Future automotive technology in IT
The whole Toyota recall situation has me wondering again what Showroom Stock, and eventually IT, is gonna look like in the not-too-distant future. The following is just a rant.
Imagine it's 2025, and you're flying down the longest straight at your favorite racetrack. You're hauling ass in your 2018 Fiat Viper ITX. Suddenly, the onboard computer begins freaking out for unknown reasons. The throttle becomes stuck and you apply the brakes. However, ABS-related issues have also surfaced, because, 30-odd years after the introduction of computer-assistive braking, engineers still can't come up with a fail-proof system. You then try to slow the car by downshifting, but as you pull back on your downshift paddle, there is no response from your computer-controlled double-clutch tranny. So there you are, approaching a slow right-hander at over 145 mph, with your electricals on meltdown. You try to save the situation by driving diagonally across the wide gravel on the outside of the turn, only the car won't oblige because the steer-by-wire has gone to hell. You crash, but are damn lucky to escape with a few bumps/bruises. However, your car is complete junk, thanks to all the fancy on-board electrical wizardry. You cuss and wish you'd never gotten rid of your late-90s ITR Camaro, the one that had MECHANICAL systems.
Okay, now. If I'm still racing well into the next decade, and there's a reasonable chance I'll still be at it because I'm relatively young, I won't be doing it in a car that has a critical automotive system overly controlled/interferred by a computer. And I'd be reluctant to race in a class that is comprised mostly of machinery that is everything-by-wire.
There. I've gotten it off my chest. I now declare this riot open. Feel free to have at it.
