The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has just finished up with its crash testing of the two popular hybrid cars, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Nissan Leaf. And both cars earned the highest safety ratings with top rating of “good” for their front, side, rear, and rollover crash protection. Read the rest of this entry »
BMW just announced its plan of a new adaptive transmission based on its current eight-speed transmission at its annual Innovation Days in Munich. The adaptive transmission is able to predicts curves, road conditions to help the transmission to automatic downshift or upshift as needed. Read the rest of this entry »
Update
Toyota Lexus released another statement a few hours ago that it has temporarily suspended of all sales of the 2010 GX 460. Toyota Lexus has made the decision to take the Consumer Report’s finding of a potential rollover in the 2010 LX 460 seriously, and boosted the situation into “red alert” mode. This time Toyota is not taking any chances but to deal the problem heads on. Read the rest of this entry »
The Side Blind Zone Alert system will be available in the the new Buick LaCrosse to help drivers avoid those lane change mishaps that could result in an accident. What it is if the Side Blind Zone Alert system detects a vehicle in the adjacent lane, the system will illuminate a symbol on the side view mirror alerting the driver. If the driver activates the turn signal in the direction of the detected vehicle, the symbol will flash continuously to alert the driver of danger until the other vehicle has left the blind zone. Read the rest of this entry »
Since the Toyota unintentional acceleration gas petal problem, GM doesn’t want to become the new statistic of this woe, it has been quietly working behind the scene to come up with the “enhanced smart petal” technology. It hopes to deploy the “enhanced smart petal” technology globally to all of its passenger cars with automatic transmission and electronic throttle control by the end of 2012.
This is not a new technology, GM has had for a few years a braking override system in its vehicles, which requires the brakes to stop the vehicle within a specific distance. Now, GM is expanding the brake override system into the acceleration system. This new system not only override the braking system but also reduce engine power if it detects a runaway car. GM is trying to create a digital system to automatic override the electronic controls to reduce power to the engine in cases where the brake and accelerator petal are being depressed at the same time.
“News media analyses of government data consistently validates that GM’s safety record on this issue is among the strongest in the industry,” said Tom Stephens, vice chairman, GM Global Product Operations. “At the same time, we know safety is top of mind for consumers, so we are applying additional technology to reassure them that they can count on the brakes in their GM vehicle.”
Basically, by the year 2012, every new GM car would have this fail-safe system to stop a runaway car; the automatic braking and engine power reduction (enhanced smart petal) safety features.
If you spend a lot time on the road and would like to know what may be the best car for your commute. Wait no more, AAA, U.S. car insurance company, just today released its top vehicle picks for commuters. Not only these top picked vehicles provide comfortable and safe during long hours on the road, but also save money on gas and being environmental friendly at the same time.
It is time to do house cleaning of outdated car maintenance advice and myths. Ford is taking a closer look at these outdated car maintenance advice and myths to save you some money. From the review of these car maintenance myths, I concur with Ford. Take for example, remember that you had to change your oil every 3,000 miles or so; well, you don’t have to do that anymore. Motor oil and engine developments have advanced in the past few decades that this maintenance myth doesn’t apply anymore. By implementing the small changes below, you could save up to $550 ayear or $6,600 over the lifetime of your car.
Toyota is fighting back with a separate study done on Dr. Gilbert’s demonstration to mimic the unintended petal acceleration scenario found in Toyota cars. In a separate study done by Dr. J. Christian Gerdes of Standford University found the following:
“First, an electrical circuit that has been re-engineered and rewired will not behave as it was originally designed and engineered,” said Tabar.
“Second, no automaker can or should be expected to design detection strategies for artificially created events in the absence of any evidence that such an event can occur in the real world.
“Third, if the artificial condition created by Professor Gilbert had occurred in the real world, it would have left readily detectable fingerprints.”
In the demonstration dramatized by ABC on February 22, Professor Gilbert, assisted by segment reporter Brian Ross, asserted that he had detected a “dangerous” flaw in the Toyota electronic control system that he alleged could lead to unintended acceleration.
