“..The driver is no longer in control of the (car’s) engine.. ..You are telling the car’s computer: please speed up the car, and the computer will decide if it will obey..”
You cannot mandate- change.
You cannot set a date in time and say “change” will happen on that date.
Change doesn’t happen that way, and people get killed when you FORCE- change. AR Babonie
I was driving home from Youngstown Ohio last week. It was late and a very dark night with a little bit of slushy snow on the road.
All of a sudden my vehicle paused, then lurched back on. At first, I thought I might have slipped on some of the slush that was on the roadway. However, my vehicle didn’t do the classic “fish tail” slide that usually happens when you lose traction. No, this was something else.
Just then I saw that a warning light on my dashboard was lit. The warning light was in the shape of a wrench. I know what my “check engine” light looks like, and this wasn’t it. This little wrench symbol was something new to me, however the vehicle was driving pretty good, so I proceeded home.
THIS DECISION COULD HAVE KILL ME. (It has killed before.)
This was my introduction into a technology called “electronic throttle control.”
I pride myself in being mechanically inclined. This talent has saved my ass many times in the past when my chosen profession dries up, I can always find work in construction, or maintenance.
However, (like many guys who long for the simplicity of older cars) when it comes to computer controlled systems in modern cars, I might as well be in a foreign country searching for a toilet.
T- modules, ABS computers, electronic throttle controls...
What happened to the old Ford that us guys used to tinker with..??
As Toyota prepares itself for the “inquisition” by the US federal government, new facts are coming out about what might have really gone wrong with Toyota’s gas peddle sticking and people dying.
New evidence is pointing away from “floor mats” as being the problem, and it looks like the problem might be located within the Toyota’s computer system.
People are starting to believe that something is wrong within the “electronic throttle control.”
Older cars had a cable (Bowden cable) which physically attached the gas peddle to the engine’s throttle. It was similar to the cable on a ten-speed bicycle. When you pushed on the gas peddle, the cable opened up the throttle and more gas went into the engine. The car went faster. Take your foot off of the gas peddle and a spring pushed the peddle back up, the throttle closed up, and the engine slowed down.
Very simple, even I understand that.
TODAY, you no longer have control of the engine. You might think that you do because (normally) when you step on the gas peddle, the car takes off. Remove your foot, and the car slows down. (At least, that is what is supposed to happen.)
But, technically, the cable has been removed between the gas peddle and the engine. You are now relying on a system called: “Drive by wire.”
That evil- “electronic throttle control” comes into play.
Here is what happens in newer cars: When you step on the gas peddle, a signal is sent to the car’s computer that you want to go faster. The computer decides how fast the car should go, and by using electronics; the computer moves the throttle, which allows more gas to the engine.
Likewise, when you take your foot off of the gas peddle, the computer senses that you want to slow down, and the computer slows the engine by moving the throttle.
(But, something is going wrong in Toyota cars. And my Ford.)
Why would car manufactures put these evil “electronic throttle controls” into our cars..??
Are car manufacturers trying to kill us..??
Do the auto companies work with The Bilderberg Society and they are trying to lower the world’s population? By killing us with cars..??
Truth be told, car companies would probably still be using a good old fashion cable between the gas peddle and the engine because the cable costs about $5 bucks. Computer controlled systems cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars.
So why would car companies use this unsafe computer system..??
Save the earth, let’s all go green, we must save the polar bears, cars MUST get better gas mileage, yada, yada, yada.
Progressives are trying to kill you, with a Toyota.
Environmentalists, who demanded that cars get better gas milage, persuaded our federal government to mandate gas milage standards for newer cars.
Car makers used lighter steel and fiberglass. They used smaller engines. Car companies did all they could to get more miles per gallon of gas.
However, they still needed to gain a few more miles per gallon to meet the federal standards.
ENTER- (the evil) electronic throttle control.
You are too stupid to drive your car. If left alone, you and your BIG lead-foot would waste gallons of gas just buzzing to the coffee shop for a Mocha- Latte.
What if a computer actually controlled the engine..?? A computer is smarter than you silly little humans.
