Toyota just lost a sale
in [Technical]
|
Prev: Ford's "Easy Fuel" capless fuel filler?
Next: Chubby Cheddar on Today: There is no reason to use High Octane gasoline
From: Ashton Crusher on 28 Nov 2009 00:31 On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:37:28 +0000 (UTC), Tegger <invalid(a)invalid.inv> wrote: >Nate Nagel <njnagel(a)roosters.net> wrote in >news:heooch02mad(a)news3.newsguy.com: > >> Ashton Crusher wrote: >>> After the news came out about the unintended acceleration problem that >>> killed the cop and his family one of the ladies in my office said she >>> was ruling out buying a Highlander as a result. She wants to get a >>> bigger car for her family and was looking at Highlanders but not >>> anymore. Frankly I was amazed that something like this would so >>> quickly turn off a buyer. >> >> I'm not... now I'm not a target buyer for a Prius, I always wondered >> about cramming that much electronics into a car and how good an idea it >> was to have that much fly by wire stuff, recent events have only made it >> less likely for me to buy one. I like nice direct connections between >> my feet and the throttle, brakes, clutch etc. - maybe not the most >> efficient but definitely the safest. >> > > >I've owned cars that had the pedal affixed to the floorboard and pivoted at >that connection. This would be counter to the common modern practice of >hinging the gas pedal from a pivot point above the driver's foot. > >It seems to my increasingly ancient and foggy brain that hinging the pedal >at the BOTTOM would necessarily prevent a floormat from being able to creep >beneath such a floor-hinged pedal. The floor mat might eventually creep on >TOP of the pedal and try to hold it down, but I think you'd get a fairly >progressive warning as that occurred. > >So... > >My first very silly question: Why don't they hinge the gas pedal at the >floor anymore? > >My second very silly question: What was wrong with the old BMC practice of >putting a little metal roller on the end of the throttle-pedal rod instead >of a great big rubber pad? The issue with both is that they create holes in the floor and rust attacks those spots. Suspended pedals don't have that problem.
From: Nate Nagel on 28 Nov 2009 08:24 Hachiroku ハチロク wrote: > On Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:40:32 -0500, Nate Nagel wrote: > >> Ashton Crusher wrote: >>> After the news came out about the unintended acceleration problem that >>> killed the cop and his family one of the ladies in my office said she >>> was ruling out buying a Highlander as a result. She wants to get a >>> bigger car for her family and was looking at Highlanders but not >>> anymore. Frankly I was amazed that something like this would so quickly >>> turn off a buyer. >> I'm not... now I'm not a target buyer for a Prius, I always wondered >> about cramming that much electronics into a car and how good an idea it >> was to have that much fly by wire stuff, recent events have only made it >> less likely for me to buy one. I like nice direct connections between my >> feet and the throttle, brakes, clutch etc. - maybe not the most efficient >> but definitely the safest. > > I have had this same concern myself. Now, I am an electronics technician, > so the thought of my Scion's drive-by-wire throttle quitting in the middle > of East Overshoe, VT doesn't bother me TOO much; I have AAA 100 mile tow > service and rearely venture further than that. > > What does bother me is that, perhaps when the potentiometer goes it also > takes the ECU with it, and now what was a ~$10 repair is now a $1210 > repair. Plus, a lot of people say it's in my head, but I NEVER stalled a > car as much off the line as this one! There is a slight hesitation that > you can correct in a car with a traditional throttle linkage that can't be > trimmed out. I read in a Scion forum you can adjust the pot to take out > the slack, but I found it only works until the ECU relearns the pot > setting and...it comes back again. > > I don't even want to think of drive-by-wire steering or brakes. Anyone got > an '88 Corolla for sale? > That hesitation is one thing that really annoys me about my company car ('08 Impala) oddly I never noticed it on my old (now my mom's) GTI 1.8T which also has a DBW throttle control. I guess that's good because the Impala is an automatic and the GTI is obviously a stick; would suck balls if the situtation were reversed. Well, actually, I would never have bought the GTI if it'd had that issue... nate -- replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel
