Posting Date: April 17, 2002

Reinventing the automotive UI or just another gimmick - the BMW 7 Series (kuro5hin via Ion Collider) -- "Driving is a learned skill and one that becomes almost instinct, a driver reacts in the way they have been trained to do so to a given situation. But what load will be placed on the driver who is trying to drive on a freeway at the same time they are setting the climate control or entering a destination into the navigation system?"

Reader Comments...

We can only hope that Citroen don't try and do this. With their build and reliability quality, the car would be uncontrollable. An electronic handbrake? Exactly what's wrong with an old-faashioned mechanical one - it's an appropriate design for the purpose.

Posted by: Alan Fisher on April 17, 2002 04:37 AM

One of the purposes for a mechanical emergency brake is to provide a braking mechanism regardless of other system failures. It seems to me that an electronic version of the brake defeats this purpose.
The wired steering mechanism worries me for the same reason. I have power steering, but if I were to lose that power assist, I would still be able to steer, albeit with more difficulty. If steering is also electronic in these new models, what happens if the chip goes bad or the computer fails? Not only are you not able to steer the car, you also cannot stop it. I didn't read anything in the article that indicates the presence of a fail-safe should system failure occur.

Posted by: jan on April 18, 2002 12:36 PM

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