Autoblog: Car chases soon to be a thing of the past, Jerry Bruckheimer inconsolable.

Blind_Io

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The car chase was made famous by films like Bullitt and The French Connection, but for some reason, most Americans think of O.J. and the white Ford Bronco when they think of pursuits before either of those excellent films. The reason? The O.J. chase was real. Real slow, too, but definitely authentic. But not all real-life car chases are slow. In fact, many are very fast and extremely dangerous, but the U.S. Air Force is looking to change that in the next few years with a weapon it calls the Car Stopper.

The Car Stopper is a device that will enable the USAF to disable a vehicle's electronic devices, rendering the vehicle immobile in under one second. But while the military may be on the lookout for microwave tech that can disable vehicles of all shapes and sizes, a company called Eureka Aerospace already has such a device in development, and it can reportedly stop a vehicle dead in its tracks from up to 200 meters away. The device, called High Powered Electro Magnetic System (HPEMS), can stop vehicles made after the mid-1970s cold.

Hit the jump to watch a Popular Science video showing just how effective the device is. HPEMS can stop a Toyota without much of a fuss, and it could one day assist the military in stopping cars and tanks on the battle field, or law enforcement looking to avoid high speed chases.

[YOUTUBE]oT5EJYY_6HQ[/YOUTUBE]
 
The problem with any system that can disable a car's electronics is that to use it in a civilian setting, you put the occupants of that vehicle and perhaps other motorists or bystanders at extreme risk. Disable a car like that at 70mph, and with no power assists or throttle you could lose control of the vehicle and injure or kill someone.

I could totally see it being used in military conflicts, but I am not enthused about use of it in my city...
 
Also, the EM energy isn't going to just stop when it hits the car. The Air Force can use this because they'd be shooting it down at a target and the energy would go on to be absorbed into the ground. From a ground-level deployment, it's going to hit the target and shut down other cars on the other side of it with fatal consequences for the electronics - and possibly the innocent occupants.

Plus, unless he's figured out some way to make that thing fire like a laser, he's going to get a shotgun like spread of energy out the end of that waveguide assembly - which means other cars to the sides of the target are going to get hit. This is before you realize that such a weapon will also wipe laptop and handheld computers and not incidentally possibly kill people with implanted medical electronics and appliances like, oh, pacemakers, defibrillators and insulin pumps.

If you thought tasers were bad...
 
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Much better alternatives out there. I think the best I've seen is the X-net.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8FNR8BryR0[/YOUTUBE]
Basically the net has spikes on the leading edge that embed into the tire then the net just wraps up and locks the wheels up. More effective than spike strips and it's said to not damage the vehicle at all.

Here's a longer version (9 min.) from a Discover show called Future Weapons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geqHQMkYobw
 
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and what happens when these things get into the hands on criminals, which will happen. Thats what I dread. Not saying they shouldn't develop this, but the flipside is criminals being able to take out pursuing cop cars.

Though it would totally make my autocross races easier :)
 
Or just anarchists. Imagine what would happen if you were in a helicopter and just 'hosed' a financial district with this thing. Or an airliner on takeoff. Or general aviation craft.

On top of which, an easier solution is the Texas Protocol: Shoot out tires and fuel tank (no, fuel tanks do not explode when shot) with an optional radiator shot; car dies pretty damn quick after that, problem solved with little to no collateral damage.
 
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The solution to the "beyond the target" damage to this magnatic thing would be to have it stationed on freeways that have these chases a lot, and have them positioned so that where they are aimed, there isn't anything that could be damaged.
 
Much better alternatives out there. I think the best I've seen is the X-net.
[YOUTUBE]n8FNR8BryR0[/YOUTUBE]
Basically the net has spikes on the leading edge that embed into the tire then the net just wraps up and locks the wheels up. More effective than spike strips and it's said to not damage the vehicle at all.

Here's a longer version (9 min.) from a Discover show called Future Weapons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geqHQMkYobw

The problem there is the same as spike strips of Stop Sticks, you have to know where the suspect is going and get there first.
 
note to self. If I ever rob a bank in the future, use a pre 1970 vehicle as a getaway car.
 
note to self. If I ever rob a bank in the future, use a pre 1970 vehicle as a getaway car.

But you know some moron will get a 69 Camaro to outsmart the cops with those guns, but not realizing that the brand new LS1 engine he put in kinda negates the protection of an older car.:lol::lol:
 
But you know some moron will get a 69 Camaro to outsmart the cops with those guns, but not realizing that the brand new LS1 engine he put in kinda negates the protection of an older car.:lol::lol:

Slap a carb on it instead of FI and he'll be fine.
 
But you know some moron will get a 69 Camaro to outsmart the cops with those guns, but not realizing that the brand new LS1 engine he put in kinda negates the protection of an older car.:lol::lol:

But the best RL car cashes are the ones by idiots! I remember watching one live when I lived down in Florida with a guy just going in circles and then getting out of his car and running around haha
 
All you have to do is shield the critical electronics and you're fine. It's not very difficult to do...
 
All you have to do is shield the critical electronics and you're fine. It's not very difficult to do...

This includes all the wiring in the car that has a connection to the ECU, including peripheral wiring, etc. Not easy in later cars, but if your car is made entirely of thick steel, well.... let's just say it makes a fine Faraday cage if you prep it properly.
 
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would be fine I think, as long as the fuel pump is mechanical and the ignition system is mechanical.
 
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