Sure, if you slammed on the gas peddle to get onto a highway, the computer would give you more gas to allow you to do so. However, when you are not paying attention, the computer could back-off the throttle all little and save fuel.
Hence, the logic behind electronic throttle control: to save gas. Because you are too stupid and you would waste gas; your privilege of controlling your vehicle’s engine has been revoked. The computer is in control now.
But just like in the movie “2001 Space Odyssey”, sometimes the computer goes haywire, and takes you on a joyride to hell.
This is something that we conservatives try to warn progressives about, but you folks will never listen to us.
You cannot mandate- change.
Change comes naturally.
Necessity is the Mother of invention.
The federal government’s demand is NOT the Mother of invention.
The federal government cannot command that: by 2005, all cars will get 5 MORE miles per gallon. In trying to meet that deadline, car companies have relied on “under tested” technologies, and people are dying.
No, I’m not giving the car companies a pass. They are just as responsible and should never have used this “drive by wire” system.
But I do sympathize with the auto makers. They are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Car makers MUST meet the federal mandate on MPG, however they know that people do not want these little tin boxes that the government and progressives want us to buy.
So car makers use every trick in the book to get a bigger car to pass the federal mandate.
This decision by the federal government and the auto makers has been deadly.
This editorial will be re-published many times this year because we need to learn from our mistakes.
Being intelligent, you know as well as I do that our electrical grid is in the cross hairs of progressives and the federal government.
Just like with cars, progressives and the government will mandate that electric companies use (X) amount of “green” technology by (XXXX) date.
And just like with the cars, electric companies will have to force technologies (that are not perfected yet) into production, and people will die from this. You will experience long periods without electricity because the electrical grid is down. In the winter time, up north; a loss of power can kill people who rely on heat to survive.
You cannot mandate- change.
Change come naturally through necessity.
You cannot set an artificial date and claim that “change” will happen on this date. It doesn’t work like that and people die.
You might be tempted to say: “Hold on there, AR- what about John F Kennedy and his announcement that America will land a man on the moon within this decade (1960's). Isn’t that forced- technology..?? That worked out fine..”
That is a very good point..!!
However, JFK didn’t mandate it. Kennedy didn’t say “By law, NASA will land a man on the moon by Dec 31 1969, or face a penalty” and then leave it up to NASA to come up with the money for this technology.
No...
Kennedy made landing on the moon a national goal (not a federal mandate) and then Kennedy started funding NASA with federal money to make this goal a reality. Nothing legal would have happened to NASA if they did not meet this goal.
One could argue that even JFK’s proposal was “forced” and the rushed technology caused some fatal accidents on our way to the moon.
I have no problem with a modern president setting goals, or funding these goals. I am not against using solar panels and windmills to provide a percentage of power for America.
But like the “out of control” cars, speeding down the road and killing people; when you force technology into use before it is perfected...
People get killed.
Surely, progressives can understand the difference between a GOAL and a mandate..??
JFK did.
Written by AR Babonie for The Angry Republic
(NOTE) Some auto makers use an electronic throttle control, but also have a “back-up” cable between the gas peddle and engine. If there is a malfunction with the car’s computer, the old-fashion cable is engaged and the computer is turned off. This is the system that my Ford has, which allowed me to get back home. This system seems MUCH better and safer.
(ALSO NOTE) One of the problems with windmills for power is: If your windmill is working good and providing you with power and, also putting some power back into the US power grid, everything is fine. However, if your windmill is malfunctioning, what stops power from the grid from entering your windmill and blowing the shit out of your windmills electronics and generator? (Electronic “switching gear” and diodes have not been perfected yet, and they are having problems with them.)
Problem two: With a “wind farm”, it is easy for a power company worker to shut down the main power when they have to work on power lines. However, in the future, when hundreds of people own windmills, it is impossible for the electric company to go to everyone who owns a windmill and shut them down so they can work on power lines. The electrician can check for power on the lines before he touches them, however; if some farmer down the road engages his windmill, people can be killed.
You cannot mandate change.
You cannot set a date in time and say “change” will happen on that date.
These technologies need more time to be perfected.
Thanks for reading
The Angry Republic
