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Hypothetical Question: SKS or VSC

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by flynz4, Jan 28, 2006.

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  1. Smart Key System (SKS)

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  2. Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. flynz4

    flynz4 Member

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    I am curious how people value various options.

    /Jim
     
  2. Wildkow

    Wildkow New Member

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    The SKS because VSC is outofsight therefore outofmind, much like myself. :blink:
     
  3. DocVijay

    DocVijay Active Member

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    VSC.

    I would never choose a convenience over a safety feature.
     
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Brutal question. I LOVE the SKS, obviously it's used several times daily and I would never want to be without it again.

    But, the ol' Super Ego knows that VSC is life saving and ultimately more important...so I picked it.

    But PLEASE never make me choose b/w them in real life!
     
  5. Dave

    Dave New Member

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    Exactly. The SKS can perform day in and day out, saving lots of time and hassle, but the VSC only has to perform once in a critical situation, saving your life.
     
  6. ml194152

    ml194152 Member

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    SKS easily. Because SKS you use every day, multiple times. VSC you hopefully won't ever need. Of course I want (and have) both, but given this choice, the most practical is SKS. Oh, and since I live in a warm climate (Houston) where snow and ice are rarely present, SKS is even an easier choice to make.
     
  7. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i have neither but i would also have to pick VSC... hopefully never to use it, but the additional peace of mind would be welcomed. SKS is just something cool, not needed in any sense. but still pretty cool
     
  8. jeneric

    jeneric New Member

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    You win! Do you want the High Def TV or the piece of reflective tape?

    SKS hands down. Gets some good "oohs." Going over the pass, the VSC kicked in a couple times. I was telling my passenger about it, and he's like "where?", so of course I had to decide how risky I wanted to be to try to get it to kick in. Luckily it didn't take much.
    [Broken External Image]:http://mysite.verizon.net/res0ot4f/Art/SnowPrius.jpg
     
  9. Subversive

    Subversive New Member

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    It puzzles me why VSC did as well as it did in this poll. From reading the boards, it seems like lots of people actually dislike it and wish they could turn it off. Whereas I can't imagein anyone disliking SKS. Can anyone provide first-hand positive impressions of VSC?
     
  10. Matty G

    Matty G New Member

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    I would prefer VSC. My reason can be stated by butchering a Benjamin Franklin Quote:

    "He who is willing to sacrifice safety for a small measure of convenience may end up with neither comfort nor safety."
     
  11. flynz4

    flynz4 Member

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    Subversive,

    I think you are confusing VSC with traction control.

    /Jim
     
  12. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    even the gm of gm admits that VSC or some variation of it (possibly lane position sensing) will be the next required safety feature
     
  13. flynz4

    flynz4 Member

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    The reason that I started this poll was to satisfy my curiosity. As a marketing exec... I know very clearly that people really get excited about things that "delight them"... or excite them in ways they were not expecting.

    Clearly... SKS does nothing at all to improve the safety... and for the most part, it really does very little to enhance convenience. Using the traditional "remote control" function of the fob... and placing it into the dash slot is not much harder than using SKS. However... SKS completely breaks down our preconceived notion of how a key should work... and in that manner... it really does delight us. From a marketing standpoint... I think it is an "out of the park" home run.

    From a safety standpoint... VSC is probably also an "out of the park" home run... and some say that it will save more lives than airbags. However... I doubt that very many people will ever get that same emotional attachment to VSC as they do to SKS.

    As I was posting this poll, I realized that the poll is flawed... because it encourages you to "think about" the answer... and many of us will then engage our analytical side to give a positive response to VSC. However... car purchases are based a lot on emotion. I bet that many (or most) people who have a car with SKS would never want to buy another car without the feature. At the same time... I bet many people would not necessarily even know that their car has VSC... and it might be more of a minor factor in a new car purchase.

    Another way of thinking about this... would you have been just as delighted with your Prius if VSC was never offered as an option? I bet that most of us wouldn't have been phased in the slightest. We would analyze the available options... and then make our purchase decisions... and then be delighted because of the features available with things we have not seen before such as MFD or SKS. If you think this is wrong for the majority of people... how many people are choosing not to buy a Prius because knee airbags are not available?

    /Jim
     
  14. DocVijay

    DocVijay Active Member

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    Well, that's kin of a loaded question. VSC type systems are almost common now, whereas knee airbags are still reserved for usually the most expensive luxury cars. In the price range that includes the Prius, knee airbags are practically non-existant, so it's really irrelevant.

    For the price, the Prius is loaded with safety features, which is why I bought one. If not for those, I would have gotten a Civic hybrid.

    If there were other cars with significantly more safety features at this price, I would gladly trade some MPG for additional safety.
     
