The pedal that pushed back - no the other one.

Blind_Io

Blind_Io

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http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/04/nissan-eco-pedal-promises-to-push-back-against-aggressive-driver/

nissan-eco-pedal.jpg

While Nissan hasn't quite cut drivers out of the equation all together (yet), it is making some considerable progress in controlling just how they drive, including preventing folks from driving drunk and, now with its new ECO pedal, preventing people from driving inefficiently. To do that, the pedal simply pushes back against the driver's foot when it detects wasteful acceleration, which Nissan says could improve fuel efficiency by as much as five to ten percent. Of course, the system can be switched off, and it likely won't be making an appearance in all Nissan vehicles right off the bat, although the company says it'll be showing up in at least some of them as early as next year.
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http://www.autoblog.com/2008/08/04/nissan-eco-pedal-puts-pressure-on-lead-foots/

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As if "shift lights" weren't annoying enough... Nissan's new "ECO pedal" has been engineered to encourage good fuel economy with a servo-actuated gas pedal that will push back on the driver's lead foot when on-board computers detect wasteful acceleration. According to Nissan, vehicles equipped with the ECO pedal, and real-time fuel consumption gauges in the instrument panel, have returned a 5-10 percent increase in fuel efficiency. The Japanese automaker says it has plans to begin installing the ECO pedal in models next year, although there is no word on what models, or markets, will get the system. We're betting it's an option unlikely to show up on the GT-R anytime in the near future.
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So how does the computer know what is "wasteful" and what is "Oh FUCK that truck is about to hit me! Our Lady Of Blessed Acceleration don't fail me now!" Also a computer has no sense of fun; and, let's face it, mashing the loud pedal once in a while is fun. Sure it wastes fuel, but it's my fuel, I'll waste it if I want!
 
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I wonder how strong that servo is because when I need to floor it, I really mash the pedal into the carpet. Also, this could be dangerous, because sometimes you need to get on the gas in a wasteful manner when you, for example, merge onto the highway.
 
Crazyjeeper said:
I wonder how strong that servo is because when I need to floor it, I really mash the pedal into the carpet. Also, this could be dangerous, because sometimes you need to get on the gas in a wasteful manner when you, for example, merge onto the highway.
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Oh man I know what you mean. It's nerve racking trying to accelerate from 0 to 60 when merging onto a busy highway.
 
I think they must have built some sort of disabling it when you panic during an emergency and step on it real hard. Or at least they should.
 
It's my car and gas, I paid for them, and I'll be wasteful if I want to. If I wanted to be economical I would have bought a more economical car in the first place.
 
This is a terrible idea. I have actually saved myself with that burst of acceleration more than once. If I didn't have that sudden power I should have been T-boned twice by now. Lately I've had to use bursts of acceleration just to safely merge on the highway because the people who enter the highway on the ramp drive at such a dangerously slow speed. For me, a car that doesn't respond when I need it to respond instantly is useless.
 
Really seems unnecessary. It's probably because I'm a new driver, but I try to ease off the accelerator to see if I can better my parent's 23 MPG (Imperial) in the city since they have lead feet. It's also dangerous too, seeing when the extra power of the engine is sometimes needed in an emergency situation. Imagine if the Caravan in War of the Worlds had eco pedals...
 
Terrible idea. DIsabling it shouldn't even need to be an option as this should never have been created in the first place. Want a gas sipper, engineer one, don't throttle the throttle.
 
Stupid, what is with all of these nanny cars now/ I really want to drive my own car, though admittedly my car does have many of these features.

Dasidiot, what color GTI do you ahve and was this an early 08 with the FSI engine or that "TSI" that isnt really a TSI.
 
This is a pretty dumb idea. Reminds me of the speed limiters on segways, actually. Whenever you'd try to punch through the limiter and go faster than nine miles an hour, the platform would start to swivel back to try to push your weight back and keep you from going faster. Trouble is that this also has a nasty habit of trying to buck riders off the back, because if you lean in really hard to compensate, it dumps you off the back.
 
this is not new technology. Our Citroen has a similar 'step' in it, where you need to press harder if you want to go flatout. Still, you can relatively easily do that

eco light FTL though, that's just lame. If you're really that anal about using fuel (and I am) you can just check the trip computer and let it display the actual fuel being used, and use that as a guideline
 
Most cars have a "kick down" at the bottom of the travel on the throttle, but it's not the same as this system. The kick down is just to tell the tranny to down shift.
 
Terrible, stupid idea. How the hell does it know when the acceleration is 'wasteful'?

Fail.
 
Presumably, this will be an optional extra? If so, I cant see ANYONE paying money for something that is completely useless. 5-10% more fuel efficiency is what we get for taking all fun out of motoring? No thanks, Fuck you for even suggesting something like that.
 
Blind_Io said:
Most cars have a "kick down" at the bottom of the travel on the throttle, but it's not the same as this system. The kick down is just to tell the tranny to down shift.
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yes but most of our cars are manual and therefore don't have kickdown :p
 
You can switch it off so it isn't that big of a deal. But I like to think I can do a pretty good job of controlling fuel economy by listening to the engine and using good technique, I'm sure there'll be somebody who thinks this is a good idea - possibly a fleet manager.
 
lol nissan.
 
Blind_Io said:
Most lazy shlushboxcars have a "kick down" at the bottom of the travel on the throttle, but it's not the same as this system. The kick down is just to tell the tranny to down shift.
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Fixed that. :)

Concerning the topic:

Terrible Idea. Really, terrible.
 
People need to just stop being retarded.
 
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