Here we are, deep into the 1980s. And for those of you who weren't prepared, it's been quite a shock: dishwashers with microprocessors, baked potatoes microwaved to perfec- tion in ten minutes, remote-control ceiling fans, and cars stuffed to hoodlines with microelectronics. Who would've thought? Of course, we're not here to dissect every technologi- cal whiz-bang of the last ten years. We're here to discuss cars. Cars chock full of microprocessors, sen- sors, diodes, boards, control modules, CRT's - a hacker's dream with four wheels and an engine. In order to simplify this discus- sion of automotive electronics, we'll be breaking the information into three distinct groups: stuff you don't see, stuff you do see, and other stuff. Let's begin with a look back to 1973. OPEC had pulled the plug on cheap oil and Detroit wasn't quite ready for that. For years they had been working under a theory that said if a car's engine burns too much gas, simply install a larger tank. Now they needed fuel efficiency - and fast. It would take a couple of years to make all their cars smaller, but they could make the engines run more efficiently. In stepped the computer, which was assigned the task of only letting the engine have as much gasoline as absolutely necessary. Gas mileage increased, but so did prob- lems. You see, computers don't like being smacked around. And when those original control computers dropped a circuit, they just stopped computing. Brand new cars were stopping dead for no apparent reason. The dealer would say, "It's the computer, ma'am. Uh, that'll be $350." Many free-lance mechanics made a very handsome living yanking computers out of cars at $150 a yank. Fortunately, things are better now. The engine control "black boxes" of the current generation have complete control over the engine and, there- fore, the car. But wait. Have we lost control of our cars? Are comput- ers taking over for good? In a word: no. Companies are now manufacturing chips which go into a car's computer and improve engine power. Some companies manufacture entire replace- ment computers which let the driver adjust the engine's performance from the comfort of the front seat. The car companies haven't been left behind, either. With just a chip change in the engine computer, a BMW engineer was able to set a speed record of 124 mph in an otherwise stock 535td turbocharged diesel. And when the FBI ordered turbocharged Buick Regal Grand Nationals they asked General Motors for a little extra oomph. The General responded by replacing the chip that "limits" the Buick to a 126 mph top speed. If the Feds can't handle it, who can? New computers are eliminating the mechanical elements of the ignition system. SDI, Saab Direct Ignition (and no relation to you know what), eliminates the distributor, rotor and breaker points. The computer senses when a cylinder is ready to fire and delivers the appropriate charge with razor sharp precision. This has enabled Saab to increase the efficien- cy and performance of its 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and allowed them to postpone an expensive redesign. Are you ready for electric, computer-controlled, four-wheel steering? You'd better be, because in a year or two it will be on your deal- er's order form. At speeds below 30 mph your rear wheels will turn the opposite direction of the front wheels to make parking and turning around easier. At higher speeds all four wheels will turn the same way (the rear wheels will turn just a fraction of the front wheel angle) to give you more control in corners. What happens if you want to stop in a hurry? We've got antilock braking systems. When you step on the brakes a computer measures how fast your wheels are slowing down. In the computer's memory is the absolute fastest possible rate your wheel could slow without skidding. If the wheel starts to slow faster than the rate (indicating a wheel is about to lock) the computer starts pumping the brakes up to ten times per second. In a dry weather situation this does not stop your car any faster, but if it's rain- ing, you can literally slam on the brakes and turn the wheel simulta- neously with no fear of losing con- trol. The same technique is now being applied to systems which allow you to accelerate on slippery surfaces with- out spinning your wheels and systems which will automatically engage four-wheel drive when the conditions warrant. And what are those wacky Japanese up to? In Japan, Nissan offers a suspension system with a photoelectric sensor that detects potholes. When it senses an upcoming pothole it decreases the pressure in the front shock absorber and then, depending on your speed, decreases the pressure in the rear shock. As each tire recovers from the pothole the shock is returned to normal pressure. What's next? By 1990 cars should be available with systems that will take the speed and steering wheel position and pressurize the appropriate shocks to make your car actually lean in to corners. What'll they think of next? How about voice-activated wind- shield wipers? Buick's high tech Questor show car appeared on the auto show circuit this year with voice- activated windshield wipers and head- lights. And how about a car that remembers the way you like everything set? The Audi 5000 allows you to adjust your leather bucket seat to perfection and then stores that information in memory. The soon-to- be-available 1988 BMW 735i goes one better. It not only remembers seat position, it remembers how you had the mirrors set. And if that isn't enough, when you put the big Beemer into reverse it automatically folds down the rear headrests to improve the rear view and angles the door mirrors down so you