John S.
Left foot brakingTypically this is used in a car that has understeer normally, but has trailing throttle oversteer (i.e. tends to rotate or spin when you let off the gas...
Pretty much anything electronic; computers, digital cameras, cell phones, etc. etc. etc. ad nauseum. If you have a 10 year old cell phone, you're in the stone age. Likewise for that 486-66 that's sitting in your closet gathering dust, pretty much all it's good for
Absolutely. That doesn't change the fact that the majority of consumers seem to *like* new cars.
Eh, that's debatable. My '55 coupe has a '63 model automatic transmission; I like it a hell of a lot better than the new, electronically controlled transmixer in my company car. It works very easily. Upshifts to high at somewhere between 30 and 60 MPH based on throttle position, and drops to second when you floor it. Very easy to drive. The new car... it upshifts and unlocks the torque converter whenever you let up on the gas, and relocks and drops anywhere between one and three gears whenever you put your foot back on it. Very frantic, and disconcerting in heavy highway traffic where you're constantly alternating between coasting and very light power. I also am honestly curious as to how it is even legal - there is literally no engine braking at all with the TC unlocked in OD. I thought that freewheeling had been illegal since the late 60's? Seat belts are undeniably good, but ABS quality varies widely - wide enough that I can't say whether I'd rather have it or not until we narrow the discussion down to a specific implementation. In short, I'm not 100% convinced that "new" always equals "better."
The real problem IMHO is that for the average consumer, there is no choice. Who has the $$ to buy studio grade electronics? Or a really high-end car that's built to last? In so many market segments there is a big gaping hole between mbutt-market, built-to-a-price Wal-Mart crap and the actual good stuff which is priced out of reach of most people. Of course, this is mostly the consumer's doing; as so many people buy the cheap stuff whether because they figure it's good enough, or to "get them by" until they can afford to get something better, that there's no market for reasonably priced but quality goods.
In the specific case of cars, the market is littered with examples of manufacturers that attempted to produce a superior product and were crushed by market forces. AMC, Studebaker, Packard, et. al. - all better than GM or Ford, and all dead. Chrysler remained, but as a shadow of its former self and now owned by Daimler.
Nothin' wrong with that, it's not a defect.
nate
