A meddling gas pedal may be the key to improving fuel efficiency. Nissan has announced it will soon sell cars that push back when drivers try to drive too fast. The new “ECO Pedal” system presses back upward when it senses drivers are driving too quickly. Think of it as the mindless version of the Kiwi or all those iPhone apps.
Nissan Motor says its ECO Pedal uses a counter push-back control mechanism that detects excess pressure which will help drivers know when they’re using more fuel than required. An eco-driving indicator in the dashboard feeds the driver with real-time fuel consumption levels to help improve driving behavior. It flashes and changes colors to let drivers know when to ease up on the pedal. A green light means the driver is at optimal fuel consumption. When you feel like wasting fuel, the system can be turned off. The ECO Pedal system is fed data on the rate of fuel consumption and transmission efficiency during acceleration and cruising and calculates the optimum acceleration rate.
Nissan says it plans to commercialize the ECO Pedal next year and its own research show that drivers can improve fuel efficiency, depending on driving conditions, by 5-10%. The car company isn’t saying yet how much the ECO Pedal will add to the price of its cars. But a cheaper option is borrowing my mother and she’ll tell you when you’re driving too fast. Until the ECO Pedal is available, take my mother, please!
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written by tuka, August 07, 2008
No thanks. Visual feedback is fine, but anything that physically interferes is a no-go for me. I have arthritis in my ankles (bad enough that I'll be getting them replaced soon) so I don't need anything causing me to have to exert more force while I'm driving. I would like the visual feedback, though, since it won't interfere with my driving.
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written by serbrew, August 07, 2008
I agree with tuka. Visual is usually enough for folks to understand their driving habits. Since I have owned my Camry Hybrid, I have found that my driving style has changed dramatically. Why? Because of all the different visual aids on the dashboard that give you instant readings on your consumption of gasoline. There is the instant dial, the [this trip] bar and the overall tank average. These are not 100% accurate, but they allow you to see how accelerating hard vs. easy affects your mpg. I regularly get 38 mpg in my Camry during the warm months here in Upstate NY. No need for my pedal to push back!
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written by Androo, August 07, 2008
Well tuka, the idea is, you don't need to exert more force, because it's trying to tell you not to push so hard in the first place. So if you want to drive more efficiently, you can just go with the flow and listen to the machine.
And it says you can turn it off, anyway.
Personally, I'm not sure it's a good thing or a bad thing (it might feel kind of unsettling), but I'd be willing to give it a shot.
And it says you can turn it off, anyway.
Personally, I'm not sure it's a good thing or a bad thing (it might feel kind of unsettling), but I'd be willing to give it a shot.
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written by tcoil, August 08, 2008
Nissan seem to be begging to be sued.
What happens when someone commences an overtaking procedure and because of the interference from the accelerator pedal, doesn't dial up enough power to complete the overtake in time?
What happens when someone commences an overtaking procedure and because of the interference from the accelerator pedal, doesn't dial up enough power to complete the overtake in time?
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written by Tom Smith, August 08, 2008
@booradley: You miss the point. What if someone has to slam on the gas to avoid being hit, and the stupid pedal won't let you? This is a really lame way to save the planet. Visual cues are enough. With the price of gas, everyone has an obvious interest in being more efficient.
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written by andrew, August 08, 2008
I think its a terrible idea, sometimes you need to punch it to avoid an accident. Why not purely visual cues from the dash interface? This seems really dangerous to me. I don't like it at all.
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written by EcoJo, August 08, 2008
I find this eco-pedal to be a "green" cop-out. Any led-foot driver knows they're not driving at optimal efficiency like that anyway!
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written by linagee, August 08, 2008
@tcoil: What if you drove a Geo and could not overtake cars because of it? Sometimes there's this thing called thinking ahead. Baring that, other people just need to drive safer or cops need to give out more tickets.
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written by pho, August 08, 2008
It doesn't stop you from pressing down it just gives you back preassure to let you know. If you can drive with visual cues that's fine but I'd personally rather keep my eyes on the road. I think it's a great idea. Plus when you're overtaking there's a point at which opening the throttle more will not give you a significant acceleration so I think the system is designed to give you the most efficient acceleration.
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written by begreen, August 08, 2008
the idea is fine. fact is, most pedals aren't comfortable on the foot driving 55 because the angle's all wrong. and that is bad design.
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written by Qossay, August 08, 2008
I was just wondering if it possible to disable it whenever we want?
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written by AlexDS, August 09, 2008
When you are forced into a situation where you need to accelerate quickly to avoid being in an accident will you really react fast enough to turn the system off and accelerate to avoid the accident?
Also since this is for the purpose of driving with fuel economy in mind I don't believe it'll be fitted in cars with 3.0 engines or so as that would only move you from 19mpg to about 21mpg. This further justifies my point of being forced to accelerate quickly, can you really do that with a 1.1 engine and this system in place limiting you?
Very unsafe.
Also since this is for the purpose of driving with fuel economy in mind I don't believe it'll be fitted in cars with 3.0 engines or so as that would only move you from 19mpg to about 21mpg. This further justifies my point of being forced to accelerate quickly, can you really do that with a 1.1 engine and this system in place limiting you?
Very unsafe.
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written by tcoil, August 10, 2008
I have no idea what you are saying, your words are in front of me on the screen but they do not make any sense.
I was simply pointing out that a resistance to 'normal' pedal feel at a crucial time could cause an accident. You rabbit on about police, thinking ahead etc, which are just reflexive phrases you pulled out of your ass - much like an Xtian or other religious infectee does.
I was simply pointing out that a resistance to 'normal' pedal feel at a crucial time could cause an accident. You rabbit on about police, thinking ahead etc, which are just reflexive phrases you pulled out of your ass - much like an Xtian or other religious infectee does.
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written by Puzzler, September 12, 2008
The pedal is not going to stop you from pushing it all the way down if you push on it. It it designed to give tactile feedback on your driving habits. You can still mash the gas when you need to overtake someone, you are just going to feel the pedal pushing back at you a little bit. And in response to Alex's post, I think they will make it available on all cars with all engines. You need to be even more concerned of your fuel consumption with a larger engine then you do with say the 1.6L in the Versa. I personally would definitely like to at least try this out. It seems like an innovative way to get people to alter their driving habits.
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written by Brendon, October 03, 2008
Automatic transmissions already come with an economy mode that saves fuel by changing shift points, and I don't think it causes any accidents. This would be less invasive - you would still have all the power available to you whether the system is on or not, you just have to press the pedal a little harder to use it. It's also safer than a digital miles per gallon readout, because you don't have to take your eyes off of the road to get the information. The target market is likely to be hybrid drivers that care more about fuel economy than high performance. Incidentally, this was my senior project at Cal Poly in 2004, I'm wondering if I'm entitled to anything.
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written by Brendon, October 03, 2008
As for Z's, I'd hack the thing to make it a haptic tachometer. You'd know when you're approaching the redline without taking your eyes off the road, even when the stereo's drowning out engine noise.
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written by Brendon, October 03, 2008
As for tuka's comment, depending on how the pedal force is generated, you might be able to adjust it, making it easier to depress than a normal pedal. My prototype (which is hanging on the wall in my apartment) had a relatively weak spring load that was always there, and another mechanism that would increase the load to something closer to a normal pedal feel to convey whatever information you were trying to use it to convey.
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written by Brendon, October 03, 2008
As for Serbrew's comment, you can't always be checking the visual readouts. On the other hand, the tactile pedal signal is always there to keep you informed. It might alert you to some subtle tricks that you'd missed. I'm sure it's also safer and more natural than trying to drive with cruise control in cities and heavy traffic.
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