From: Nate Nagel on 28 Nov 2009 08:33 Tegger wrote: > Nate Nagel <njnagel(a)roosters.net> wrote in > news:heooch02mad(a)news3.newsguy.com: > >> Ashton Crusher wrote: >>> After the news came out about the unintended acceleration problem that >>> killed the cop and his family one of the ladies in my office said she >>> was ruling out buying a Highlander as a result. She wants to get a >>> bigger car for her family and was looking at Highlanders but not >>> anymore. Frankly I was amazed that something like this would so >>> quickly turn off a buyer. >> I'm not... now I'm not a target buyer for a Prius, I always wondered >> about cramming that much electronics into a car and how good an idea it >> was to have that much fly by wire stuff, recent events have only made it >> less likely for me to buy one. I like nice direct connections between >> my feet and the throttle, brakes, clutch etc. - maybe not the most >> efficient but definitely the safest. >> > > > I've owned cars that had the pedal affixed to the floorboard and pivoted at > that connection. This would be counter to the common modern practice of > hinging the gas pedal from a pivot point above the driver's foot. > > It seems to my increasingly ancient and foggy brain that hinging the pedal > at the BOTTOM would necessarily prevent a floormat from being able to creep > beneath such a floor-hinged pedal. The floor mat might eventually creep on > TOP of the pedal and try to hold it down, but I think you'd get a fairly > progressive warning as that occurred. > > So... > > My first very silly question: Why don't they hinge the gas pedal at the > floor anymore? Got me. I actually liked the feel of bottom hinged pedals, although the only cars I've driven with them are old Porsches and Studebakers. However, I have had a Studebaker gas pedal stick under the edge of a firewall insulator once... nate -- replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel
From: Pete C. on 28 Nov 2009 09:28 Ashton Crusher wrote: > > On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:37:28 +0000 (UTC), Tegger <invalid(a)invalid.inv> > wrote: > > >Nate Nagel <njnagel(a)roosters.net> wrote in > >news:heooch02mad(a)news3.newsguy.com: > > > >> Ashton Crusher wrote: > >>> After the news came out about the unintended acceleration problem that > >>> killed the cop and his family one of the ladies in my office said she > >>> was ruling out buying a Highlander as a result. She wants to get a > >>> bigger car for her family and was looking at Highlanders but not > >>> anymore. Frankly I was amazed that something like this would so > >>> quickly turn off a buyer. > >> > >> I'm not... now I'm not a target buyer for a Prius, I always wondered > >> about cramming that much electronics into a car and how good an idea it > >> was to have that much fly by wire stuff, recent events have only made it > >> less likely for me to buy one. I like nice direct connections between > >> my feet and the throttle, brakes, clutch etc. - maybe not the most > >> efficient but definitely the safest. > >> > > > > > >I've owned cars that had the pedal affixed to the floorboard and pivoted at > >that connection. This would be counter to the common modern practice of > >hinging the gas pedal from a pivot point above the driver's foot. > > > >It seems to my increasingly ancient and foggy brain that hinging the pedal > >at the BOTTOM would necessarily prevent a floormat from being able to creep > >beneath such a floor-hinged pedal. The floor mat might eventually creep on > >TOP of the pedal and try to hold it down, but I think you'd get a fairly > >progressive warning as that occurred. > > > >So... > > > >My first very silly question: Why don't they hinge the gas pedal at the > >floor anymore? > > > >My second very silly question: What was wrong with the old BMC practice of > >putting a little metal roller on the end of the throttle-pedal rod instead > >of a great big rubber pad? > > The issue with both is that they create holes in the floor and rust > attacks those spots. Suspended pedals don't have that problem. Suspended pedals also are better for power adjustable pedal setups.
From: Vic Smith on 28 Nov 2009 11:33
On Sat, 28 Nov 2009 01:37:28 +0000 (UTC), Tegger <invalid(a)invalid.inv> wrote: > >I've owned cars that had the pedal affixed to the floorboard and pivoted at >that connection. This would be counter to the common modern practice of >hinging the gas pedal from a pivot point above the driver's foot. > >It seems to my increasingly ancient and foggy brain that hinging the pedal >at the BOTTOM would necessarily prevent a floormat from being able to creep >beneath such a floor-hinged pedal. The floor mat might eventually creep on >TOP of the pedal and try to hold it down, but I think you'd get a fairly >progressive warning as that occurred. > >So... > >My first very silly question: Why don't they hinge the gas pedal at the >floor anymore? > Probably for a couple reasons. Move holes from the floorpan to the firewall. And the natural angle with the bottom hinge is a trap for debris. Not that I haven't had dropped stuff catch behind a top-hinged pedal. Just guesses. >My second very silly question: What was wrong with the old BMC practice of >putting a little metal roller on the end of the throttle-pedal rod instead >of a great big rubber pad? Don't know anything about that. Do seem to recall some kind of roller on pedal assemblies long, long ago. --Vic |