15 July 2008

Infiniti FX50S -- The Car that (nearly) drives itself


Not the prettiest car on the planet, but that's not what I'm talking about today.


Wha I am talking about is the fact that this car has more techno-automation-wizardry than just about anything I've ever seen. Now, I'm a tech guy, so this is fascinating, but on the other hand, judging by all the inattentive people I see on the freeway every day, I'm not sure all of this is a good idea.

Here's what's going to make me give this crossover a wide berth the next time I see one on the freeway.

  1. Let's say you're drinking your mocha coffee while you're talking on your cell phone and trying to keep your kid occupied in the back seat and you have this continual problem of drifting over the dividing line on the freeway. Here's where LDW (Lane Departure Warning) comes in -- it will beep whenever it detects the tires drifting over lane markings.
  2. But, let's say you're not paying attention and between the cell phone and the kid, you can't actually hear the lane departure warning. Never fear, we also have LDP (Lane Departure Prevention). If you don't respond to the LDW, it will use the rear brakes to nudge you back into your lane. Car and Driver says this allows for pretty much hands free driving, though it has trouble with strong crosswinds.
  3. Now that you're so busy you can't even manage to stay in your lane, we can't possibly expect you to be able to operate the throttle, right? Infiniti has you covered again! ICC (Intelligent Cruise Control) monitors the traffic in front of you to maintain speed and a safe following distance. It's also fairly intelligent and smooth, so it'll do all this without upsetting your latte or your late afternoon slumber.
  4. But, since we're traveling during the afternoon, sooner or later, we're going to hit rush hour traffic. Again, we're covered, because ICC is partnered with DCA (Distance Control Assist). Once you hit rush hour traffic, the ICC keeps working, creeping along and slowing the car as needed. At least, until DCA actually causes the car to stop. Then you'll have to actually wake up and tap the gas pedal to get the car moving again. Small price to pay for inattention, I guess.
  5. Then again, you may be really determined to crash your new Infiniti. No dice. IBA (Intelligent Brake Assist) is here to save the day. Even if you're a colossal idiot, IBA will still apply the brakes for you when it detects a crash is imminent -- even if you don't touch them yourself.

Now, I can certainly see the safety aspects of all this -- at least for the driver of the Infiniti -- and the technology behind it is kick-ass, but I can't help but think this is a fantastically bad idea. People already pay too little attention on the freeway, and it's not like you need a fantastic amount of skill or attention to pilot your car safely on one. This just encourages people to be bigger idiots and while on paper it appears to make things safer for us all, I think people are going to be encouraged to drive even more dangerously because the car "has an autopilot". Kind of like how ABS-equipped cars aren't any safer in the real world because people drive them faster in bad conditions because "it's safe".

Then again, maybe this means drunk drivers can get home without hitting anything, so that's a good thing. Unless, of course, it just encourages drunks to try this stunt.

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