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Old 02-02-2010, 08:21 PM   #27 (permalink)
cfg83
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Christ -

Quote:
Originally Posted by Christ View Post
...

Sure, it costs a little more up front, but the end result is a part that doesn't fail, kill someone, and cause a 80 million vehicle recall. Isn't that ultimately what we're after?
I'm not disagreeing with you. I just want to know *how* it came to this. I call this the "Titanic Syndrome", where a chain of ifs lead to (in this case economic) disaster (for Toyota). As an example of what I think you imply, this could be a case where endurance testing was conducted with (lower cost) computer simulation. If the simulation doesn't correctly take humidity into account, maybe it never "sees" the pedal get sticky. Garbage in, garbage out, Mr. Babbage!

My Dad was telling me how 747s and DC10s were some of the first fly-by-wire systems. There was no point in "fly-by-cable" because the planes were too big. A human wasn't physically strong enough to move the control surfaces with brute strength. However, they do have backup systems to allow the pilots to control the plane in even of systems failure. Little propellers pop out that are attached to generators. They allow the pilot to move the control surfaces with electric motors. Maybe Toyota forgot to add the little propeller-motors to their cars, .

CarloSW2
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