Trouble Adapting: Legal issues, high costs slowing advance of adaptive cruise control
05-05-06, 02:00 PM
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Trouble Adapting: Legal issues, high costs slowing advance of adaptive cruise control
Automakers and suppliers are developing increasingly capable adaptive cruise control systems, but high costs and an uncertain legal climate are slowing sales.
Less than one new car in 30 has adaptive cruise control.
Manufacturers say new ACC systems can dramatically improve road safety, but they aren't sure if they can offer them because of laws forbidding in-car systems from overriding driver control.
The basic function of ACC systems -- automatically maintaining a safe distance from the car ahead regardless of its speed -- has been around since 1999. That's when German supplier A.D.C.'s system debuted on the seventh-generation Mercedes-Benz S class.
The systems linked cruise control and radar or other distance-measuring sensors.
At the time of the debut, A.D.C. was part of Temic Telefunken. It is now part of German supplier Continental. Germany's Robert Bosch debuted its ACC system about a half year later on the BMW 7 Series.
Since those debuts, engineers have been adding and enhancing ACC features. Researchers soon saw that adding radar or other imaging technologies on the vehicle could provide important safety benefits beyond convenience functions.
Now ACC systems in luxury cars such as the new Mercedes S-Class and Volvo S80 will alert the driver if they detect a hazard that the driver has not noticed. Some systems will apply moderate braking.
But high retail prices mean few drivers purchase ACC, said Peter Knoll, vice president of automotive electronics at Bosch.
"It's well below 3 percent overall, though it's higher on top-end vehicles," he said.
Industry sources estimate 20 percent of the people who buy the eighth-generation S-Class will add ACC. Supplied by Continental, the option costs about E2,500 (roughly $3,150 U.S.).
Said Bosch's Knoll: "We were able to bring the prices down on our second-generation systems last year. But it's still too high."
Bosch aims to bring the retail price on its third-generation ACC down to E1,000 (roughly $1,260 U.S.).
"That's when we expect there will be a large-scale take-up," he said.
But Knoll's counterpart at rival Continental, Michael Schamberger, is skeptical.
"I doubt that E1,000 could be a serious possibility," he told Automotive News Europe.
Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1/TOC01ARCHIVE
Less than one new car in 30 has adaptive cruise control.
Manufacturers say new ACC systems can dramatically improve road safety, but they aren't sure if they can offer them because of laws forbidding in-car systems from overriding driver control.
The basic function of ACC systems -- automatically maintaining a safe distance from the car ahead regardless of its speed -- has been around since 1999. That's when German supplier A.D.C.'s system debuted on the seventh-generation Mercedes-Benz S class.
The systems linked cruise control and radar or other distance-measuring sensors.
At the time of the debut, A.D.C. was part of Temic Telefunken. It is now part of German supplier Continental. Germany's Robert Bosch debuted its ACC system about a half year later on the BMW 7 Series.
Since those debuts, engineers have been adding and enhancing ACC features. Researchers soon saw that adding radar or other imaging technologies on the vehicle could provide important safety benefits beyond convenience functions.
Now ACC systems in luxury cars such as the new Mercedes S-Class and Volvo S80 will alert the driver if they detect a hazard that the driver has not noticed. Some systems will apply moderate braking.
But high retail prices mean few drivers purchase ACC, said Peter Knoll, vice president of automotive electronics at Bosch.
"It's well below 3 percent overall, though it's higher on top-end vehicles," he said.
Industry sources estimate 20 percent of the people who buy the eighth-generation S-Class will add ACC. Supplied by Continental, the option costs about E2,500 (roughly $3,150 U.S.).
Said Bosch's Knoll: "We were able to bring the prices down on our second-generation systems last year. But it's still too high."
Bosch aims to bring the retail price on its third-generation ACC down to E1,000 (roughly $1,260 U.S.).
"That's when we expect there will be a large-scale take-up," he said.
But Knoll's counterpart at rival Continental, Michael Schamberger, is skeptical.
"I doubt that E1,000 could be a serious possibility," he told Automotive News Europe.
Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1/TOC01ARCHIVE
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