Toyota ETC Videos

Edmunds' Inside Line blog has posted a 17 minute long video from Toyota which explains in some detail how their ETC system works.  It is at a layman's level, so you don't need an engineering degree to understand what they are showing.

Link

In Defense of ETC Part 1

When I get a chance to review Prof. Gilbert's report on how he fooled Toyota's Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) system, I will post comments.

For now, I'd like to take a few lines to defend ETC in concept.

ETC has some significant advantages over mechanical throttle linkages.

• Fuel economy: actual throttle flow can be optimized based on operating conditions, and pedal position is used to infer driver intent.  For example, someone with a shaky foot can be "smoothed out". 
• Mechanical simplicity, weight, and cost: Using ETC means you can get rid of the idle air control valve, throttle cable, and cruise control actuator.  Fewer things to break.
  
• Robustness: ETC systems have built in algorithms for unusual conditions.  For example, the throttle plate can be shaken very quickly by the motor, as an "ice breaker", if the throttle plate is iced.  There are no cables to bind up or corrode, no exposed return springs to break.  The system has independent CPUs which monitor the throttle plate position and pedal position 100s of times a second, with fail-safe algorithms to shut the thing down if something unexpected happens.  ETC has redundant sensors, which are used to check that the information coming into the ECUs is reliable and self-consistent.  In a mechanical throttle system, the only failsafe is the driver's foot--if the thing is stuck, you pump it and pray it gets unstuck.
  

Trial lawyers try to sow FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) about "complex electronic systems", and throw out scary "what if" scenarios, to try to win cases and big money.  But engineers know that complex systems are designed, tested, and validated over many years before being released into production, and are tested for every conceivable failure.  ETC systems must be qualified under a range of temperatures and wide band electromagnetic interference testing.  Failure modes, such as cut wires, broken sensors, damaged actuators, etc. are all tested using a process called FMEA (failure mode effects analysis).  FMEA was designed by NASA as a way to think through a system's reliabilty to pin down possible ways it could break; then tests are designed to validate the system under those conditions.

Is it possible that Toyota screwed up the FMEA, or cut corners, and has a dangerous-but-rare condition with their ETC system?  It is possible.  But given the excellence of Toyota's engineering, I would be surprised. 

Tesla Roadster now available in RHD (UK)

Tesla’s all-electric Roadster is now available in right-hand drive. The Tesla Roadster right-hand drive features a few improvements over previous left-hand models including a new sound system and new noise-reduction materials.

Cristiano Carlutti, Tesla's Vice President for European sales and operations, said there had been strong interest from UK customers for a right-hand drive model.

"The right-hand-drive model is our response to growing demand from high-performance car buyers in the UK who are also interested in their impact on the environment,” he said.

"Tesla is dramatically expanding its retail footprint in Europe, we look forward to building our community of owners and fans throughout the continent."

The model is available now from Tesla’s Knightsbridge showroom in London and is priced from £86,950. Tesla's all-electric Model S saloon will be available in 2012.

Lottery winners must have car manufactures (UK)

According to the latest research, a new BMW is the second most popular purchase for lottery winners, with Range Rover coming in at number six. The most popular brand that millionaires head for is Mercedes-Benz, with the C-Class topping the choice table for lottery winners. Vauxhall – in at number four in the list – might rate as more of a surprise entry in the chart, though.

A new car is also one of the first things that a lottery millionaire buys, with 36% of jackpot winners heading to a car showroom before buying a new house or even splashing some cash on the high street.

In fact, 13% of jackpot winners have bought at least 10 cars since their win, while the average number of cars bought per winning household is 5.17.

Meantime, here are the top 10 brands for lottery winners:

1. Mercedes-Benz
2. BMW
3. Mini
4. Vauxhall
5. Land Rover
6. Range Rover
7. Ford
8. Porsche
9. Audi
10. Jaguar

BMW says lottery winners can contact their VIP sales service in London's Park Lane if they require a more discreet service. Equally, celebrities regularly walk in to their local dealership and receive the same service as a less high-profile customer. However, with either of these routes to a new car, haggling for a discount might be difficult if the salesman knows how much cash the customer has to spend.

