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Old 01-30-2007, 11:12 AM   #3
MNBoxster
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Posts: 3,308
Hi,

This is only a proposal by the NTHSA which they made in Aug. of '06. By the time the issue is debated, modified, finalized and the mandate is made, expect lots of changes to this proposal such as exemptions (for Pick-ups, cars w/o ABS, etc.), definitions of what Electronic Stability Control is, etc. It will most likely consist of simply a line of code to the ABS software that if a wheel is spinning, the ABS will activate at that wheel. Don't expect the type of sophistication, or selectability, of the Porsche, Audi, or MB systems.

Currently, only 30% of all new vehicles have some form of ESC, while only 70% of all new cars and trucks have ABS as standard (a prerequisite for ESC).

The NTHSA estimates that their proposal will add $111 of direct cost (not including any Mfr. markup) to the cost of a new vehicle already equipped with standard ABS and $479 direct cost to a vehicle w/o ABS. Their proposal also includes the recommendation that the system be passive, that is, no deactivation control for the driver to select.

For all these reasons, I'm not sure it's a good thing, or even if it will become mandated at all...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Last edited by MNBoxster; 01-30-2007 at 11:36 AM.
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