Thanks for the clarification, I will ignore any future ABS advice.
As I’ve said, it’s a personal decision. Anyone who feels that ABS, traction control, etc. is useful should buy a car equipped with those systems, but I’ll pass. I would not assume that everyone wants/needs it on their cars. I’m sure the OP has heard of ABS and is able to decide if he needs it for himself.
People are far superior in many ways to machines. Repetitive mechanical tasks isn’t one of them. It’s fine that you choose not to have ABS, but it simply is better at pumping the brakes than any of us could be.
As I said, if you think it is useful you should get it on your cars.
If I find myself in a position where I need to “pump the brakes,” I’ve already screwed up by driving too fast on ice and/or I don’t have enough skill to modulate the brakes correctly under dry conditions. Either way, I’m certainly not going to own a car that tries to make that decision for me. I’m sure the OP can decide for himself.
Good video with demo of all systems >>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3m24bjkfg0
Minute 3 has stability control clearly shown.
That was an effective demonstration that would settle this debate if we were all impartial.
What an over-engineered mess. Can you imagine trying to maintain/repair that thing in 20 years? I would love that system if I was in the business of selling replacement disposable vehicles; as a consumer I would run away, quickly. As I said: simpler is always better.
you have struck a nerve with the half who think all this new fangled stuff is useless, and the other half who think its worth every cent.
it is true that your “old” car has none of these safety items. BUT…
ABS is simply the mechanical rapid pumping of the brakes during panic stops. i am pretty sure you already do this in a limited technique now.
the Air Bag is a non issue, since infant seats are NOT allowed to have air bags near them any way. an air bag going off can kill or maim a child.
i would rather be in your mercedes (especially if i was in an accident) than in my newer daewoo ANYDAY. (as long as it is well maintained)
your real question about convincing the wife is YOUR decision, and is up to YOU. i can’t overly influence MY wife, let alone yours!
i don’t know how old you are, but i was never chauffeured around in a car when i was a baby that had ABS, airbags, or stability control. i came out fine… well sort of!
Wow! I am really impressed with all the comments and discussion this has generated. So, let me clarify, since it might help things a bit.
I live in Southern New Hampshire, where we’ve had the snowiest year on record (over 120 inches). However, I have a 1993 Saturn Wagon that I drive in the winter, which has a drivers side airbag and ABS. I really bought the Mercedes for a warm weather car, since I’m familiar with the troubles that can result from mixing diesel and cold weather, especially homemade biodiesel. Plus, I’m afraid the salt on the roads up here will eat away the body- it already has a little rust around the edges, so I want to keep it out of the salt, hence, driving the plastic Saturn in the winter.
I’m fairly far down the DIY biodiesel road- have already made test batches and build a processor. Also, I have several restaurants donating their used oil. It is certainly time-consuming, but it’s turning into a nice little hobby. My brother has a dual-fuel system truck which he can run on pure vegetable oil, but I intend to run the Mercedes on processed biodiesel, hopefully. Ideally. Someday. Thanks once again for all your comments. I’ll pose them to my wife tonight, and see what she says. I suspect I’ll end up taking the car to the local fire department, where they do free child seat inspections. If they give the car the OK, then I think I may be able to sway her opinion.
Sounds like a plan.
This is another one of those things where drivers feel invincible in their vehicles and don’t drive according to the weather conditions. If you’re driving 70MPH is snowy/icy conditions like in that video, you’re bound to wreck sooner or later anyways, hit a patch of unleveled snow, and BAM.
Yup, technology won’t fix stupidity, at least not for long.
Yup, technology won’t fix stupidity
How would you have made up the icy hill in the video without traction control?
“How would you have made up the icy hill in the video without traction control?”
Personally, I would have stopped for coffee and waited for a snow plow/ sand truck to come by; just like any other sane person. In the real world it doesn’t work like that anyway, there would already be 20 stuck cars and 5 accidents on that hill (causing a several mile traffic jam for the next few hours). No-one would be going up that hill anyway. The last time I came across conditions like that (about 500 miles from home), I checked into a hotel and had a nice quiet drive home the next day.
If I really need to go someplace important in the snow (like skiing), I would take my old jeep with real 4WD (locked front axial) and serious snow tires. Very simple, effective technology for going and stopping in the snow/ice. The other 99% of the time, my RWD cars do just fine.
The demo is extreme to show the system work.
The scenario is very plausible. Drive 65-70MPH at night on clear dry roads in the winter around the 32F mark. Up ahead around a slight bend a quick rain shower has passed over previously and turned road to black ice. A car or two has spun out and you try and stop but of course but cannot so you swerve to avoid car(s). Would you rather have your simple system at that point or stability control to give you a fighting chance of driving around the hazards?
Black ice is where I see the absolute benefit of stability control. For those who have no idea what black ice is, ice you cannot see on the roads that lurks in the shady spots or just after a quick spurt of rain.
To Craig58 who cares if the system does not work in 20years, a simple light on the dash illuminates and you can fix or leave alone without the system.
Obviously, I would always want to have the simplest possible system in my cars. Sliding off the road in the situation you describe would probably be an expensive PITA, and I would classify that expense as a “stupid tax” if I was driving too fast for the conditions.
Fortunately, in the 40K miles I drove last year (with a simple RWD car in all kinds of conditions), I didn’t have to pay any stupid tax. At the end of the day, the cost/benefit does not justify those systems for me. As I’ve said, anyone who feels “safer” with these babysitters has plenty of cars to choose from; as long as they don’t run into me due to their overconfidence.
Another reason to avoid ABS if you can, take a look through this board where someone comes in and asks: "My ABS light came on and my mechanic said it’ll cost $1200(or some wonky amount) to fix and most people reply they don’t really need the ABS anyways
What do you do with the glycerin byproduct?
Well, I live on a family farm with 12 horses, who produce a prodigious amount of manure. I figure I can compost the glycerine in the manure pit, unless I come up with a better use for it. I just have to be sure I use KOH instead of NaOH in the biodiesel reaction, so I don’t end up salting the fields!
KOH is also a salt, but potassium is beneficial while sodium is not. It sounds to me like you’ve got a great plan. Good luck with the your budding family. BTW, do you think your horses produce as much manure as we do here? 