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Gadgets: CAN'T WE PARK OUR OWN CARS?!
Posted December 18, 2006 8:32 PM
Toyota/Lexus has unveiled and unleashed it's self-parking system upon North America and the world and I separate the two because there are extra safety precautions in the U.S. to avoid potential litigation that have to do with additional braking systems, etc. My brother recently purchased the new Lexus LS 460 L and bragged about the parking system. I asked if he'd used it and found it useful. He had never really used the system as he still found it a bit complicated considered himself a good parker. The way the system works is you drive past a parking spot traveling no faster than 12 miles per hour. The rear and front sonar sensors detect the cars and the gap between. You put the car in reverse and it activates a rear camera.
Technorati Tags: Advanced Parking Guidance Mode, Cars, Lexus, men's gift
The car then enters "Advanced Parking Guidance Mode." The driver must then go backwards very slowly all the while keeping his foot on the brake. If the driver touches wheel or gas pedal the mode will shut off immediately. Before any of this happens, however, you must manually touch a screen that identifies the space you want to park in. Who in the hell has the time to figure out all of this malarky? If I was behind the wheel on Santa Monica Blvd trying to engage this self-park system one of two things would happen: A) I would be rear ended by an agent at William Morris who was yelling at his assistant on his cell. B) I'd have fifty cars directly on my ass laying on their horn and would now be too close behind me for my car to successfully back into the spot. Furious I'd give them all the bird, toss it into drive and burn rubber leaving that perfect spot for someone who actually understands how to parallel park without the guidance of a stinking computer! Here’s a cool gift for men…if you don’t know how to park, try some driving lessons on for size