  15. Salsawonder

    Salsawonder New Member

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    I adore SKS and wish it could be installed on my front door and my office door. I live in Southern California and like to look at the snow from afar. I know VSC would probably help in the rain too but I am a careful driver in the rain. I forget that other vehicles don't have SKS.... poor blokes!
     
  16. flynz4

    flynz4 Member

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    Doc,

    Your point is well taken... but there is a grey area here. You could have bought a Volvo which is acclaimed to be one of the safest cars around... and I suspect that you could have purchased one in the same general price range of a Prius (I am not 100% certain of this... I haven't looked in a long time).

    The real purpose of this poll is to understand the marketing benefits of the Prius features. In fact... going back to the Volvo example... safety is their main marketing message.

    Regarding your comment about knee airbags being reserved for the most expensive luxury vehicles... and not for vehicles like the Prius. You can say the same about other features that are standard (or common) in the Prius. For example... how many cars have a rear vision camera, or a MFD, or voice recognition. Let's assume that the Prius did not have any of those features... and someone posted here on PC that the Prius is inferior because it does not have these features... what would the response be? I predict that the overwhelming response would be similar to yours regrading knee airbags.... something like: Well those features are not common in car's in the Prius class. I previously made a comment that I wish the Prius had adjustable seats, rain sensitive wipers, and automatic headlight dimming... features that are available in a wide variety of cars... and the response was identical to what I am describing.

    I think that it is natural human behavior to defend the product one purchases... especially within a community like this that is heavily weighted with enthusiasts. Like I said... I think that Toyota hit an "out of the park" marketing home run with features like SKS. I also think that rear camera (which does have a safety element), MFD (which possibly has a safety deficit) and other standard features also go a long way toward delighting us as owners. Still... none are probably quite as impactful as SKS.

    /Jim
     
  17. jeneric

    jeneric New Member

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    I heard anti-lock brakes haven't reduced accidents, because people with them count on them and just follow closer or whatever. I drove on a long curvy snowy road today, and appreciated the VSC, but really it was just a convenience that helped me feel comfortable going a little bit faster. It seems like you can't keep people from driving at their set safety comfort level.
     
  18. Sufferin' Prius Envy

    Sufferin' Prius Envy Platinum Member

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    I have never had a safety feature WOW me . . .
    that is until I repeatedly tried to make my VSC equipped Prius lose control in an empty, snow and ice covered ski resort parking lot. It held like Velcro! :eek:
     
  19. ceric

    ceric New Member

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    I had one encounter on highway that the VSC (called DSC in Bimmer) practically saved my life(at least from severe injury) and itself. Some asked to present some real stories about VSC, so here I provide one. Hope you guys appreciate its value.

    One day on highway I was driving with the flow of traffic (at 65+mph). I was at the #2 lane from inside. One Honda Civic was on the #1 lane. It was moving from #1 toward #2 (in front of me) virtually at the same time I was moving toward #1 from #2. Sort of switching lanes between us two at safe distance. At one split second, we were both on the dash-line between #1 & #2 lanes. It was slightly faster in moving toward #2 lane than I was toward #1. Suddenly, I saw a huge piece of tire tread (peared off from 18-wheeler tires) sitting right at dash-line of #1 & #2 in front me at about 50 feet. The Civic was able to avoid it because I bet he/she saw it at far distance. My vision of it was blocked by the Civic itself. Within 1/10 of a sec I had a decision to make: hit it or move toward #1 pronto!. I knew #1 lane was clear. If I had hit it, the car would have sustained a high damage (winder shield, fron end, hood, or underpan damage) My human instinct told me to take the 2nd choice! So I jerked the steering wheel to the left in an effort to avoid it. I was not sure I could make it even though I was in a fully opioned BMW 540. Within the following few tens of a second, the DSC(VSC in Toyota) kicked in. The system was braking my wheels selctively and quickly to maintain the vehicle at a very smooth curve. I actually avoided the huge tire thread without any tire screaming. My tires did not even touch the inner line at all. The vehicle was in such control that the guy/gal behind probably didn't know the dramatic decision I just made. Whew!

    I know someone might say that I should have just hit it. Well, easy for you to say. I can only say that it is human nature to make decision to to take risk rather than committing to hit something voluntarily.

    Ever since that event, I only buy vehicle with VSC/DSC. SKS to me is just a convenience. Like DocVijay said, I wouldn't trade my safety with convenience. Knee airbag is not even in the same category as VSC (passive vs active). If the footwell is well structured, a knee airbag provides marginal value to safety.
     
  20. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    great story... and under those conditions, its impossible to say "just hit it". u r not thinking about anything, only reacting. there is no time to think and considering the outcome, you reacted correctly