As we would have expected, Toyota is not going down without a fight. Exponent, Inc. and Toyota engineers found no evidence to suggest that any of the steps of Professor Gilbert’s demonstration exists in the real world. Go figure, but the accidents did happen in the real world. In fact, regulators have linked at least 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by accelerator problems.
Example cases:
1) The National Higway Traffic Safety Administration has sent experts to a New York City suburb where a 56-year-old woman said her 2005 Prius sped up on its own as she was leaving a driveway.
2) On Monday of March 8, 2010, Mr. James Sikes of San Diego, California called 911 to report that he was behind the wheel of an out-of-control Toyota Prius going 94 mph on a freeway near San Diego. Twenty-three minutes later, a California Highway Patrol officer helped guide him to a stop, a rescue that was captured on videotape.
Well, anyway, have a laugh at the funny video from David Letterman with Toyota’s CEO Akio Toyoda (imitator) to set the record straight regarding this issue.
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During a live webcast, Toyota raised serious concerns about the validity, methodology and credibility of a demonstration of alleged “unintended acceleration” in a Toyota Avalon by Professor David Gilbert of Southern Illinois University and depicted in ABC News broadcasts and on-line segments.
A comprehensive analysis conducted by a world renowned engineering group, as well as testing by Toyota, has concluded the following about Professor Gilbert’s demonstration:
• The vehicle’s electronics were rewired and reengineered in multiple ways, in a specific sequence, and under conditions that are virtually impossible to occur in real-world conditions without visible evidence
• Toyota vehicle electronic systems were actively manipulated to mimic a valid full-throttle condition
• Substantially similar results were successfully created in vehicles made by other manufacturers.In the demonstration dramatized by ABC on February 22, Professor Gilbert, assisted by segment reporter Brian Ross, asserted that he had detected a “dangerous” flaw in the Toyota electronic control system that he alleged could lead to unintended acceleration.
The following day, Professor Gilbert offered a preliminary report of his findings in testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Engineers at Exponent, one of the country’s leading engineering and scientific consulting firms, as well as Toyota engineers, have reviewed and recreated Gilbert’s demonstration with substantially similar results in representative vehicles of other makes.
Separately, at Toyota’s request, Dr. J. Christian Gerdes, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford University and the director of the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS), conducted an independent review of Professor Gilbert’s testimony and the preliminary report presented to Congress.
Their findings were demonstrated today at a news conference during which the accelerator circuitry of a Toyota Avalon, as well as a sampling of well-regarded and popular competitive makes, was rewired and manipulated as Gilbert did in his demonstration.
Kristen Tabar, general manager of electronics systems, Toyota Technical Center, summarizes three of the major concerns with the artificial nature of Professor Gilbert’s demonstration.
“First, an electrical circuit that has been reengineered and rewired will not behave as it was originally designed and engineered,” said Tabar.
“Second, no automaker can or should be expected to design detection strategies for artificially created events in the absence of any evidence that such an event can occur in the real world.
“Third, if the artificial condition created by Professor Gilbert had occurred in the real world, it would have left readily detectable fingerprints.”
Exponent and Toyota engineers have found no evidence to suggest that any of the steps of Professor Gilbert’s demonstration exists in the real world. Thus, the fact that the Toyota Avalon used by Professor Gilbert did not show a Diagnostic Trouble Code after his demonstration does not indicate an undetectable safety defect. The same is true of the representative vehicles of other manufacturers tested by Exponent and Toyota.
Professor Gilbert’s reengineering and rewiring of the vehicle’s electrical system involves the following manipulations in a specific sequence. First, the protective insulation on two separate wires that carry the accelerator pedal position signals to the Engine Control Module must be individually cut or breached. Next, these wires are connected to each other through a 200 Ohm resistor.
This contrivance, by itself, did not cause an increase in engine speed. To cause an increase in engine speed, it is necessary to cut the insulation on a third wire, the 5-volt power supply to the accelerator pedal, and force a low resistance connection between the power supply and the secondary signal wire.
