Modern cars have become death traps

The typical modern automobile utilizes a set of systems including power
steering, power brakes, power door locks, power windows, as well as
automatic transmissions. Such modern advances generally make cars more
convenient and easier to drive, yet they also make them potentially
dangerous.

A couple years ago 4 asian buisnessmen in Bejjing were driving through
downtown in their brand new BMW 5 series. It's engine & engine
electrical system unexpectedly quite. This was during the summer so it
was HOT outside. Because of the high temperatures, they had their A/C
on with the windows rolled up. Such a model car left them like sitting
ducks trapped inside their car since the power windows and *door locks*
became inoperable. A passerbyer spotted them inside the car pounding
on their windows. After a long while of them being trapped and full of
panic inside their car the pedestrian who spotted them took a heavy
metal object from the side walk to break one of the windows open. In
this case they turned out lucky. Imagine what would happen if they got
trapped inside their car in the middle of Death Valley California with
no help around for miles and triple digit temperatures outside.

In another case back in yr/2000 Lisa 29 was driving around San
Francisco in her 99' Buick when all of a sudden her engine died on her.
In an instant she lost control of her car, went off the side of the
road and hit a parked car in someones drive way. "I was just driving
along when all of a sudden the car lost power and the steering wheel
became too heavy and impossible to turn. I tried to stop but I also
lost my brakes at the same time. No matter how hard I applied the
brakes, nothing would stop the car as I was heading down one of San
Francisco's steep hills."


I say that all of the above examples clearly show that the automotive
industry has serious failed the motoring public in providing safe,
reliable private transportation. The CEOs need to be cross examined
for their short comings and strung for not making the best decisions in
car designs. The engineers themselves need to be questioned and strung
for not putting together cars that would offer fail safe devices IN THE
FIRST PLACE.



East-

In article . com>, wrote:

> A couple years ago 4 asian buisnessmen in Bejjing were driving through
> downtown in their brand new BMW 5 series. It's engine & engine
> electrical system unexpectedly quite. This was during the summer so it
> was HOT outside. Because of the high temperatures, they had their A/C
> on with the windows rolled up. Such a model car left them like sitting
> ducks trapped inside their car since the power windows and *door locks*
> became inoperable. A passerbyer spotted them inside the car pounding
> on their windows. After a long while of them being trapped and full of
> panic inside their car the pedestrian who spotted them took a heavy
> metal object from the side walk to break one of the windows open. In
> this case they turned out lucky. Imagine what would happen if they got
> trapped inside their car in the middle of Death Valley California with
> no help around for miles and triple digit temperatures outside.

My car has power locks. One day I locked my keys inside. I had two sets
of keys with me. one for the TW car, one for the mustang. I thought I had
the mustang keys in my hand and closed the door to the mustang, only to
find it's keys were inside and in my hands the TW's keys. Unfortantly the
house keys are on the ring with the mustang's. So... I go to the TW and
look in the trunk for something I can use... a coathanger... I manage to
get into my mustang with it by pulling up the lock plunger that has no
gripping features.

this is a long way of saying the story is bull****. You just manually
pull the lock plunger. Plus from the inside, most cars with power locks
unlock when the inside latch handle is pulled.

> In another case back in yr/2000 Lisa 29 was driving around San
> Francisco in her 99' Buick when all of a sudden her engine died on her.
> In an instant she lost control of her car, went off the side of the
> road and hit a parked car in someones drive way. "I was just driving
> along when all of a sudden the car lost power and the steering wheel
> became too heavy and impossible to turn. I tried to stop but I also
> lost my brakes at the same time. No matter how hard I applied the
> brakes, nothing would stop the car as I was heading down one of San
> Francisco's steep hills."

Another moron. I've driven the TW car with the powersteering system with
a hole in it and no power steering. I've also disabled the power brakes
on a car once to eliminate the booster during diagnosis. The car operated
just fine.


> I say that all of the above examples clearly show that the automotive
> industry has serious failed the motoring public in providing safe,
> reliable private transportation.

