Four hot safety, convenience and driving features for 2010
Standout cars
By Mathieu Yuill
February 12, 2010
February 12, 2010
Choosing a new vehicle can be hard. Most of the basic options—colour, air conditioning, even heated seats—are probably the same in your favourite models, and in a competitive market it’s unusual for price differences to be so great that cost is the only factor.
So to differentiate their products, manufacturers are turning to technology, and 2010 brings with it a slew of cool car tech that touches every aspect of the driving experience.
Two of my favourite four features focus on safety, the third allows the driver to customize the driving experience and the fourth controls the car’s behaviour, similar to the way in which a computer administrator might set usage permissions.
Mercedes Attention Assist
Canadians enjoy a good road trip. Spending three hours at the end of a busy week behind the wheel en route to the cottage is normal, as is adding two more hours to an all-day drive just because you’re making good time.
It’s this attitude that led the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators to commission a working group on fatigue. In a 2005 report it found nearly 20 per cent of all collisions were the result of fatigue behind the wheel.
Preventing those collisions is the idea behind Mercedes’ Attention Assist. It works in the background, monitoring 72 parameters including speed, longitude/lateral acceleration and time of day. A sensitive steering angle sensor also registers movements and steering speed.
The monitoring goes beyond the inputs from the driver and takes into account external factors like the condition of the road and sustained crosswinds. And it isn’t a one-size-fits-all system. It monitors each individual driver and creates a profile against which it measures alert conditions. If required, an alarm is sounded and a coffee-cup graphic appears on the dash, suggesting a break.
According to Mercedes, its engineers have found many drivers do not recognize signs of drowsiness. This is primarily because becoming tired occurs gradually. A driver’s reaction time slowly degrades, and drivers become less effective even in the early phases of tiredness.
The Attention Assist system pays particular attention to steering-wheel movements, as tired drivers can be spotted most often by their erratic movements and immediate corrections.
Toyota/Lexus Touch Tracer
Anything that prevents a driver from looking away from the road is a big plus, so steering-wheel mounted audio and cruise controls make it easy to change the radio station or pump up the volume without fumbling around with the middle console.
Still, auto engineers have observed that drivers often look down even when using steering-wheel buttons. Toyota Touch Tracer technology helps keep eyes looking at the road and it works well.
When a steering-wheel mounted control is activated, a holographic image appears over the speedometer. Two blue circles appear, mimicking the shape of the controls on the steering wheel and highlighting the button being pushed in orange. Once the adjustment is complete, the circles fade away.
It’s a very simple concept but the execution is brilliant.
In testing, I was able to see with my peripheral vision what I had pushed, and even in instances where I had selected the wrong button, I was able to make the correction without taking my eyes off the road.
Currently, the feature is only available on the Toyota Prius, although Lexus offers a similar option called Remote Touch. This feature may be added to the rest of the line in the near future.
Audi Drive Select
A handful of manufacturers offer drive adjustment settings which, for example, may lower the suspension by five per cent or adjust the rear slip differential, but have not really made a significant change in how a car drives.
Not so with Audi’s Drive Select, which allows the driver to choose between Comfort, Dynamic and Auto settings that determine throttle response, transmission and shift points.
On the comfort setting, shifts seem to be less frequent up through the six gears, there’s more assist from the variable power steering and the suspension is cushy, as if it’s meant to be driving passengers to the airport.
Selecting Dynamic is a whole other ballgame. It feels as if you’re driving a completely different car. The RPMs are held longer, and as the needle races up the speedometer, the power steering backs off, giving the driver more feedback through the steering wheel. There are also fewer rotations from lock to lock on the wheel and the suspension is tightened, making cornering all the more fun.
Auto mode is probably where drivers will leave the Drive Select button most often. This monitors driving habits and adjusts the six vehicle systems to match your style. Are you driving at a brisk pace on the highway and not making many rapid lane changes or hard corners? Auto mode might leave the suspension soft but lower the steering ratio so you don’t have to turn the wheel as much when you do change lanes.
Ford MyKey
I was almost 16 years old when my parents posted an article from the newspaper on the bulletin board in the kitchen. The headline read “Driving is a privilege, not a right.”
The message was clear from my parents: behave or we’ll take away access to the family vehicles (a 1988 Dodge Caravan and a 1992 Dodge Spirit, which, while not sexy, meant freedom at the time). While living at home I received one speeding ticket for going 97km/h in a 90km/h zone, which I paid myself.
Had my parents had MyKey back in the mid-1990s I might have had some help avoiding that ticket. MyKey allows certain variables to be stored in the actual car key. It sets limits on the car’s top speed, prevents the traction control from being disabled, chimes warnings at pre-set speeds, encourages seatbelt use and caps the volume on the audio system.
The speed alerts chime at 72, 88 and 105km/h (the 88km/h probably would have helped me), the volume for the stereo can be capped at 44 per cent and the top speed can be set to 129km/h.
These numbers weren’t set randomly by Ford, there are reasons behind them. Forty four per cent volume is still pretty loud, and Ford wants the driver to be able to hear important road sounds.
As for the speed settings, in some U.S. states the maximum posted speed is 80mph, or 129km/h. Ford decided MyKey needed to be useful across North America.