can see the curb. Another popular trend is the digital dashboard. Described by some as looking like "Tokyo by night," the digital dashboard displays the normal complement of instruments in their normal places, but uses bars of light instead of gauges. Most higher-end cars are available with this option, but the jury is still out. Some drivers like it, others, myself in- cluded, find them distracting and more than a little difficult to read at a glance. It's more trouble for the car makers, too. The Cadillac Allante, the new $55,000 two-seat sport coupe from the luxury car division of GM, has a cooling fan to protect the complicated digital dash when the interior temperature reaches a certain limit. Another item, which no serious road car is without, is the venerable trip computer. This is a computer that allows the user to calculate estimated time of arrival, gas mileage, esti- mated distance until you run out of gas and the number of horrible meals you've eaten in roadside hash houses. These were quite literally designed to both provide useful information and occupy time out on the highway. Buick has taken the trip computer to new heights. The new Buick Riviera is available with a touch-screen CRT that controls the aforementioned trip computer amusements along with the stereo and climate control. When you start the car, the screen displays the flowing Riviera logo and then runs the car through a series of diagnostic checks. This is very interesting and certainly is breakthrough technology; but it's tough to use while driving the car and, as with any touch-screen computer, you get a CRT with finger- prints all over it. How tacky. The idea of a CRT in the dash is no fad. Very soon there will be a video screen in every garage. One of the most viable uses for that screen will be keeping you and me from getting lost. A system under development by Ford uses the dashboard CRT and a navigation satellite to display a map on the screen and pinpoint your position to within 1200 feet. Additionally, the CRT will read maps from a compact disc ROM. So when you take a car trip in the future, your auto club might hand you a trip- specific CD instead of a road atlas. Until the advent of the space age, much of passenger car design and technology had been passed down from racing cars. Fuel injection, inde- pendent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and high-compression engines all had their start in auto racing. But now car technology is borrowing from jet fighter planes. Carmakers have already placed a high priority on better aerodynamics, and in the future we will see the debut of the heads-up display (HUD) and the drive by wire system. When traveling at twice the speed of sound there isn't lots of time to look down and study the gauges. But a jet fighter pilot needs to know about the aircraft and the armament, keep an eye on the radar, and still fly the plane. The HUD lets him do all that. All the gauges, screens and necessary information are projected onto a piece of glass positioned in front of the pilot. While flying, the pilot can look through the glass to see what's ahead and read the gauges easily. Why do we need this in automobiles? We're not going twice the speed of sound. Simply: safety. Why take your eyes off the road if you don't have to? And in case you haven't noticed, cars are going faster these days and well within the constraints of pollution control and fuel mileage. Drive by wire is also a system borrowed from fighter jets. What this means is everything you touch - the steering wheel, pedals, shifter - will activate a sensor which will tell a central computer what you want to do. Is this better than the current mechanical system? Not necessarily, but six feet of wire weighs less than six feet of steel linkage. All this computerization of cars is going to make for one extremely complicated electrical system, right? Yes and no. Cars in the future will be wired just like computers. They will have a bus, one or more central processing units, and a series of electronic control modules at points where input and/or output is required. While this is far more technical than current systems, it should be simpler. Just like a computer, a car should be able to run self-diagnostics. The day when you can plug your car into your personal computer and have it tell you where it hurts is really and truly on the way. Another bonus of this computerization will be greater protection for the wiring. Since everything runs in a bus there will be only one central wiring system and that means only one hole running from the engine compartment into the car and an easy way to protect your wiring from the hazards of the road. Let's face facts here. Computers are here and they're here to stay. They're living in our televisions, they're thriving in our digital watches and they're finding homes in our cars. Of course, there are still people out there who are afraid of computers. They're afraid computers will take over their jobs and reduce their lives to a series of numbers on keypunch cards. (Yes, they think people still use keypunch cards.) So, my friends, it is our duty as the computer literate to embrace the computerized cars and help our friends do the same. Tell them if they don't shape up, the '80s will just go by without them. (VINCENT MINCHILLO is an editor of THE NEW ALADDIN and an executive with a major advertising agency.) Azalea Ave. Allen Dr. Amiga Blvd. Bell Ave. Back St. Briar PL. Channel Dr. Clay St. Cook St. Desert Dr. Driftwood Dent Dr. Easy St. Excalibur Ct. El Paso Fable Ave. Faraday Fore Ct. Guild Ave. Gladstone Dr. Gothic Blvd. Henson Sq. Harbor Ct. 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