Which of these new Lexus LS safety features would you want?

I could agree with you on that, but on reflection I'd probably say no to all except the front crossing alert. Otherwise, my thinking is that it takes too much of the driver's overall responsibility without accepting any responsibility in the process. Did that make sense to you?

I think these systems will do things autonomously, but you still have to check they're safe first, so why not simply do things yourself while you're checking them for ' George'. (Old RAF term for auto pilot). If you're not safe enough to resolve driving problems like lane changes for yourself, you probably shouldn't still be driving on public roads IMHO!

 

I'd love to have a digital rear view mirror. Most of what I see when I look in the mirror is the interior of my car.

 

Yes it makes sense, however I would say that if you are worried about it, then you shouldn't worry about it. if that makes sense meaning that it sounds like you are already thinking about safety, so you should be able to drive this type of car like a (good) pilot flies a plane, they are always situationally aware, but they let the computers do much of the grunt work, which if done correctly allows them to better manage what is going on. I remember when I had my first car with cruise control in the 1980's I realized how much better I was able to concentrate on my surroundings because I didn't have to keep glancing down at the speedometer all the time. I think these new automated features were are seeing should have the same effect, if handled correctly.

Of course some people will use it the wrong way and think they can just let the car be in control. That's why I like what you see in some of the cars with these type of features like LCA (lane centering assist) that if the car senses that you are not engaged in the process then it starts beeping at you and then eventually shuts off the automation.

Edit - I added the quote of the message that I am replying to, when I first replied to message #2 it had sat unanswered for fifteen and a half hours so I didn't bother quoting. Then I realized later that I had been twelve minutes too late. Lesson learned - always quote when replying to a message.

 

I'll take them all, thanks.

And seeing my next car purchase is planned for another 2+ years, I'd not be surprised if many of those items have filtered their way to more base models.

 

I doubt US regulations would allow that much like they do not permit cameras to replace the side view mirrors.

 

Didn't I read that Cadillac has them?

 

I have noticed recently that even though I have all of the safety options, I'm even more careful in paying attention to what's going on around me. I feel like I'm a much better driver these days. I'm very happy with all the gizmos and doo dads.

 

I actually have noticed the same thing with all the "gizmos and doodads." As another example, when I got a radar detector I think I actually went over the speed limit less, because I became more conscious of speed.