Have you ever slammed on your car’s brakes to find out what the antilock brakes would do, you know, just for the fun of it?  Well, you should! Last week I attended Lexus’ Family Safety Camp, which allowed bloggers to experience Lexus’ safety features firsthand.  At one of the stations, I had the chance to test an antilock braking system in a safe, controlled environment. 
As an automotive journalist I know how antilock brakes work and what it feels like when the system is engaged.  However, I was shocked to learn that the vast majority of bloggers at the camp had not knowingly experienced their cars’ ABS.

At the camp, I drove a Lexus RX 450h with the ABS engaged and then a RX with the ABS shut off, so I could feel the braking difference between the two. On a sand-covered parking lot, I got up the ABS-equipped RX 450h up to 40 mph before I slammed on the brakes. I could feel a slight pulsing vibration in the brake pedal, which let me know that the ABS was doing its job.  Essentially, it pulses each wheel’s brake independently to help gain traction as quickly as possible. 

In older vehicle, it’s more obvious when the ABS is engaged. The vibrating brake pedal presses back against your foot and its accompanied by a grinding sound. This may alarm you, but that’s just the ABS working.
 
As a parent, we’re responsible for safely getting our kids from Point A to Point B regardless of the road, driving and weather conditions.  It’s a good idea to know exactly how your car’s safety features work and what they feel like.  This weekend, take your car out to a rarely used gravel road and give the ABS a quick try.  The next time they engage on their own you’ll be less alarmed and more informed as to what’s going on.

Why can’t the car manufacturer design an exciting and appealing rear of their cars? How many advertisements have you seen for a new car in your favorite magazine or during a TV commercial? Have you ever noticed that most of the times the car companies show only the front or side-front view of the car? Because they have spent million of dollars on designing the front of their cars, without spending any time and efforts in designing the back/rear of a car!! Interestingly, most of us see the rear of a car more often than the front of the car! When sitting in the traffic or even in the parking lots, we always see the cars from their butts (or back). We see the front only in the magazines, car dealerships or a TV commercial.

Once I participated in a new luxury car review process where they asked me to rate the design of a new concept car, planned to be launched in next two/three years. I was really impressed by the designing of the front grills and the aerodynamic designs of the front portion. Again, I was surprised to see the ugly back of the car, which I felt was a patch up job, trying to use the existing parts from the old models. The back of the car was no way matching with the front of the car. The company was surprised by my comments (looks like that they had never heard of this comment!) and agreed to pass on this comment to their designing team.

Here are few worst rear/back car designs: