Many car companies, such as BMW, Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz, already use a version of that system to assist drivers in parking their vehicles without bumping into someone or something else.
And high-end car companies are taking the idea several steps further. For example, the Cadillac XLR roadster offers a patented, radar-controlled Adaptive Cruise Control system that sets the speed and following distance to the speed of the vehicle ahead. If the lead vehicle slows, the XLR's radar sensor slows the roadster to help maintain the XLR's following distance. When the lead car moves out of the way, or when traffic clears, the XLR resumes its original speed.
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I tested the XLR's Adaptive Cruise Control system and found that it performed disgustingly well, especially on crowded highways where other drivers tend to cut in front of you willy-nilly, effectively allowing the XLR's radar to push you farther back into the crowd. I turned the system off to become, let's say, more competitive with the ambient traffic at median highway speeds.
That kind of behavior is problematic and could become a roadblock to establishing safety as a key element of vehicle performance, says Phyllis Genther Yoshida, senior technology policy analyst in the Commerce Department's Office of Technology Policy.
"In order for us to be successful in introducing new safety and clean-air technology, consumers must be willing to purchase and use the technology we're developing," Yoshida said in comments at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai.
"It's not enough for us to develop technology in the lab. We have to get that technology out there in the cars that consumers want, in cars that they see as fun and that they can love . . . and that are affordable. Otherwise, that technology stays on the shelf," she said.
"We need safer, cleaner cars," said Challenge Bibendum director Patrick Oliva. "But we also need proper driver behavior and proper traffic regulation and enforcement. Only when we have all of those things will the risks of traffic fatalities and injuries drop dramatically."
Warren Brown is The Post's auto columnist.