I say the people are morons who shouldn't be behind the wheel.

wrote:
> The typical modern automobile utilizes a set of systems including power
> steering, power brakes, power door locks, power windows, as well as
> automatic transmissions. Such modern advances generally make cars more
> convenient and easier to drive, yet they also make them potentially
> dangerous.
>
> A couple years ago 4 asian buisnessmen in Bejjing were driving through
> downtown in their brand new BMW 5 series. It's engine & engine
> electrical system unexpectedly quite. This was during the summer so it
> was HOT outside. Because of the high temperatures, they had their A/C
> on with the windows rolled up. Such a model car left them like sitting
> ducks trapped inside their car since the power windows and *door locks*
> became inoperable. A passerbyer spotted them inside the car pounding
> on their windows. After a long while of them being trapped and full of
> panic inside their car the pedestrian who spotted them took a heavy
> metal object from the side walk to break one of the windows open. In
> this case they turned out lucky. Imagine what would happen if they got
> trapped inside their car in the middle of Death Valley California with
> no help around for miles and triple digit temperatures outside.

Yep - power windows and door locks are stupid.

>
> In another case back in yr/2000 Lisa 29 was driving around San
> Francisco in her 99' Buick when all of a sudden her engine died on her.
> In an instant she lost control of her car, went off the side of the
> road and hit a parked car in someones drive way. "I was just driving
> along when all of a sudden the car lost power and the steering wheel
> became too heavy and impossible to turn. I tried to stop but I also
> lost my brakes at the same time. No matter how hard I applied the
> brakes, nothing would stop the car as I was heading down one of San
> Francisco's steep hills."

Sounds like she was drunk and just made up the story about the engine
dying after she hit the car.

>
>
> I say that all of the above examples clearly show that the automotive
> industry has serious failed the motoring public in providing safe,
> reliable private transportation. The CEOs need to be cross examined
> for their short comings and strung for not making the best decisions in
> car designs. The engineers themselves need to be questioned and strung
> for not putting together cars that would offer fail safe devices IN THE
> FIRST PLACE.

Safety??? If americans cared about safety, they'd drive slow and sober
and demand those that don't be locked up.

But Brent, there is no way of telling what Lisa looks like. For all
you know Lisa could be a really small, thin, and fragile blond girl
with zero upper body strength. You can not compare your male body to a
smaller females body that doesn't have nearly as much "myofibriles"
i.e. muscle mass. Just like how on TV they keep showing a NAVY ship
that had a fighter plane crash into it's deck and smash into a million
pieces. The pilot was a women. Experts agree that if the pilot had
more upper body strength she would have been able to pull up on the
controls hard enough to land the plane without incident. Ever since
that accident woman have been banned from becoming fighter pilots.

Yes you can control a car with Power steering that lost it's power.
But it takes a LOT of strength to do so. Not everyone can do it,
especially senior citizens and petite drivers. Also a driver that is
"SICK" with a virus has less strength. A lot less strength than usual.


East-

In article .com>, wrote:

> But Brent, there is no way of telling what Lisa looks like. For all
> you know Lisa could be a really small, thin, and fragile blond girl
> with zero upper body strength.

Then a large vehicle might not be the best choice. Again, buyer
stupidity. Like the manager for a apartment complex I once lived in.
probably 4'11" about 95lbs... drove a big arsed escalade. People make
stupid choices. That's not the fault of the automakers.

> You can not compare your male body to a
> smaller females body that doesn't have nearly as much "myofibriles"
> i.e. muscle mass. Just like how on TV they keep showing a NAVY ship
> that had a fighter plane crash into it's deck and smash into a million
> pieces. The pilot was a women. Experts agree that if the pilot had
> more upper body strength she would have been able to pull up on the
> controls hard enough to land the plane without incident. Ever since
> that accident woman have been banned from becoming fighter pilots.

Last I heard there are still female fighter pilots. So, you'll have to
produce a cite.

> Yes you can control a car with Power steering that lost it's power.
> But it takes a LOT of strength to do so.

Not really. I would estimate it as slightly more difficult than my power
nothing maverick.

> Not everyone can do it,
> especially senior citizens and petite drivers. Also a driver that is
> "SICK" with a virus has less strength. A lot less strength than usual.

I dunno. Women seemed perfectly able to drive cars like my power nothing
maverick back in the 70s.

Then again, I understand women did have trouble driving power nothing
big block V8 Ford Galaxies and the like. Of course back then, people were
a bit more responsible regarding their own choices it seems.

I would suggest stop trying to make other people responsible for personal
decisions.

