nhey

Channel 7 (ABC) in NY had a story on the 11:00 p.m. news Wednesday night this week about the advance parking guidance system. They had a woman reporter attempt to parallel park in NY city. She said it took her a couple of passes before the parking "box" turned green rather than red (don't know why...) and allowed her to try it. She was then able to parallel park but she forgot to press the brake to stop the car from slightly touching the bumper of the car behind her and she lightly tapped it. No damage, but points out that you need to stop the car yourself or it will hit the car behind you. It would seem to me that version 2.0 in future years will coordinate the park assist feature with braking and stop the car itself when it gets too close to the car behind you when parallel parking with the advanced parking system.

DKNY

they make the feature more towards for women (since they cant park for *****) and they still screw it up.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

If this feature allows you to HIT the car behind then it's a lawsuit waiting to happen - I don't care what the manual says.

vraa

iTrader: (2)

Hahahaha.

However, without women I wouldn't be able to feed myself no matter how many cooking classes I've taken

rominl

iTrader: (4)

if people don't read the manual before they do stupid things, what can i say. it's like cars can go over 100mph, but doesn't mean you can do all that without getting tickets. lawsuits won't get them anything.

i am more interested in learning how she got all the red boxes in the beginning. was it because of where she initially stopped her car, the space available, etc...

Neo

iTrader: (3)

I agree with Paul. This feature, although kind of cool in theory, is pretty gimmicky and is a lawsuit waiting to happen. It either needs to be fool proof or don't do it.

encore888

Hmmm, I have to test this system to find out. I was under the impression that it lets you relax more by taking over the steering while you just do a little brake work. Of course the tester didn't properly use the brake.

One thing I noticed is that the system relies on the two front fender sensors, I would think they would tie it all in with the sonar...

When I saw the system, the Intuitive Parking Assist also beeps warnings and appears on the NAVI screen. IMO the tester did not pay attention, as the rear bumper contact would have issued an audiovisual warning (at least visual).

PsychDoc

Just another very silly gimmick in a long line of Lexus promoted silly gimmicks. It's really too bad that Lexus doesn't put more of its money (they have plenty being backed up by Toyota) and engineering prowess into designing a car with a proper linkage between the transmission and engine, where the car accelerates IMMEDIATELY and IN A LINEAR FASHION to input from the accelerator. As it is, you push down on the accelerator and you're never sure if you're going to get nothing or a huge burst of power. For comparison sake, drive a BMW 750i or a M-B S550 and tell me what you feel. Nothing but a total harmony between gas pedal, engine speed and transmission. Totally absent in the Lexus, I'm afraid.

And the Lexus 'brake by wire' system is simply dreadful. "Hard to modulate" and "grabby" are just a couple of the descripors that come to mind in describing Lexus brakes.

Gimmicks are nice, but first and foremost a car has to accelerate and stop with predictability and assurance. Here, the German offerings shame the Lexus.

Too bad too, because Lexus does some things very well (overall quality control, NAV systems, electronick gimmicks, ride quality).

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I agree that people will do stupid things but I (and you) know people don't read manuals for one thing and even if they do, this car has so much 'smarts' surely it could brake by itself to avoid a collision at 2.5mph or less!?

I agree people should be able to use the brakes as the system requires, but this operation is more like a tango between the driver and the car than a real convenience.

Oh and anyone who can't parallel park shouldn't be driving.

Nextourer

what ever happened to proper driving lessons and not "this is what you need to know to pass the test"???

vraa

iTrader: (2)

You don't need to know how to drive to get a license in America.

Nextourer

LOL. funny

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

im sure the system was designed to require some driver interaction for liability purposes, if it was fully automated and something bunked up, thats deep trouble, but if the operator doesnt read the manual how to operate it and something messes up, then its their fault

LEXUS FAN!

it was also on in LA this morning

spwolf

well actually if they release the brake, it shuts down. So it is somewhat fail safe. However, considering you are already driving the car, unability to press brake at crucial moment really means that you would have crashed a lot sooner than during parking :-).

Also, you DONT need to pass parallel parking test to get license, i know :-). I failed because mirrors on my 86 GTi were so small that I didnt see the test area at all. ha!