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In addition to not betting on evs, Toyota along with many other car makers fail to understand the human desire for safety and convenience in their vehicles thro

by stevev 5y ago

In addition to not betting on evs, Toyota along with many other car makers fail to understand the human desire for safety and convenience in their vehicles through the use of current camera technologies and computer applications. A typical Tesla vehicle has 8 cameras thus providing a 360 degree vision to help assist the car/driver in a few applications. Security, safety and convenience. A close second in terms of safety systems is Subaru with their eyesight features. My personal experience and testing of my Toyota Sienna van’s PCS, otherwise known as a pre-collision system to assist in applying the brakes and or warn the driver that an object is detected in close proximity to the vehicle during moving speed, is almost absent. The system is too slow, delayed or late. Sense of safety from the pcs is non-existent. These along with others things pushes me to have a greater interest in cars like Tesla despite it’s premium price. At this point, we should point out that now there are such thing as smart cars (Tesla) vs dumb cars (toyota) and others and that safety should not be a second class feature but should be prioritized through the use of current camera technologies. Other than focusing on just the safety of a vehicle during a collision, although important, systems to prevent collisions should be prioritized as well.

gpt5 5y ago
To continue the analogy with smart and dumb phones - the traditional car makers are struggling to match against the new threat from Tesla (who makes the “iphone”). Makes you wonder whether an Android equivalent OS will come out of Google or another tech company to compete back.
ubercore 5y ago
I've driven a new Rav4 (in the US) and a Corolla hybrid (in Norway) and they both had what you're describing. If anything, the Corolla's system was a little _too_ sensitive.
bittercynic 5y ago
>Sense of safety from the pcs is non-existent. This feels like a feature to me. I believe making drivers feel safer causes them to drive more dangerously.
- chairmanwow1 5y ago
  Making drivers feel safer requires less focus on the “driving task” which IMO is a huge win. Accidents happen frequently from driver fatigue and distraction
dapf 5y ago
If that is so, just let the market punish Toyota. If they bet wrong, they will lose, unless the State bails them out.
cycomanic 5y ago
Apart from the fact that all car makers had drive assist systems for years and this is by no means a Tesla invention, if safety measures really are the main factor for people to choosing a car, we should be seeing Volvos almost exclusively. But your comment which asserts that only Tesla does proper drive assist says everything. Somehow Tesla managed to convince everyone that they are the only innovators and everyone else is just old. While I appreciate Teslas contribution of pushing EVs to the mainstream, I do not believe that they are the most technologically advanced of the car manufacturers.
- stevev 5y ago
  Interesting. What other car makers has self driving capabilities, runs on ev exceeding 250 mi on range, and has cameras around the car? Last I checked Volvos doesn’t even come close.
  - kllrnohj 5y ago
    > What other car makers has self driving capabilities [...] and has cameras around the car? Very nearly every luxury car on the market has that stuff and has had it for years. Mercedes has had speed-adjusting cruise control since 1999, complete with auto-stopping since 2005, for example. Before Tesla ever even made a vehicle at all. Most other auto makers are just vastly more responsible in how they brand their self-driving capabilities than Tesla, but they pretty much all have them. Tesla's "industry leading" innovations are really scoped to a few key things - the electric powertrain, massive in-car displays that replace switchgear (debatable if this is actually an innovation or just a cost-cutting measure, though), and OTAs.
  - theluketaylor 5y ago
    Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge both meet that standard. As does Polestar 2, which is a Volvo in all but name. L2 autonomy features like Tesla's autopilot are extremely common and Tesla isn't even the best. GM's Supercruise is currently the best L2 system out there.
jazzyjackson 5y ago
Toyota has radar and ultrasonics and I’ve been perfectly satisfied with the number of bells going off alerting me of cross traffic and pedestrians. The PCS has stopped by from rear ending someone in traffic but will grant that it waits til the last minute, but I chose a car whose automation is based on informing me and saving my ass vs taking control of all the decisions like a Tesla edit: also most Toyotas are not in the price bracket of 8-camera vehicles but all the safety equipment is standard, so I might argue Toyota is doing more for public safety by making these systems affordable, whereas tesla is making the public less safe by beta testing self driving software on city streets.

by stevev 5y ago

gpt5 5y ago

To continue the analogy with smart and dumb phones - the traditional car makers are struggling to match against the new threat from Tesla (who makes the “iphone”). Makes you wonder whether an Android equivalent OS will come out of Google or another tech company to compete back.

ubercore 5y ago

I've driven a new Rav4 (in the US) and a Corolla hybrid (in Norway) and they both had what you're describing. If anything, the Corolla's system was a little _too_ sensitive.

bittercynic 5y ago

>Sense of safety from the pcs is non-existent. This feels like a feature to me. I believe making drivers feel safer causes them to drive more dangerously.

chairmanwow1 5y ago
Making drivers feel safer requires less focus on the “driving task” which IMO is a huge win. Accidents happen frequently from driver fatigue and distraction

dapf 5y ago

If that is so, just let the market punish Toyota. If they bet wrong, they will lose, unless the State bails them out.

cycomanic 5y ago

Apart from the fact that all car makers had drive assist systems for years and this is by no means a Tesla invention, if safety measures really are the main factor for people to choosing a car, we should be seeing Volvos almost exclusively. But your comment which asserts that only Tesla does proper drive assist says everything. Somehow Tesla managed to convince everyone that they are the only innovators and everyone else is just old. While I appreciate Teslas contribution of pushing EVs to the mainstream, I do not believe that they are the most technologically advanced of the car manufacturers.

stevev 5y ago
Interesting. What other car makers has self driving capabilities, runs on ev exceeding 250 mi on range, and has cameras around the car? Last I checked Volvos doesn’t even come close.
- kllrnohj 5y ago
  > What other car makers has self driving capabilities [...] and has cameras around the car? Very nearly every luxury car on the market has that stuff and has had it for years. Mercedes has had speed-adjusting cruise control since 1999, complete with auto-stopping since 2005, for example. Before Tesla ever even made a vehicle at all. Most other auto makers are just vastly more responsible in how they brand their self-driving capabilities than Tesla, but they pretty much all have them. Tesla's "industry leading" innovations are really scoped to a few key things - the electric powertrain, massive in-car displays that replace switchgear (debatable if this is actually an innovation or just a cost-cutting measure, though), and OTAs.
- theluketaylor 5y ago
  Volvo C40 and XC40 Recharge both meet that standard. As does Polestar 2, which is a Volvo in all but name. L2 autonomy features like Tesla's autopilot are extremely common and Tesla isn't even the best. GM's Supercruise is currently the best L2 system out there.

jazzyjackson 5y ago

Toyota has radar and ultrasonics and I’ve been perfectly satisfied with the number of bells going off alerting me of cross traffic and pedestrians. The PCS has stopped by from rear ending someone in traffic but will grant that it waits til the last minute, but I chose a car whose automation is based on informing me and saving my ass vs taking control of all the decisions like a Tesla edit: also most Toyotas are not in the price bracket of 8-camera vehicles but all the safety equipment is standard, so I might argue Toyota is doing more for public safety by making these systems affordable, whereas tesla is making the public less safe by beta testing self driving software on city streets.