"Safety is Job One"

"Electronic Stability Control (ESC), which selectively applies brakes to one or more wheels when a vehicle is about to slide out of control, is **The Most Important** safety advance since the safety belt.

"Recent studies have found that ESC could save as many as 10,000 lives a year if all cars had the system. Begining in 2012, the federal government will require that all new cars come equipped with ESC."

People are working on Next Generation stability control, too. And this really sounds neat:

"New ESC systems will go further in managing vehicle dynamics. One system, ESC II, is designed to provide slight steering input, together with selective braking and throttle reduction, to maintain control. Rear-wheel steering control through an active multilink suspension is also being looked at to work with next-generation ESC, providing optimum stability."

Henry Ford The Second must be rolling over in his grave ;-)

My '92 Corolla does not have

1. ESC
2. DRLs
3. Air Bags
4. ABS

I've learned to drive.

I'm doing just fine......

What cars DON'T need is more computer controlled 'safety' equipment.

What we need is drivers that can drive......

in my opinion....of course

So what exactly has this to do with Henry Ford II?

ESC is at best a mixed blessing. Consumer Reports and IIHS are pushing it, but that doesn't make it a good idea. I think you can make a better case for it for SUVs and other vehicles with a high center of gravity. For traditional sedans I think the case is much harder to make (despite the IIHS/CR claims). IIHS has a history of making unsupported safety claims. Remember who they work for - the Insurance Industry, not YOU.

Popular Mechanics did a comparison test of several vehicle with ESC turned on and turned off. The results are interesting. See

. In many cases better results were obtained with the ESC off. I guess the main question is, do you really believe that ESC will save

10,000 lives per year? Similar claims were made by IIHS for ABS, but even they admit this has not been the case. And how about air bags? I don't think there is any evidence that air bags offer a significant advantage over wearing seat belts alone. In these cases great claims have been made, but never confirmed. The one thing I know for sure, the typical car owner is paving at least $1500 for safety devices that may or may not be saving lives. Adding ESC is going to add several hundred dollars more to the cost of cars. I doubt it is worth it in the case of sedans. It may very well be worth it for SUVs.

Ed

And don't forget the famous Electronic Throttle Control which is for the sticking throttle cable which never happens.

Or the Ford cruise control fires...