This weekend I received an article published in the DallasMorning News from a customer that purchased a Mercedes- Benz CLS from BBC Motorsports in Dallas. The title of the article was “What on earth does that weird icon mean?” The article was written by Robert Duffer with the Chicago Tribune. The gist of the article is that there are so many new safety features and new icons that it makes it difficult for car owners today to know what is what. It also speaks to the lack of standard Icon’s used from manufacturer to manufacturer. Therefore safety features, and icons can differ from BMW’s, Cadillac’s, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and more. Basically, all 38 brands have a different way of representing safety and operational features.
However a new website, mycardoeswhat.org, is a wonderful central resource for individual car owners that want to understand more about how their vehicles operate and what each icon means. The mycardoeswhat.org website discusses the latest safety features including:
Forward collision prevention:
Collision Prevention and Mitigation: Anti-lock Braking Systems, Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Headlights, Bicycle Detection, Brake Assist, Forward Collision Warning, Left Turn Crash Avoidance, Obstacle Detection, Pedestrian Detection.
Speeding: Curve Speed Warning, High Speed Alert
Cruise Control: Adaptive Cruise Control
Headlights and Vision: Adaptive Headlights and Night Vision
Braking Tire Pressure and Anti-Rollover
Anti-lock Braking System, Automatic Emergency Braking, Brake Assist, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control.
Terrain and Wheel Information
Tire pressure Monitoring System, Temperature Warning
Hill Assisting
Hill Descent Assist, Hill Start Assist
Parking and Backing Assistance
Back-Up Camera, Back-Up Warning, Rear Cross Traffic Alert
Parking Assistance
Automatic Parallel Parking
Parking Sensors
Driver State Monitoring and Communications
Lane Assisting: Lane Departure Warning, Drowsiness Alert, Lane Keeping Assist
Side Assisting: Blind Spot Monitoring, Side View Camera
This is a very special and timely website for all of our customers at BBC Motorsports. It will help us continue to educate our customers and sales associates. We will be able to keep our customers at BBC Motorsports more informed and we can provide them with a reputable reference. It appears that this website was inspired by the University of Iowa in combination with the National SafetyCouncil. The “Feature, Function and Benefits” section of the website has many videos that explain the technical aspects of today’s modern vehicle.
As they say, “Know More, Drive Safer”.