The fragility of car computers revealed.
in [UK Drivers]
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From: GT on 21 May 2010 06:41 "Adrian" <toomany2cvs(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:85n5rvFn9gU16(a)mid.individual.net... > "Mrcheerful" <nbkm57(a)hotmail.co.uk> gurgled happily, sounding much like > they were saying: > >>> Perhaps they hacked into one of the new remotely poluting hybrid >>> vehicles as their brakes are not 'traditional' friction brakes > >> The Toyota prius has entirely standard brakes, with pads and shoes and >> hydraulics. > > Yup. > >> Try a Prius, they are really quite a revelation after a conventional >> car, and well worth a drive. > > No, they're not. They're utterly bland. They're dull, they're slow, > they're noisy internally, they're not even particularly economical if > driven so as to keep up with traffic - I averaged about 35mpg in a one > hour test drive. I'll second that. They are only efficient when 'trundling' round on the electric motor. This is of course ideal for some people, but for others the petrol engine kicks in over a certain speed and they are no longer the wonder vehicle that they are made out to be. My 2.0 alfa is more economical on an out of town run!!
From: GT on 21 May 2010 06:43 <boltar2003(a)boltar.world> wrote in message news:ht5nde$f16$1(a)speranza.aioe.org... > On Fri, 21 May 2010 11:08:08 +0100 > "GT" <a(a)b.c> wrote: >>still work manually. The only CPU controlled part of the braking system in >>most cars is the ABS and turning that off would simply result in less >>efficient braking in poor traction conditions. Perhaps they hacked into >>one >>of the new remotely poluting hybrid vehicles as their brakes are not > > They could probably do something so that the ABS cuts in all the time so > your braking distance would be slightly increased but other than that it > seems to be scaremongering to me. As a last resort just switch the > ignition > off and coast the car to a stop. Though this simple solution didn't > occur to some clueless yanks in toyotas. With regard to the toyota thing - I believe it was a automatic gearbox and ignition control was a start/stop button so the key wasn't a tradition 'stick it in and turn it' job - pulling it out isn't possible while the engine is going. Bit of a safety oversight by Toyota really!
From: Adrian on 21 May 2010 06:48 "GT" <a(a)b.c> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying: > With regard to the toyota thing - I believe it was a automatic gearbox So move the lever to "N" > and ignition control was a start/stop button so the key wasn't a > tradition 'stick it in and turn it' job - pulling it out isn't possible > while the engine is going. Bit of a safety oversight by Toyota really! If people bothered to read the handbook, they'd know that pressing the button for a couple of seconds over-rode the software control - just as it does on a locked-up PC.
From: Adrian on 21 May 2010 06:50 "GT" <a(a)b.c> gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying: >>> Try a Prius, they are really quite a revelation after a conventional >>> car, and well worth a drive. >> No, they're not. They're utterly bland. They're dull, they're slow, >> they're noisy internally, they're not even particularly economical if >> driven so as to keep up with traffic - I averaged about 35mpg in a one >> hour test drive. > I'll second that. They are only efficient when 'trundling' round on the > electric motor. This is of course ideal for some people, but for others > the petrol engine kicks in over a certain speed and they are no longer > the wonder vehicle that they are made out to be. My 2.0 alfa is more > economical on an out of town run!! I should add that I got a very similar figure out of a MkV Golf 1.9TDi in a week of commuting on the same route that I regularly get about 25 out of a 1990 Saab 900T16... I've been using 'erselfs '90 Pug 205 (1.1 4spd) for the commute for a while - and getting around 35 from that. Despite it being not only petrol, but having a carb.
From: boltar2003 on 21 May 2010 06:51
On Fri, 21 May 2010 11:43:41 +0100 "GT" <a(a)b.c> wrote: >With regard to the toyota thing - I believe it was a automatic gearbox and >ignition control was a start/stop button so the key wasn't a tradition >'stick it in and turn it' job - pulling it out isn't possible while the >engine is going. Bit of a safety oversight by Toyota really! I guess it must have electronic fob then that has to be plugged in a slot or at least kept nearby. Yeah , I wouldn't want one of them - technology for its own sake. However they could still put the auto box in neutral. Though I guess if it doesn't want to play ball then you're royally fucked and should just steer into the nearest wall or barrier and hope for the best before the speed becomes so high you're going to die no matter what you do. B2003 |