>I know Toyota was "looking" at the boxes from crashed cars.
Okay, that makes three that I know of. I'm sure there are more, or soon
will be. It still involves physically removing the box from the vehicle to
get the data, though. No telemetry. Frankly, as an engineer, I think it's
a great idea as it will hopefully lead to improved impact safety -- and
safety standard tests more realistic than 31 mph into a flat, fixed
barrier. Like most of the people on this list, I'm a big fan of active
safety -- actually being able to avoid the impact in the first place
through driver training and vehicle dynamic performance, but there is a
need for after-the-impact safety systems, too.
>It was a BMW that rolled. Many of the Porsche guys own up to their track
>"excursions". Some do not. The post came from the Porsche list
><www.rennlist.com> I think this is true for many marque clubs
>(owning up or not), so I don't think it is manufacturer specific.
I should've been more generic there. I know it was a BMW that went on its
roof but just twigged on the Porsche list reference. Still, it burns me
that some racers are willing to do fraudulent things instead of owning up
to where and how they had their incidents. Nevermind the legal aspect
(which is very much present), it's dishonorable and it costs all the rest
of the population with auto insurance through higher premiums.
>Dealerships like to get paid warranty regardless of cause (anybody
>have any Neon parts covered lately?) :^)
Dealerships like to have retail (non-warranty) repairs, 'cause that's how
their shops make money. Warranty typically pays less per hour and less
hours per job than retail (it's pretty standard to use an after-market flat
rate book like Mitchell's or Chilton's for retail work, which typically
take the factory service labor times and add 15%). Dealerships also don't
like to do warranty fraud (well, with some rare exceptions) because if
there's even the slightest chance that the automaker discovers, say, that
an underdrive pulley set was installed on an overheated engine or a
supercharger was installed on an engine with a bottom-end knock, the
automaker will refuse to pay the claim and the dealer has to try to collect
from the car owner (who has had the car back for at least a couple weeks).
Since warranty parts are returned for inspection, and the bigger the failed
system, the more likely it is that the engineers will take a look at it,
this is a very real problem for the dealer. And if a dealer shows a
pattern of "questionable" if not outright fraudulent claims, EVERYTHING
they submit will be given the proverbial fine-toothed-comb treatment for a
while. Most dealer principals have decided it's not worth the risk.
And in case anyone's wondering, the two examples cited in the paragraph
above actually happened in my previous life at Another Automobile Company.
In the first case, after the severe overheat incident rendered the engine
basically toast, the car owner removed the underdrive pulleys but left
ample evidence that they'd been there -- and which kit he'd used, which
allowed us to calculate exactly how much he'd reduced coolant flow through
the engine. In the second, the owner thought the dealer was his "buddy"
and would take care of him when he brought the car back -- R-trim Vortech
still installed -- with a heavy bottom-end knock. The dealer refused to
commit fraud and red-flagged the VIN in the computer, something the owner
apparently didn't realize as he tried to warranty the engine (now minus its
supercharger) at a good dozen different dealers over the next couple
months.
Jim Crider
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