Now available from the Swedish company General Motors bought in 1990: a saucy new Saab 9-3 sedan with rain-sensitive windshield wipers and cornering brake control.
Cars that can "see" the road, sense potential dangers and steer, brake and control speed automatically could ease the drudgery of stop-and-go traffic or long drives, and prevent many accidents caused by drowsy, inattentive or impaired drivers.
In 2004 Mercedes-Benz faced customers complaints that its Sensotronic brake-by-wire system - which used an electrical link to control vehicles' brake pads - sometimes failed.
Failure to illuminate the brake lights or disengage cruise control could increase the risk of a crash, while disabling the brake-transmission interlock could result in the vehicle rolling away, it added.
Owners who suspect brake light or cruise control problems should take their cars to any Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac or GMC dealer.
Adaptive Cruise Control, Emergency Brake Assist, available Blind Spot Monitoring, available Automatic High Beam Assist and an available Surround Camera System are all on the menu.
FORBES: 2011 Land Rover Autobiography Delivers Rugged Luxury at $116,950
You control the throttle and brake, and electric power assist steering controls the steering wheel.
FORBES: 2011 Lincoln MKS Test Drive and Review - Lincoln Throws Down the Gauntlet
He uses an automatic car in which he pulls a hand lever to control the accelerator and brake pedals.
The switch fault may also "cause an inability to deactivate the cruise control by depressing the brake pedal", the NHTSA said.
Some of the owners who complained about G6 brake light problems also said the cruise control may not engage or will disengage unintentionally.
The Chernobyl design is like a car with no gas peddle that is always at full throttle, and you control the car entirely with the brake.
FORBES: Post Fukushima-- burn more coal and oil, and hire more engineers not regulators
The computer-control system can then apply the brake on the wheel concerned, and even adjust the amount of engine torque sent to that wheel, so that skidding is prevented.
Stability control systems that sense impending rollovers and automatically brake individual wheels should become more common on SUVs.
Then the stability control will reprove you with a chorus of brake chattering.
In addition to the aforementioned traction-control system, standard features include ABS brakes, electronic brake assistance, child safety locks and driver, passenger and side-head air bags.
Transportation officials said they would also consider conducting more research on electronic control systems and review the placement and design of accelerator and brake pedals.
FORBES: Government: Drivers Caused Toyota Crashes, but We'll Regulate Cars Anyway
Their feelings spiral out of control at the slightest push, like a car parked on a steep hill without an emergency brake.
FORBES: The Woman Who Stops Patients From Killing Themselves
应用推荐