Millionaire footballers can subscribe to services such as Platinum Players where 'trustworthy dealers' are listed.

Our own top 10 if we won the lottery:

For performance – Audi R8 or Porsche 911 Turbo or Nissan GT-R

For sitting in the back – Rolls-Royce Phantom or RR Ghost or Bentley Mulsanne or Hyundai Equus 5.0 V8

For the family – Land Rover Discovery 4 or Mercedes GL350 CDI or Kia Sorento or Volkswagen California or Nissan Murano or Mercedes E350 CDI or S350 CDI or Toyota Land Cruiser V8

For posing – Audi TT coupe or BMW Z4 or Citroen C3 Picasso or Nissan Cube/Juke or Bentley Continental GTC

For around town – Ford Ka or Toyota iQ or Kia Picanto or Fiat 500 or Hyundai i10 or Mini Cooper or Renault Twingo

For business – Jaguar XF or BMW 5 Series or Cadillac CTS or Citroen C5 or Kia Borrego/Mohave

For those spur of the moment getaways – Citroen C1 or 2011 Hyundai Sonata or Jaguar XK or Mercedes SLS AMG or Audi Allroad – A4/A6

For fun – Lamborghini Gallardo or Bugatti Veyron or Dacia Sandero

For green credentials – Smart ForTwo CDI or Toyota Prius or Lexus LS600h

For admiring – Bentley Brooklands or Azure or Citroen C6 or 1965 Ford Mustang

GM - Hybrids push up prices for non-hybrid cars, Toyota disagrees

GM vice-chairman, Bob Lutz believes that the high costs involved in building hybrid vehicles is pushing up the price of non-hybrid cars.

'GM will lose money on hybrids,' he said. 'We will continue to build them - and the cost will be spread across other cars.'

Lutz also said he thinks hybrid cars will never make up more than 10% of the U.S market. In the UK, hybrids make up 0.8% of car sales, according to figures from the SMMT. GM will start to sell its first extended-range electric vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, next year.

Toyota – the biggest maker of hybrids – disagrees with GM's stance on such cars.

A spokesman said: 'We will strive to make a million hybrids a year and as we achieve economies of scale, hybrid prices will come down. Hybrid vehicles are more complex, so there is a premium over non-hybrid vehicles, but we believe the overall cost of ownership, with the lower running costs, outweigh the initial purchase costs over non-hybrid cars.'

No Topolino for British market (UK)

Fiat’s two-seat, 2 cylinder Topolino may not come to the UK. The budget city-car was intended for developing markets as well as richer Western European countries, but Andrew Humberstone, managing director of Fiat Group UK, admitted there are doubts as to whether the Topolino would succeed in the UK.

“The Topolino makes sense globally but is more difficult to position over here. We already have a very good presence in the A-Sector and we have to consider how the market will be affected when the Chinese makers eventually enter the UK. They could start offering much cheaper models, some with Fiat technology, too.”

Fiat has a long history in the Chinese market — most recently the Italian company agreed to a joint venture with leading Chinese manufacturer Guangzhou Auto Group. Construction has already started on the GAC-Fiat factory, which will be able to produce 140,000 cars and 220,000 engines per year.

Fiat is expected to make its new Topolino city car, a 3 metre, two-seater based on the Panda, on Zastava production lines. The car will be positioned below the Panda and the 500 on price and is expected to use Fiat's new 900cc 'MultiAir' engine in 65bhp, normally aspirated form.

Swiss driver gets £180k speeding fine (CH)

A Swiss millionaire has been given a record speeding fine of $290,000 (£180,000).

The Ferrari Testarossa driver was caught driving at 137km/h (85mph) through a village with a speed limit of 50mph. According to the BBC, the penalty was calculated based on the unnamed motorist's wealth - assessed by the court as $22.7m (£14.1m) - and because he was a repeat offender.

It is more than double Switzerland's previous record speeding fine.