I Know We Have One Regular On This Site That Longs For "Standard" Sealed Beam Headlights!
Joseph and many others aren't sold on the stylish, plastic aero-headlights with all different bulb requirements and "hard to replace" characteristics and foggy lenses.
Works for me. Somewhere between my $5.00 headlight for Chen C10 and $350.00 to swap out a bunch of useless crap on a '92 Subaru there exists a far better reality.
Not standard with BMW. Waited 5 years for a Bentley Manual for my Z3 to be published and even it's not great an wasn't cheap. Nobody wants you working on your own car. They make too much money on service to encourage folks to do their own work.
Once I set it I can concentrate on looking up, not down. Also, once I set it near the legal posted speed, I'm not likely to go too fast. I wouldn't have a car without it, although I know some folks don't like it or want it.
I Reread. It's Not Backwards. I Live On A Fresh Water Lake Where The Sea-Doo Operates. My Car However Operates In Salt Water On The Roads For Nearly 6 Months Per Year.
Our state and county road commissions dump tons of salt per mile of roadway all winter long in an effort to melt snow and ice.
I think ABS is the big one that is not that much more expensive, but makes the car much, much safer. That's probably the only one I'd say should be mandatory that isn't.
I may be the last remaining [male] driver who does NOT want ABS. I don't trust a mechanical-electric-sophisticated-built-in system to handle skids. Besides, I don't skid any more. I drive usually conservatively, especially on the freeway [a.k.a. highway]. I think keeping a long distance between mine and the vehicle
ahead of me is wise practice.
I dig your view, man. However, ABS is quite a perfected item these days. Even in the early 90s, ABS worked quite well (94 Honda Accord EX w/ ABS (standard, mind y'all) stops on a dime... too bad the unit seems to be cooked). I understand your position, and would like to point your attention to TVR, who doesn't install any sort of electrical/ mechanical devices in their vehicles (no ABS, no air bags, etc).
BUT! While YOU may be a safe drive, and it sounds like it, not everyone is. ABS is as much for the safety of yourself stopping alone as it is when someone else is trying to stop. Think about someone not paying attention coming to a red light. You are the first person in line, they will be the second. They look up from their radio/iPod/ cellphone/ etc., and see you. They slam on the brakes. If their car doesn't have ABS and they hit the brakes hard enough, they may manage to lock up the brakes and enter a skid. Chances are that they cannot pump the brakes fast enough to prevent brake lock up. You, being in front of this skidding car, are screwed, yeah?
ABS is much improved from the early units. I had a 1994 Blazer that was so intent that the wheels would not lock, that you could not stop the darn thing on an icy surface, and with a trailer behind it the ABS engaged far too easily and would increase stopping distance. When that vehicle was replaced with a 2002 Jeep Liberty I specificly avoided getting a vehicle with ABS. However, the ABS in my 2009 Honda Fit works good, as do most new systems. And you will have to look long and hard to avoid mechanical-electric-sophisticated-built-in system to handle skids, as this is more and more required by our Big Brother government.
I Agree Totally With RJ Kaufmann. It Sounds Like I Wrote His Response.
I don't really mind it being in my car (except the extra parts and potential problems), because I never drive in a manner where I'd need it. I think on most road surfaces it would help almost everybody stop quicker and still have steering in a panic stop.
However, I drive on icy, slushy, and snow covered roads for nearly 6 months of the year. I have both cars with ABS and without ABS.
Trust me, our ABS equipped cars are not as safe and are scary to drive on our slippery roads. They probably allow one to steer better while braking, but the ABS increases stopping distance, sometimes a considerable amount.
I don't know what's at work there, but I'm guessing it has something to do with snow / slush being built up in front of the sliding tires and the frequency at which the ABS activates doesn't allow it to clear adequately as does manual pumping.
09/29/2009 7:09:03 PM