But Brent P, not everyone is good with technology. The average
motorists could be *surprised* once they loose all power to their car.
Many of whom have NEVER touched a car in their life that was power
nothing. This is year 2006. The last power nothing car was sold
decades ago.

In any case the *surprise* of the car loosing power is enough to make a
driver panic and effectively get into an accident. Some drivers might
think that there is no more control of the car once the power steering
and brakes are all gone. And on many cars there really isn't. There
are "drive by wire" cars these days where if the power is lost, no
turning of the wheel or pressing on the brake or gas will do ANYTHING.
The occupants of the car are basically in for the ride with ZERO
control of what happens next once the engine cuts out.


East-

In article . com>, wrote:
> But Brent P, not everyone is good with technology.

Then they should familiarize themselves or not use it.

> The average
> motorists could be *surprised* once they loose all power to their car.

The average motorist in my experience is a moron.

> Many of whom have NEVER touched a car in their life that was power
> nothing. This is year 2006. The last power nothing car was sold
> decades ago.

Sometime in the 80s... but not my problem nor the automakers' problem.

> In any case the *surprise* of the car loosing power is enough to make a
> driver panic and effectively get into an accident.

People who panic like that shouldn't be behind the wheel. I had the
ignition module go out in the Torqueless Wonder car in the left lane of
the dan-ryan expressway in heavy traffic. I managed to make it to the
right shoulder. Power was out. engine dead.

> Some drivers might
> think that there is no more control of the car once the power steering
> and brakes are all gone.

Then they are morons who shouldn't be behind the wheel of a motor
vehicle. They should consider public transporation or a professional
driver.

> And on many cars there really isn't. There
> are "drive by wire" cars these days where if the power is lost, no
> turning of the wheel or pressing on the brake or gas will do ANYTHING.

I don't think any of those have gone into production. I certainly
wouldn't want to buy one. I don't have the maintaince budget of an
airline.

> The occupants of the car are basically in for the ride with ZERO
> control of what happens next once the engine cuts out.

Consider that next time you get in a commerical airliner.

> I say that all of the above examples clearly show that the automotive
> industry has serious failed the motoring public in providing safe,
> reliable private transportation.

You can say that all you want, but the death rate/million miles driven
have continuously gone down as the technology gets better. Technology
developed much by the millions spent by the automotive industry R&D
teams.

On 3 May 2006 21:24:16 -0700, wrote:

>But Brent, there is no way of telling what Lisa looks like. For all
>you know Lisa could be a really small, thin, and fragile blond girl
>with zero upper body strength. You can not compare your male body to a
>smaller females body that doesn't have nearly as much "myofibriles"
>i.e. muscle mass. Just like how on TV they keep showing a NAVY ship
>that had a fighter plane crash into it's deck and smash into a million
>pieces. The pilot was a women. Experts agree that if the pilot had
>more upper body strength she would have been able to pull up on the
>controls hard enough to land the plane without incident. Ever since
>that accident woman have been banned from becoming fighter pilots.
>
>Yes you can control a car with Power steering that lost it's power.
>But it takes a LOT of strength to do so. Not everyone can do it,
>especially senior citizens and petite drivers. Also a driver that is
>"SICK" with a virus has less strength. A lot less strength than usual.

It _doesn't_ take a lot of muscle to guide a power steering car if it fails at
speed. Its a little harder, that's all. It takes a lot of muscle to parallel
park one, but not simply keep it straight while it is rolling unassisted.

Dave Head

>
>
>East-

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> But Brent P, not everyone is good with technology. The average
> motorists could be *surprised* once they loose all power to their car.

OK, I've had it. You don't "loose" power, you lose power.
"Loose" is what doors are when the hinges aren't screwed
in tight.


> Many of whom have NEVER touched a car in their life that was power
> nothing. This is year 2006. The last power nothing car was sold
> decades ago.
>
> In any case the *surprise* of the car loosing power is enough to make a

Same comment: the term is "losing".


> driver panic and effectively get into an accident. Some drivers might
> think that there is no more control of the car once the power steering
> and brakes are all gone. And on many cars there really isn't. There
> are "drive by wire" cars these days where if the power is lost, no
> turning of the wheel or pressing on the brake or gas will do ANYTHING.
> The occupants of the car are basically in for the ride with ZERO
> control of what happens next once the engine cuts out.
>
>
> East-
>

Sorry, nothing personal, but I'm fed up with people who
don't know how to spell.