Do You Want Your Car Telling You How to Drive?
From the “Well, it sounded good…now, how do we sell it?” product development file
Headline: Nissan’s New Gas Pedal Pushes Back To Save Fuel
Nissan announced Monday that it has developed an accelerator pedal that pushes upward when it senses that the driver is using more fuel than is necessary.
Motor Trends reports that Nissan says that its ECO pedal system, which can be turned off, will improve fuel efficiency 5 percent to 10 percent.
While I don’t go as far as Jalopnik who calls it one of the worst ideas we’ve yet heard of, I really don’t want my car telling me how to drive. And, what happens if the feature malfunctions? There I am, on the expressway during rush hour, suddenly going 40 miles per hour less than everyone else. So, I give Nissan a lot of credit for trying to make a difference, but I just can’t see this being a popular feature.
It really comes down to boring practical things - and going slower is the most boring. When you read all the fuel economy tips (including “go slower”), it’s difficult to see how this is really going to add up to big change. After all, you can only get so much mileage out of your vehicle (although hypermilers might be more correctly called miracle milers)…and the price of gas, while dropping right now here in New Mexico is never going to be as low as the glory days of less than 2 bucks.
Personally, I’m buying a bike and am thinking about retro-fitting the old Jeep to biodiesel, if and when that make sense. (I also recently had a tune-up, the tires checked and new spark plugs and wires installed. Every little bit does count…even if it’s not “fun” money to spend.)
P.S. I think the techies at Nissan need to spend more time talking to real people, like their customers.
Tags: Nissan, product development, marketing, marketing troubleshooting, fuel economy
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August 18th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Actually I think they should stick with the trip computers that give you your average mpg (or kpl). On the turbo Subarus they do have a nice switch which has three positions: economy, normal, sport. So when that BMW pulls up next to you, just flip it to sport. After he’s far back in your rear view mirror, flip back to economy. Of course in no way would I ever condone street racing.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:12 am
Right. I‘ve had the privilege of
sitting inclinging to the passenger seat while youblasted offdrove.August 19th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Better than a caffeine jolt, eh?
August 19th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
More like “Holy Mother of G__”
Hey, wait a minute, this is a business blog!