Posted on 02/09/2011 9:03:48 PM PST by Lazlo in PA
So roughly a year ago, reporters went batpoop crazy over possessed Toyotas that accelerate without your consent – smashing into other sedans, running into and over people, or worse: ruining floral mailboxes that look like miniature versions of stately homes.
Well, if you’re like me, you knew this might be B.S.
(Excerpt) Read more at bighollywood.breitbart.com ...
Wow, putting your foot on the gas instead of the brake causes the car to accelerate. Who would’ve thunk it?
It’s the same as the Audi 5000 “problem.”
LOL. I forgot about the 5000. That was a real 60 Minutes fabrication. Almost destroyed the car company in the US.
you ever had a computer “hang” or freeze?
Think real careful before buying a car that has computer controlled
acceleration
brakes
transmission
so if the computer hangs when the last input was speed up, and the brakes are computer controlled, and the transmission will no longer shift out of gear.....
but wait, I am sure you are confident that a California state trooper (off duty), simply made a mistake, even when on his celll phone telling people he could not shift the vehicle out of drive, could no slow down, and the brakes could not stop the vehicle......maybe he was conspiring to make toyota look bad, to the extent he crashed killing himself and his entire family?
I am a computer “guy” and the though of a “fly by wire” car scares me.
I won’t buy or own one. sorry. I am not betting my life on a it.
the original article mentioned he was talking on the cell telling that he could not shift out of drive, and could not slow dow. Lexus is a dvision of Toyota.
No, toyota is not the only offender in this area, but again, a “fly by wire” car can always cause these sorts of problems.
There are no requirements that he computers be redundant, or the controls failsafe if the computer fails.
For example the space shuttle has 7 computers that “vote” on control movements.
The government should have safety regulations such that if a 50 cent microprocessor fails the car will not continue to accelerate, and be unable to shift, or to stop.
Manufacturers are even now talking about electric steering that is computer controlled. So there would be NO linkage from the cab of the car to the engine/transmission. Just a wire sending commands. And they could do variable steering in software.
Well, I have 2 degrees in Computer Science, and I am not gonna be driving a car with non fail-safe controls.
Maybe we could convince all the liberals to drive “fly by wire” cars, and just sit back and wait......
There is a fail safe; you can turn the car off. In the case of the state trooper, it was a loaner car, and he wasn’t familiar with the keyless ignition system.
I don’t guess you have seen the new cars don’t have Keys.
They have “push” to start button. The job of the “key” fob is to tell the computer that you are legal to start the car, unlock doors, etc.
They sell this as an advantage - you get within 20 feet of your car, and the doors unlock automatically, no need to get your key out of your pocket, it senses the key within 20 feet - just press the start button.
Don’t tell you haven’t seen the 10000000 comercials showing someone happily pressing the “start” button?
And, BTW, the LEXUS has PTS - push to start. NO KEY TO TURN OFF!
Sorry - try again
Just because the guy was a cop doesn't mean he knew how to drive. This was an unfamiliar car and we have no idea if he just didn't know how to operate the vehicle other than a third persons panicked phone call to 911. Your whole argument is based on this indecent. Have you noticed no other episodes have occurred since then? Many of the "problems" at the time were immediately sourced as scams to sue Toyota.
I would generally agree with you if "fly by wire" cars were causing a steady stream of problems. There just haven't been any. I dislike these cars for maintenance reasons, but as for safety, the jury is still out.
Also take note that this MSM panic happened at the exact time GM was on the skids and the Gov't took them over. They really needed their competition to take a hit as they rolled into #1 car manufacturer. There are no coincidences.
Heres the proof Lexus has Push To Start
http://www.lexus.com/models/IS/features/interior/pushbutton_start.html
Admit it, most people swallow the crap put out by the manufacturers.
As I said before, there should be regulation to stop this crap.
For example, you have to have anti-kick technology on chain saws, and dead-man ignition kills switches on many motorized devices.
Why, when it comes to cars, do we loose all common sense?
Not intuitive, but on pushbutton ignition systems you can push and sold the start button to kill the ignition. Sort of like M/S Windows.
TWO things CAN be true
1) Government and Media overblows the problem, and misses the real cause
2) There IS a problem, and it’s endemic to design in any fly-by-wire system without fail-safes and redundant computers
Just because you have hit on #1, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
I have experience programming everything from microprocessors to Cray supercomputers —— Fly by wire is a BAD IDEA. PEOPLE WILL DIE.
People HAVE died.
Just because the extent and real nature of the problem is not well know does not mean it’s not true.
are your really that dumb?
If your computer HANGS (and shutdown does not work for example), the RESET/POWER button on the computer is HARDWIRED to restart the computer, and it takes seconds/minutes to do so!
So IF the computer is doing something important like, oh, say running your pacemaker or monitoring nuclear equipment, then you may be VERY DEAD.
There IS NO HARD “OFF” on the “push button ignition systems”. The very fact that they are computer controlled should tell you this.
Would YOU GET on a plane run by a WINDOWS computer? Not even Bill Gates would trust windows to run a plane he was riding on.
I knew it was totally nonsense and I’m glad the govt class owned up to it finally....
“Also take note that this MSM panic happened at the exact time GM was on the skids and the Gov’t took them over. They really needed their competition to take a hit as they rolled into #1 car manufacturer. There are no coincidences.”
And, we have a winner!!
I will defer to your expertise on electronics. I just like to see more evidence on the failure of these things before I’m 100%.
The most computer any one of my vast car collection has is the GM ESC system except for my wife’s Town Car and that is pretty basic.
I won’t buy or own one. sorry. I am not betting my life on a it.
Me either.
So where are all these dead people, then?
Not everybody crashes and dies. You have to be hang/crash the control system when the last control output that was sent to the throttle was speeding up.
And you have to have a vehicle that has computer controlled shift, and ignition.
Brakes are besides the point, they won’t hold a car at full throttle.
I don’t think there are any cars with computer controlled electric steering in production right now, but I could be wrong....that would increase deaths higher, because now just basic speed and a computer crash = bad news.
There ARE deaths, but until the industry acknowledges that their basic approach is unsafe, they will be ignored as the cost of doing business.
Did you know how long car manufacturers FOUGHT seat belts and airbags?
Don’t get me wrong, they should NOT be mandatory ,but they should be offered!
As for me, I will PAY EXTRA for a redundant, fail-safe system.......I just want the option -— if someone else wants to trust a 50 cent microprocessor and some pimply faced programmer, then by all means, go right ahead.
By the way, Steve Wozniak, (the technical founder of apple, not the marketing guy), basically said what I am saying - that the microprocessor control is the risky part, and he thinks he can recreate the problem....
I used to test the “surviability” of our systems all the time getting a static electricity generated closer and closer to the equipment. By proper engineering, we could reduce the potential for failures due to voltage spikes, static electricity, electromagnetic interference, etc. Do you know there is a real reason they tell you on the airplane to “turn off you cell phones”?
No, the plane does not crash if someone forgets. But I can take some control electonics, and a cell phone, fail the right final stage transmitter on it, and cause a situation that interferes with radio based communicaiton on the plane. They don’t mess around with safety on planes.
We shouldn’t with cars, either. Each year there are ~ 40-80,000 people KILLED in car accidents. Who says maybe 200 or 300 a year have NOT been caused by microprocessor crashes?
All you have to do is crash the processor at the right time and you have the “event” that you probably won’t survive. This is essentially what Steve Wozniak demonstrated.
Let’s see - believe the Government, or believe the guy who basically invented the home microprocessor based computer.........
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