Autoblog

Last week, the NHTSA announced its final rules that will require electronic stability control on all light duty vehicles by September, 2011. For once, a new regulation on cars from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has been welcomed by car-makers instead of drawing complaints. This probably has something to do with the fact that pretty much every automaker is already planning to make stability control standard equipment, and can cheer itself on in advertisements for being ahead of the curve.

Ford is already making stability control standard equipment on its SUVs and crossovers, and other companies like General Motors and Toyota have committed to making ESC standard over the next few years. All carmakers agree that stability control is a technology that, unlike airbags and seatbelts, can actually help prevent accidents.

GM's official response to the new regulation can be found after the jump.

[Source: General Motors]

About 40 percent of cars and trucks now on the road are equipped with electronic stability control, or ESC, and
each year it's seen on more and more vehicles -- especially SUVs and crossovers. The ESC systems have been very beneficial in that they reduce the propensity of these vehicles to roll-over and many new and upcoming vehicles of this type are getting them as standard equipment. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has even proposed making stability control mandatory on all vehicles by 2012.

However, there's a fly in the ointment. The last few years have seen the rise of the oversized wheel and tire, with the release of ever-larger rims at each auto show, it seems.. The problem is that slip control systems like ABS, TCS an ESC depend on knowing how fast each individual wheel is rotating, among other things. The systems are calibrated to each platform based on knowledge of the wheel rotational inertias, center of gravity height. The control software has adaptive mechanisms built in to compensate for varying wheel sizes, but they can only go so far and when buyers put some exceptionally large wheels on, the systems just can't work right. If things get too far out of range, the system can either modify the vehicle behavior in unexpected ways, or cause a fault to be detected even when there's nothing wrong with the system itself.

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is worried that mandating ESC will not include a requirement that the systems work with aftermarket parts. However, this is totally unrealistic. The engineers who develop these systems test them with all kinds of combinations of over-sized and under-sized tires, but they can't possibly check every combination or even guarantee what will be put on the vehicle down the road. Nobody knows what kind of tires or what sized wheels will come out two, three, eight years down the road. If anyone should be required to ensure compatibility, it should be the aftermarket companies. The stability control systems are sold in good faith based on known hardware. If someone changes that hardware beyond certain limits, they should be responsible for the consequences. The Detroit News has an article about problem.

[Source: Detroit News]

The headline of Chrysler's press release pretty much says it: "Chrysler's First SUV is Industry's First Full-Size SUV With Trailer Sway Control." Many automakers have loaded up their SUVs with ways to make hauling trailers easier and safer, like General Motors' Quadra-Steer technology (which unfortunately went by the wayside starting with the 2006 model year), but Chrysler claims that this innovation is the first of its kind.

Like Electronic Stability Control, sensors monitor a driver's intended path and compare that with what the vehicle is actually doing. When the trailer following the vehicle starts to sway, the sensors gauge whether the sway is as a result of the driver's intended steering input, and if not, engages the opposing front brake to counteract the sway. When the sway continues on the other side of the vehicle, the other front brake is applied, eventually eliminating the problem.

The Aspen hit the floor of the North American International Auto Show earlier this year with mixed reviews -- many critics thought the beast was ugly and represented a bad move for Chrysler as SUV sales tanked thanks to high gas prices. Chrysler dealers were clamoring for an SUV, however, and the sharp interior, distinctive Chrysler styling (complete with Crossfire-esque ridges on the hood) and high level of utility may go a long way in giving Chrysler the edge it needs to make a profit comeback for the second half of the year.

Trailer Sway Control will also be extended to the Aspen's stable mate, the 2007 Dodge Durango.

[Source: Chrysler]

Monday's rumor became reality Thursday when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its proposal to require auto manufacturers to install electronic stability control as a standard feature in all new cars.

Standard equipment ESC would be required on passenger vehicles under 10,000 pounds starting with the 2009 model year. All new vehicles would be required to have ESC by the 2012 model year (September 2011).

The agency estimates that ESC will save between 5,300 and 10,300 lives annually and prevent between 168,000 and 252,000 injuries. The cost of adding ESC to an ABS-equipped vehicle is estimated to be $111.

The agency has been urging automakers to voluntarily add ESC to their vehicles since 2004, and almost 29 percent of 2006 light vehicles are ESC-equipped. With various manufacturers already announcing their intent to broaden the availability of ESC in their model ranges, the installation rate without the proposed regulation would increase to 71 percent in 2011.

NHTSA will allow exceptions to the new rule "for some vehicles manufactured in stages or by small volume manufacturers." In addition, an ESC "on/off" switch will be permitted to allow the driver to disable the system for special circumstances like track days, driving in deep snow and driving with mismatched tire sizes (a spacesaver spare, for example).

A new safety regulation naturally requires a new test, and the ESC will be tested using a steering robot to swerve the vehicle in a predetermined pattern while the vehicle is moving at 50 mph. According to the NHTSA, the test is severe enough to cause most vehicles to spin out without ESC.

You can download the proposed regulation and the background information here (pdf file).

[Source: NHTSA]

Ford Motor Company has announced that it will make electronic stability control a standard feature on all of its models by the end of 2009. Although SUVs and rollovers have taken the brunt of the criticism, other traction-related crashes have piqued the interest of federal regulators. As we reported earlier, some in Washington have proposed a timeline, by which all vehicles sold within the United States will be required to come standard with some form of a stability control system. Ford maintains that its own roll out of traction control equipped vehicles will be well ahead of the proposed federal regulations.

Ford has had a few lawsuits regarding rollovers over the course of the last few years, making the company a target for electronic stability control proponents. Electronic stability control would prevent nearly one in three accidents, according to a study done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Hyundai put out a press release yesterday touting the following headline:

"Hyundai Puts More Vehicles With Standard Electronic Stability on the Road Than Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche or Volvo"

It is interesting to note that Hyundai sells more cars than some of the other companies mentioned, but considering this week's news that Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is the new black of safety components, this news is some strong stuff. The company says it will sell 350,000 units equipped standard with ESC, which is more than the aforementioned automakers expect to produce this year.

Hyundai's angle is one that promotes safety and ESC as something affordable for everyone; a commitment that is shown by the 70 percent of Hyundai's lineup leaving the factory with the technology. The vehicles incorporating the technology as standard equipment include the Sonata, Tucson, Santa Fe, Entourage, and
Azera, all of which start between $18,000 and $25,000.