Special Advertising Section

SMART CARS 2000

COMFORT AND SAFETY

Last year, the big news was gentler airbags that inflate with about 35% less force than previous generation cushions. This year there's more action in the cockpit, including additional airbag systems.

New federal safety standards are coming in 2003 that will dictate friendlier interior surfaces. Automakers are getting ready now with subtle changes in interior design and materials. They're also stepping up the use of side airbag systems.

Side airbags form an air-filled barrier between you and the doors and/or windows during a side impact. Introduced about a year ago on expensive European cars, they're beginning to show up from more mainstream producers such as Buick and Honda.

Smarter airbag systems for front-seat passengers are being introduced too. Some have two levels of inflation depending upon the measured severity of the crash. They also may sense if the passenger seat is occupied, and whether by an adult or child, before deciding how--or whether--to inflate. Ford says it will add both features, plus a system that tightens seatbelts in a crash, in all its vehicles over the next few years.

Additional airbag systems include those for rear passengers, available from such manufacturers as Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz. Airbags to protect your knees and feet may be next. They've already been developed to help automakers meet foot and ankle injury standards in Europe.

On The Level

There's nothing like that sinking feeling you get when you realize you're going too fast to make the turn ahead. Several automakers offer automatic systems to help you regain control. They do it by juggling the brakes and, sometimes, by quickly adjusting the suspension to reduce body lean and fishtailing.

European and Japanese luxury brands have offered various types of dynamic control systems for some time. Perhaps the most sophisticated of them all debuts this fall in the Mercedes-Benz CL coupe. Called Active Body Control, it uses two computers, more than a dozen sensors, and high-pressure hydraulics to adjust each suspension strut with split-second speed.

GM's simpler StabiliTrak system compares steering input against actual vehicle direction and adjusts braking to the appropriate wheel to help restore control. It's now available on all Cadillac front-wheel drive cars and selected models from most other GM divisions.

High-riding SUVs will be the next vehicles to get stabilizing systems, mainly to improve their corning performance. Land Rover introduced one on its Discovery II SUV earlier this year. Its hydraulically-adjustable sway bars tighten in just 130 microseconds to eliminate body lean at cornering forces up to 0.4 g. The Discovery II also comes with four-wheel electronic traction control and a system that automatically applies the brakes to the vehicle's downhill axle when creeping down steep off-road inclines.

Keep Rolling

The appeal of a tire that keeps going even when it loses all its air is obvious. But run-flat tires are beginning to take hold, thanks to advanced tire design and technology that aims to make the spare tire obsolete.

Designing a run-flat tire isn't easy. When an ordinary tire goes flat, it squirms around on the wheel, making safe driving difficult. Before long, it loses its grip on the wheel entirely and may come right off the rim. Run-flat tires have stiffer sidewalls that "stand up" even after a puncture. But they may weigh more and can hurt fuel economy with their higher rolling resistance.

Perhaps the most advanced run-flat tire concept to date is Michelin's new PAX System. It features a unique wheel rim that mechanically locks the wheel and tire together so they can't separate even if you have a blowout. Sidewalls are short, straight and more rigid than those of a traditional tire. A flexible "support ring" inside the tire lets you drive for 125 miles at 55 mph with zero tire pressure.

Ordinary tires bulge out on the sides. Michelin's PAX tires have a noticeably flatter-looking sidewall and actually sit inside their special rims. Michelin says the configuration helps handling and boosts fuel economy. It also enables wheel/tire combinations that show relatively more wheel and less tire, an increasingly popular look for sporty cars these days.

No More Slips

Dana Corp.'s Spicer Light Axle Group has come up with a new device that promises the ultimate in four-wheel drive. Called Hydra-Lok, it automatically shuttles engine torque to any wheel that has good traction. Ordinary vehicles, including those with four-wheel drive, can't do that.

Hydra-Lok replaces the differential, a box of gears that goes in the middle of a drive axle. The differential allows the wheels at each end of the axle to turn at different speeds. You need that capability when you go around a corner, since the wheels on the outside trace a longer path than the ones on the inside and therefore must spin faster.

Ordinary differentials send power to the wheel that spins faster. If the faster wheel has no grip--because it's on ice, for example--it gets all the torque anyway. You end up spinning your wheel and going nowhere fast.

Limited-slip differentials help curb that tendency, but they only work on the rear axle. Dana's new Hydra-Lok differential works equally well on both axles. The result: Your four-by-four keeps going even if both wheels on one side are off the ground.

Hydra-Lok debuted on the Jeep Grand Cherokee in 1999. It's heading for more vehicles next year.

 

Better Seats

Headrests are supposed to help you avoid whiplash neck injury when your vehicle is bumped from behind. But they can't work well if they aren't adjusted properly, and some aren't completely effective even then.

Now automakers are beginning to install mechanical headrests that automatically move up and forward in a crash to keep your head and neck properly aligned. This fall Buick becomes the first domestic automaker to introduce the technology, which it dubs the Catcher's Mitt seat, in LeSabre.

Seat-mounted side airbags like this Buick system form a cushion between you and the door if your vehicle is rammed from the side.

Saab pioneered the technology a few years ago. Nissan says its dynamic headrests, available in its new Infiniti Q45 and I30 luxury sedans, can reduce the severity of backward head movement by 65%.

The part of the seat you sit on is getting smarter too. Cadillac Seville has adaptive seats that mold themselves to you--and readjust themselves if you squirm into a new position. And the Lincoln Navigator SUV debuts optional seats this fall that are not only heated, but ventilated and air conditioned as well. Developed by Johnson Controls, they come with their own built-in heat pumps and ceramic thermal-electric heating/cooling devices.

Backup Eyes

Most every driver accidentally backs into something sooner or later. But bumper-mounted sonar can make such mishaps far less likely. Typical systems mount several small sensors in the rear bumper that cause a warning device inside the vehicle to beep faster as an object gets closer.

Backing up is easier when equipped with a sonar object detection system. At least six automakers are offering such equipment on selected models this fall.

Manufacturers offering backup sonar on at least some models this fall include BMW, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz.

Smarter Cruising

Cruise control is a great feature. But it can be frustrating to use in moderate traffic because you're constantly engaging and disengaging it as the cars ahead speed up or slow down.

Next-generation cruise controls sense the gap between you and the car ahead, automatically slowing or accelerating to maintain a safe distance. Luxury car manufacturers such as BMW and Jaguar offer such systems now in overseas markets. This fall Mercedes-Benz becomes the first automaker to bring a production version of the technology to the American road.

The Jaguar S-type sedan comes with voice activated controls you use to use the radio, adjust the cabin temperature, and dial the cellular phone.