March 15, 2004 Japanese automaker Toyota says it has developed a radar cruise control system that helps save drivers the trouble of constant braking in stop-and-go traffic jams. The system, to be introduced in a new vehicle this summer, adjusts the speed of the car to match that of the vehicle in front, even as low as zero to 30 kilometers per hour (19 miles per hour), the carmaker said. For more info see: http://www.business.com/directory/automoti...poration/prius/ The biggest problem I see is that if the car in front is another Prius and it's in stealth mode, it won't be detected by the radar. :lol:
Funny, I was just pining-away tonight about the lack of just such a device. Would be great for traffic-jams, could just set it and cruise along effortlessly. Of course, what with people being as dumb as they are, it would probably cause a lot of accidents here as people try and read newspapers, do their makeup, eat breakfast, dress the kids, etc as their car paces the car in front of them. Still, I'd love it - especially if they mandated a 3-4 car-length distance between cars.
This feature is already available on BMWs new 5 and on several Mercedes cars. One of my coworkers has this on his new BMW and he really likes it. It looks just like a third fog light in the front spoiler.
