interval/doors all closed? The car will remind you! Market it to young people so they'll think it's for them!