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GPS moderated transmission settings

Grind gears and pour transmission fluid on them
  (+6, -2)
(+6, -2)
  [vote for,
against]

My recently acquired 2005 Toyota Camry is humbly the most sophisticated auto I and the bank have owned to date.

It has a tendency to coast quite nicely on the rare occasions when my foot is removed from the throttle, probably due to a host of electronic and vacuum actuated sensors designed with fuel economy in mind, as compared to my earlier generations of low tech vehicles ('39 Buick Special, '64 Ford F100, '72 Toyota Corolla, '70 Ford F250, '87 Nissan King Cab, '2000 Nissan Sentra).

But that same tendency to utilize the gear range and engine settings causes me to have to get on the brakes needlessly while exiting my apartment complex. I crest a slight rise and need to slow down to negotiate the gauntlet of neighbors and staff by the rental office on my way out every morning.

I'd like to have a programmable transmission setting that could be run in "learn" mode and then switched to "act on what I learned" mode.

The GPS module would react to my location and tell itself "He always slows down right her, so let's not kick it from first gear into second unless prompted otherwise". Of course, brake or throttle engagement would override all preprogrammed settings, as with cruise control.

normzone, Oct 31 2008

Similar tech deployed by different monkeys ... https://www.carandd...te-smart-lift-nose/
[normzone, Apr 05 2020]


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       okay, I'll bite... why don't you use the "Low" gear-range setting when you're leaving the complex.
FlyingToaster, Oct 31 2008
  

       [+] I have driven a car with a manual shift for many year because I hate that an automatic transmission is always in the wrong gear. The idea of using a GPS feed to make the car anticipate the road ahead is intriguing. However to me the hills are more of a problem then the turns and I don't think there is a GPS that has elevation information on it. Too bad.
theGem, Oct 31 2008
  

       I tried it today, and it's acceptable, but the entire point of an automatic transmission is to allow you to keep both hands on the wheel (or roll a cigarette with them and steer with your knees) and drive with no more than two pedals, and possibly one foot.   

       Clutches are fine on motorcycles, (some) working trucks, and sports cars.
normzone, Nov 06 2008
  

       //I don't think there is a GPS that has elevation information on it//
I'd say most, if not all, GPS receivers give elevation information.
coprocephalous, Nov 07 2008
  

       // need to slow down to negotiate the gauntlet of neighbors and staff //   

       If you once drive the route in a suitably substantial vehicle, at maximum speed, without braking, on subsequent occasions your route will no longer be a target-rich environment.   

       Word gets round. "People die there". Put up a bunch of those little white crosses some jurisdictions use to indicate the location of road fatalities. Fear will keep the local pedestrians in line. Fear of your vehicle.
8th of 7, Apr 05 2020
  


 

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