VW makes electronic stability control standard on entire 2009 line

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Tech, Volkswagen
Spinning out in a new Volkswagen will become a lot harder later this year. Starting with its 2009 models sold in the U.S., Volkswagen will be adding electronic stability control as a standard feature. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has previously decreed that all vehicles have to be equipped with stability control from 2012 onwards, but VW is getting there early. That makes the German automaker the first non-luxury brand to meet the new standard.

Electronic stability control, or Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP) as VW prefers to call it, takes the hardware used for anti-lock brakes and traction control and adds steering angle, yaw rate and acceleration sensors. The sensors detect the difference between where the driver is requesting the car to go and where it's actually headed and applies the brakes selectively to individual wheels to get the car following the driver's intended path. Stability control has already been optional or standard on all VWs for several years. If NHTSA estimates are to be believed (and when haven't they?), standard stability control could save 10,000 lives a year.

[Source: Volkswagen]Continue reading VW makes electronic stability control standard on entire 2009 line

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