Traditional stability control can help drivers avoid rollovers and stay out of slick messes. With mandatory stability control looming large for 2012, Ford is taking it to a new level by introducing “curve control” for its 2011 Explorer, to help turn the SUV if the driver takes a turn too quickly.

While traditional stability control cuts power to the engine and brakes individual wheels to keep the car pointed in the right direction, curve control uses the stability control sensors to monitor vehicle inputs and dynamics 100 times per second. Curve control can intelligently apply the Explorer’s brakes, rather than cut power sharply.

Ford’s new curve control system works in conjunction with the driver’s own braking action to add more pressure to individual brakes. This works in a similar fashion to several other automakers’ electronic limited-slip differentials that brake the inside rear wheel in a turn to help the car corner better. In the case of the Explorer’s curve control, the system will apply braking pressure to all four wheels, but apply more pressure to the two inside wheels. This slows the wheels on one side of the vehicle to help the car rotate and can drop the vehicle’s speed by as much as 10 mph in one second.

Stability control systems effectively control oversteer — when the rear end loses traction and swings out, which can lead to a spin — but do little for understeer, when the driver inputs steering but the car continues straight. In practical terms, Ford’s curve control will help overzealous drivers to avoid plowing straight into oncoming traffic or a tree.

“Something like this, we’ve all done it, and you can appreciate why you would need it,” Tony Rendi, Ford’s brake control manager, told The Detroit News. Ford says that there are more than 50,000 crashes on the U.S.’ curves each year.

In addition to making the new safety aid standard on the 2011 Explorer, Ford plans to add it to 90 percent of its North American SUVs, trucks, vans, and crossovers by 2015. The system debuts on the new Explorer, due out later this year.

Source: The Detroit News

Continental may be best known to consumers as a tire company, but the German company builds everything from tires to electronics and more for OEMs. Lately, the company has been hard at work on new vehicle safety systems, and we were able to sample its newest accident avoidance technology.

One of the latest safety technologies from Continental is Emergency Steer Assist, or ESA. Only recently revealed to the press, the system allows the driver to steer away from obstacles without losing control of the vehicle. ESA uses sensors including radar to cameras to monitor the road conditions ahead of the vehicle. If it senses an obstacle, say a stopped car, it warns the driver either through an audible or haptic (touch) signal like vibrating the steering wheel. According to Continental, an average driver moving around around 60 mph needs around 91 feet to avoid a stationary obstacle without the use of brakes, but around 40 feet when using brakes on adverse conditions like wet roads. When the driver cannot react fast enough within that distance, though, ESA allows driver to steer away from such an obstacle without careening into other lanes or vehicles.

We tested the system on Continental’s test track in Lindau am Bodensee, Germany. In four runs, we drove our ESA-equipped BMW 5 Series at speeds from 25 mph to over 55 mph. At each run, our accompanying engineer (you didn’t think we did unsupervised it, did you?) sequentially activated the various ESA components (which includes the Electronic Stability Control), then had us swerve around a target usually less than 40 feet away. Oversteer threatened at one point around 37 mph. But we found the car increasingly easy to control: At over 55 mph, there was no oversteer as we smoothly avoided the target while our vehicle stayed within its lane.

According to Continental, the ESA system, which is a part of the ContiGuard safety system, is currently in “advanced development”. Besides the need for the sensors and warning systems to be standard, ESC, a vital component to ESA, needs to be standard in all vehicles as well. All new vehicles in the U.S. must have ESC standard by 2012; in Europe, by 2014.

– Joel Arellano

Gran Turismo 5 will be here — eventually. In preparation, the German-based Fanatec (“fanatic”) is releasing an upgraded version of its Porsche 911 GT3 RS racing wheel. The V2 wheel, which is wrapped with hand-stitched Alcantara, now boasts a host of features, including upgraded electronics based off the well-received 911 Turbo S wheel.

For the GT3 RS wheel, which carries legit Porsche licensing, customers can opt to have button shifters or paddles made of steel, aluminum, or carbon. The three force feedback motors support PlayStation 3 and PC racing games, and, should you opt for them, aluminum ClubSport pedals feature a pressure-sensitive brake sensor and ABS-simulated vibration under braking. A revised tuning function allows owners to adjust the ABS-simulated vibration for the brakes and wheel, as well as degrees of rotation, force feedback strength, and damper strength. You can even adjust the steering axis’ linearity for on-center stability.

Alone, the wheel asks $179.95. Choose the ClubSport package, which includes the aluminum pedals, and you’re looking at $319.95. But if you already have a GT3 RS wheel, Fanatec will upgrade it to V2 spec for $40.

Now it’s just a matter of waiting for GT5.

Source: Fanatec

Normally, we don’t report on car crashes. This particular crash, however, happened at a Volvo press event meant to show how its new collision warning system with auto brake on the 2011 S60 works — and it didn’t.

“Volvo’s new Collision Warning with Auto Brake automatically brakes the car if there is an imminent risk of a collision with a moving or stationary vehicle,” Volvo writes about the collision avoidance system. “The system starts by alerting the driver and preparing the braking system for emergency braking. If the driver does not respond despite the warning, the brakes are automatically applied.”

Sounds like a great system right? Unfortunately for Volvo, we have to add “when it works” to that statement, at least temporarily.

Volvo setup a demonstration of how the system works by launching a new S60 equipped with the system out of a tunnel at around 35 km/h (22 mph) towards a parked truck. The system was then supposed to stop the vehicle before it impacted the truck, which it failed to do. The test promptly went from a demonstration of an advanced safety feature to a showcase of how destructive a crash from even 22 mph can be. Luckily the demonstration took place without a driver so no one was injured.

Although the system failed in this test, the system worked flawlessly in an earlier demonstration. Volvo claims the particular pre-production test car “suffered from the result of human error in preparation,” blaming the battery for the incident. Whatever the case, we’re guessing Volvo’s engineers are going to take another close look at the system before it launches in the production vehicle.

Source: Youtube

The opening paragraph in the road book supplied by the Mercedes handlers was, well, interesting: “Driving a car in Mexico continues to be risky and can at times be dangerous,” it read. “This is primarily because Mexicans like to drive very fast and feel almost magically attracted to bends. This preference is frequently at odds with the road conditions, which are not necessarily designed for this sometimes breathtaking style of driving.” Uh-huh… The brief glossary of road sign translations helpfully included in the road book was also illuminating. I was particularly drawn to this one: “Deje pasar camiones sin frenos — Allow trucks without brakes to pass.” You betcha, amigo…inline_mediumwraptextright32864589/features/travel/112_1004_2011_mercedes_benz_sls_amg_carrera_panamericana2011-mercedes-benz-SLS-AMG-front-on-street.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG tackles the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico – Motor Trend

Photo Gallery: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG tackles the Carrera Panamericana in Mexico – Motor Trend