The resulting increase in engine speed is a result of the subsequent artificial and sudden application of the 5-volt power supply to this signal line with the rewired circuit. When subjected to similar unrealistic reengineering and rewiring, the competitive vehicles evaluated by Exponent and Toyota achieved substantially similar results with varying levels of resistances.
This manipulation of electrical components and a power source created artificial voltages that the engine control module, or ECM, would interpret as valid accelerator pedal signals. In essence, this test created a virtual, remote control accelerator pedal that replicated the vehicle’s own normally functioning accelerator pedal.
Also contrary to statements made in the ABC News story, had short circuits of the kind artificially created by Professor Gilbert occurred in real-world driving conditions, they would have left visible evidence such as damage or deterioration of the wiring and components.
As revealed in their testimony before Congress, Professor Gilbert’s Preliminary Report was commissioned by Sean Kane, a paid advocate for trial lawyers involved in litigation against Toyota and other automakers. Mr. Kane also appeared on the ABC News broadcast in support of the claim that Professor Gilbert’s demonstration revealed a flaw in the electronic throttle control system that could lead to “runaway” Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The relationship between Mr. Kane, Professor Gilbert and the trial lawyers who support Mr. Kane’s advocacy was not revealed by ABC News during the newscast, nor was Toyota offered an opportunity to view the demonstration or given time to respond.
Toyota believes that the public and Congressional committees have been misled by Professor Gilbert’s demonstration and the dramatization of it by ABC News. This has cast unwarranted doubt on the safety of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Toyota remains confident in the integrity of the electronic throttle control system in its vehicles and there has been no reliable evidence of any kind to the contrary presented to the media or to Congress. Toyota’s electronic systems have multiple fail-safe mechanisms to shut off or reduce engine power in the event of a system failure. Extensive testing of this system by Toyota has not found any sign of a malfunction that could lead to unintended acceleration.
Toyota has commissioned Exponent to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the electronic throttle control systems in Toyota and Lexus vehicles. No limitations of any kind were imposed on Exponent by Toyota. This evaluation is ongoing. An interim report of Exponent’s findings has been provided to Congress and establishes the functionality of the electronic throttle control fail-safe systems. The final results of Exponent’s exhaustive analysis will be made public when completed. As with all such reliable engineering analyses, Exponent’s final results will provide the data and information necessary for others to validate Exponent’s conclusions.
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Exponent, Inc. is a leading engineering and scientific consulting firm with expertise in over 90 technical disciplines. Exponent has a full-time staff of over 900 located in 23 international offices. Exponent’s multidisciplinary organization of engineers, scientists, physicians and business consultants, addresses complicated issues facing industry and government today. The firm’s consultants provide product design analysis, development, and testing; analyze failures and accidents to determine their cause and prevent their recurrence; and evaluate environmental and human health concerns to find cost-effective solutions. Exponent is certified to ISO 9001 and is authorized by the General Services Administration (GSA) to provide professional engineering services.
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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced that the all-new Toyota 4Runner mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV) has earned its highest ranking of “good” in their frontal offset high-speed crash ratings.
IIHS frontal crashworthiness evaluations are based on results of 40 mph frontal offset crash tests. A vehicle’s overall frontal evaluation is based on measurements of intrusion into the occupant compartment, driver seat test dummy injury severity, and the level of restraint system dummy movement during the test. By comparison, frontal crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is performed at 35 mph.
The IIHS is an independent non-profit research and communications organization funded by auto insurance companies.
All Toyota and Lexus models meet or exceed the safety requirements of the federal government and the NHTSA.
If you’re considering buying a vehicle and aren’t sure whether to buy a new or used one, first you need to weight in the disadvantages and advantages of both. You can go to a major bank’s website where it has an online calculator that you can use to figure out how much you would pay from a used car versus a new one. But here are a few advantages and disadvantages of new and used cars.
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