These settings are still more liberal than some parents might like, but will certainly keep drivers below the 50km/h over the posted speed limit law that results in an automatic impounding of the car in some provinces.
So to differentiate their products, manufacturers are turning to technology, and 2010 brings with it a slew of cool car tech that touches every aspect of the driving experience.
Two of my favourite four features focus on safety, the third allows the driver to customize the driving experience and the fourth controls the car’s behaviour, similar to the way in which a computer administrator might set usage permissions.
Mercedes Attention Assist
Canadians enjoy a good road trip. Spending three hours at the end of a busy week behind the wheel en route to the cottage is normal, as is adding two more hours to an all-day drive just because you’re making good time. It’s this attitude that led the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators to commission a working group on fatigue. In a 2005 report it found nearly 20 per cent of all collisions were the result of fatigue behind the wheel.
Preventing those collisions is the idea behind Mercedes’ Attention Assist. It works in the background, monitoring 72 parameters including speed, longitude/lateral acceleration and time of day. A sensitive steering angle sensor also registers movements and steering speed.
The monitoring goes beyond the inputs from the driver and takes into account external factors like the condition of the road and sustained crosswinds. And it isn’t a one-size-fits-all system. It monitors each individual driver and creates a profile against which it measures alert conditions. If required, an alarm is sounded and a coffee-cup graphic appears on the dash, suggesting a break.
According to Mercedes, its engineers have found many drivers do not recognize signs of drowsiness. This is primarily because becoming tired occurs gradually. A driver’s reaction time slowly degrades, and drivers become less effective even in the early phases of tiredness.
The Attention Assist system pays particular attention to steering-wheel movements, as tired drivers can be spotted most often by their erratic movements and immediate corrections.
Toyota/Lexus Touch Tracer
Anything that prevents a driver from looking away from the road is a big plus, so steering-wheel mounted audio and cruise controls make it easy to change the radio station or pump up the volume without fumbling around with the middle console. Still, auto engineers have observed that drivers often look down even when using steering-wheel buttons. Toyota Touch Tracer technology helps keep eyes looking at the road and it works well.
When a steering-wheel mounted control is activated, a holographic image appears over the speedometer. Two blue circles appear, mimicking the shape of the controls on the steering wheel and highlighting the button being pushed in orange. Once the adjustment is complete, the circles fade away.
It’s a very simple concept but the execution is brilliant.
In testing, I was able to see with my peripheral vision what I had pushed, and even in instances where I had selected the wrong button, I was able to make the correction without taking my eyes off the road.
Currently, the feature is only available on the Toyota Prius, although Lexus offers a similar option called Remote Touch. This feature may be added to the rest of the line in the near future.
Audi Drive Select
A handful of manufacturers offer drive adjustment settings which, for example, may lower the suspension by five per cent or adjust the rear slip differential, but have not really made a significant change in how a car drives.
Not so with Audi’s Drive Select, which allows the driver to choose between Comfort, Dynamic and Auto settings that determine throttle response, transmission and shift points.
On the comfort setting, shifts seem to be less frequent up through the six gears, there’s more assist from the variable power steering and the suspension is cushy, as if it’s meant to be driving passengers to the airport.
Selecting Dynamic is a whole other ballgame. It feels as if you’re driving a completely different car. The RPMs are held longer, and as the needle races up the speedometer, the power steering backs off, giving the driver more feedback through the steering wheel. There are also fewer rotations from lock to lock on the wheel and the suspension is tightened, making cornering all the more fun.
Auto mode is probably where drivers will leave the Drive Select button most often. This monitors driving habits and adjusts the six vehicle systems to match your style. Are you driving at a brisk pace on the highway and not making many rapid lane changes or hard corners? Auto mode might leave the suspension soft but lower the steering ratio so you don’t have to turn the wheel as much when you do change lanes.
Ford MyKey
I was almost 16 years old when my parents posted an article from the newspaper on the bulletin board in the kitchen. The headline read “Driving is a privilege, not a right.” The message was clear from my parents: behave or we’ll take away access to the family vehicles (a 1988 Dodge Caravan and a 1992 Dodge Spirit, which, while not sexy, meant freedom at the time). While living at home I received one speeding ticket for going 97km/h in a 90km/h zone, which I paid myself.
Had my parents had MyKey back in the mid-1990s I might have had some help avoiding that ticket. MyKey allows certain variables to be stored in the actual car key. It sets limits on the car’s top speed, prevents the traction control from being disabled, chimes warnings at pre-set speeds, encourages seatbelt use and caps the volume on the audio system.
The speed alerts chime at 72, 88 and 105km/h (the 88km/h probably would have helped me), the volume for the stereo can be capped at 44 per cent and the top speed can be set to 129km/h.
These numbers weren’t set randomly by Ford, there are reasons behind them. Forty four per cent volume is still pretty loud, and Ford wants the driver to be able to hear important road sounds.
As for the speed settings, in some U.S. states the maximum posted speed is 80mph, or 129km/h. Ford decided MyKey needed to be useful across North America.
These settings are still more liberal than some parents might like, but will certainly keep drivers below the 50km/h over the posted speed limit law that results in an automatic impounding of the car in some provinces.
