Question?

Not motorcycle related but I had an interesting conversation at work today.

Would you trust a car to parallel park itself, ala the new Lexus LS?

I say why not? There are aircraft that can land themselves in zero vis and then taxi in (if the airfield is properly equipped) to the terminal carrying more than 300 people so why not trust a mere car to park itself at walking speeds.

KC-10 FE out...
lane:

 

I would welcome a car that parallel parks, because every time I clean the Grand Cherokee to a show room finish, I notice my perfect Armor All tires have scuff marks on them after she parallel parks, drives me crazy

 

The Prius has been availible with this feature in Asia for a couple of years now. Toyota was hesitant to bring it to the states, reportedly out of fear of litigation. Now they have the newer version out.

I would get the new LS for my Mom if I could afford it, with that feature, she needs it. Love her, but she can't parrallel park worth a damn. :smile:
Especially the upcoming hybrid version. But that will likely see near $100k

 

With all the advancements in GPS going on it's just a matter of time and cost I'd imagine. Anything that helps reduce the human error component for car drivers only makes it safer for us.

 

Hell of a good idea. I sure get tired (sorry ladies sexist generalization coming but I am sure this doesn't apply to you) of waiting while some lady spends 10 minutes trying to parallel park on a busy street.

 

I'm in two minds on this one.

Driving standards in Australia (& other countries I'm sure) are already pathetic, stuff like this will just lower the standard even further.

And what happens when something goes wrong? Families suing manufacturers when in reality it is the driver who screwed up. (Was it a true story of a Winnebago driver who crashed after setting the cruise control & then making a cup of coffee? The way I heard it was he sued because no-one told him he had to be at the wheel at all times. Sounds like Darwin at work.)

 

I say, just what we don't need. cars cost enough as it is, Yea airplanes/jets can land themselfs they also have the place to do it at under controled situations, last thing I want to see is some one trying to get this done in traffic, doesn't really matter as it's still trying to park. In a perfect world it might work, but come on, trying to get a Lexus LS in a spot for a VW Bug isn't going to work. Common sence will still need to be applyed right? the car is still only as smart as the driver.

 

I would throw the manual override switch and park it myself. I think its just another sign of how little people can do for themselves these days. And don't think that won't cost a fortune to fix once it stops working after 6 or 7 years.

Pretty soon we'll want motorcycles to shift automaticallywithout a clutch..:smile: Oh I see the Yamaha FJR1300 offers a model with an automatic tranny.:frown:

Happy trails

 

Technically the FJR has an automatic clutch and you still change gears with your foot but if I wanted that sort of thing I wouldn't ride a bike anyway. Also, I read a review that said it just doesn't work well anyway. Basically it wrecked a pretty damn good bike.

 

It has existed for quite some time, I have seen film of it is use, pretty weird actually. But cool at the same time. The problem as I see it, is threefold acceptance, infrastructure, and litigation.

Litigation, we can all see. Even if it were to make the roads safer, and save 10,000 lives a year, the few inevitable screw ups it caused, would cost tens of millions in litigation. Easy.

Acceptance, many people would never accept it, no matter how good and seemless it ever became.

Infrastructute, if I offered to sell you a car today, that for an extra $2,500 could drive itself whle you did other stuff, on equiped roads; would you buy it? Probly not. Exceedingly few people would. After all, there is something like 5 miles of so equiped road in the country (at least years and years ago when I saw that film). You may never in your life be on that road. Even if you drove it every day, at 60 MPH, it would save you just 10 minutes a day. Not really worth it to most people.
How many manufacturers would even step up to the plate and offer such a car, with such a super tiny market?
Now let's look at the other side of the coin. You municipa., county, or state road crews want to increase your property/sales/gas taxes, to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, to start retrofiting all the roads to make them "smart." Do you vote for that? No, exceedingly few people would. After all, on a few of the very richest people in the whole country have such equiped cars, why should you make their lifes easier? Heck, you just bought a car, and you aren't gonna buy another one for 4 years.

No one will take the first step.

That is why will only see partial steps. Toyota's self parking, that works at any parking spot. Or Nissan's lane departure warning system, that works with existing roads

 

The FJR does not have an automatic tranny, what it does have, is a regular tranny with clutch, that is operated by a sub system of the bike, upon manual input by the driver. You push a button to go up one gear or another to go down, they also still have the foot shifter, you just don't need; nor can you; pull in the clutch.

 

Wouldn't get it myself, and don't think it will be very popular (but I have been wrong before), but there are some people getting it.

And it is an option, so you can get the FJR without it.

 

My mistake on the FJR, I just think if it doesn't have a clutch that you pull in with your left hand, then its a scooter not a cycle. But I'm old fashioned that way

 

I sat on one in the dealer the other day. Kept looking for the clutch lever!? I have a hunch, I'd be going down the road thinking all the time ... hey it fell off! And trying to convince myself I didn't have to go back and look for it!

 

Didn't want to bust chops, just wanted to be accurate. There is a difference, slight as it might be. With the FJR, if you don't switch gears, neither will it. You will just keep bouncing off the rev limiter.

Honda did make a automatic at one time, the Hondamatic as it were. Back in the 70's or 80's, I am sure someone here knows. Only availible a couple of years, did not prove very popular. I think the same will happen with the A/E FJR -- but I have been wrong about such things before....

Hardly also had one when they made trikes I beleive.

At least some of the scooters use a CVT transmission.

Spike

 

I had the same thoughts about litigation when I saw those commercials for the Lex. I think it is very forward thinking and helpful for the rich seniors who would be comfortable using it or it's just adding bling factor to an already expensive car for young trustafarians to show off to their cronies and girls. In less than six months some rapper will be flossin about having that car, with 22's of course, in one of his rhymes. I would also suspect that someone will develop a similar system for the aftermarket to install on any car.