2009 Infiniti FX35, FX50 to include Distance Control Assist

Infiniti has a knack for keeping technophiles grinning, and just as it did with the G35's in-dash entertainment system, it's bringing geeks even more automotive improvements to keep our minds off of those skyrocketing gas prices. Reportedly, both the 2009 FX35 and FX50 will be available with all-around cameras (you know, like those found on the EX35), Intelligent Cruise Control and Distance Control Assist. The automaker seems particularly proud of that last one, as it claims to be the first in the industry to offer up the tech. Put simply, DCA will assist drivers in releasing the throttle and applying the brakes as needed in stop-and-go / congested traffic, and (obviously) the system stays activated even after the brakes are tapped. Check out the read link for a few more sneak peeks at the forthcoming features.

[Twitchy @ Apr 21st 2008 7:49AM]

About damn time this was offered in a vehicle other than a top-line Mercedes. I hope this trickles down into even low spec cars soon - I am sick and tired of having to deal with boy ricers tailgating.

[Ike Turner @ Apr 21st 2008 7:54AM]

I was just about to say that Mercedes had this for a while

[S @ Apr 21st 2008 6:12PM]

Infiniti was definitely NOT first! Not only Mercedes, don't forget Lexus (last year) and european honda as well.

[frankXchange @ Apr 21st 2008 7:56AM]

They know their market segment - rich people who can't drive.

[darkstar @ Apr 21st 2008 9:57AM]

i dont think u get it. the techs in the car are there to protect you from bad drivers.
ur prolly a great driver, but r u confident the guy next to u is??? feel free to get a car with none of the safety features like anti-lock breaks, airbags, etc..... :)

[Jeff @ Apr 21st 2008 11:45AM]

Well, it used to be that you had to be a good driver in order to drive.

Now with all this technology, you can be a crappy driver and for the most part your car will protect you.

So which came first, the tech or the bad drivers? I've been driving for 20 years now and I can say unequivocally that drivers have gotten significantly worse over that period - people used to take pride in being good drivers, and for the most part, they were. Yeah, you always had the crazy idiot going 120mph on a 55mph highway, and you always had the grandma going 20mph on that same stretch, but there was not this absolute epidemic of people just not even paying attention to their surroundings. The worst thing people used to do in their cars was eat, which is still a pretty passive activity that requires no real brain power. Now we've got drivers gabbing on their cell phones (hands free or not, studies show it doesn't matter), we've got people putting on makeup, we've got people reading the newspaper, we've even got people watching DVD's. And they think they can get away with these things because their car will just drive (and even park) for them.

[John @ Apr 21st 2008 7:57AM]

I believe even Volkswagen offers this in many of their models, they call it Front Assist.

http://www.volkswagen.com/vwcms_publish/vwcms/master_public/virtualmaster/en2/experience/innovation/driver_assistance_systems/start.html

[wickedpheonix @ Apr 21st 2008 7:58AM]

Yeah seriously, if you've been driving long enough to own one of these that "feature" is just second nature to you. Hell, I've got a learner's permit and I've only been on the road for 30-some hours and it's second nature to me by now :P

[chad @ Apr 21st 2008 8:02AM]

I have an G35. It has ICC (Intelligent Cruise Control) which, while the cruise control is activated, will keep you certain distanced away from the car in front of you. You can choose between roughly 3 - 6 car distances away from the car ahead of you. This is handy on road trips. If the speed limit is 75 and the flow of traffic is 85, i can set the cruise control to 100mph and never ever have to touch the gas or the brake pedal. This allows me to exactly pace the speed of the car in front of me while opening up for high speed driving when nobody is around. All this while only having to operate the steering wheel.

Go Infiniti!

[Mark @ Apr 21st 2008 12:20PM]

I'm wondering when someone will hack it so that you have a "tailgate mode" say

[rickP @ Apr 21st 2008 8:42AM]

Um, BMW has had Active Cruise Stop and Go for quite a while. You put in the desired speed and it will maintain it as long as nothing is in the way including full stops.
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/newvehicles/5series/touring/2007/allfacts/ergonomics/acc_stop.html

[Thomas @ Apr 21st 2008 8:58AM]

Tech ++ == Driving Skill --

Sadly too many crappy drivers on the road who need need to eat their donut and coffee while those tech will help them alot.

[ronnie jones @ Apr 21st 2008 8:58AM]

you all dont get it, this has nothing to do with cruise control. the car will apply the brake for you when you are in stop and go traffic. all you have to do is lift your foot off the gas and the car will come to a complete stop by itself. i'm not a huge infinity fan but they are the only ones that have implemented this tech.

[Cristatus @ Apr 21st 2008 9:10AM]

Isn't Mercedes-Benz the innovator of the Adaptive Cruise Control? As well as the Stop and Go Cruise Control, which is basically a v2 of the Adaptive Cruise Control?

So yea, they've had v1 since at least 2000, and v2 since about two years ago.

[carguy84 @ Apr 21st 2008 9:30AM]

"DCA is the first system ever to utilize the accelerator pedal to provide feedback to the driver."
I think this is what they were toting as a first. The pedal feedback system, not the actual system. Clever wording by the Marketing folks.

[Frankenstein Black @ Apr 21st 2008 12:45PM]

Yea, yea, yea, that’s cool and all but what intrigues me the most is that HEALING PAINT SYSTEM (i.e. a day in the sun automatically "heals" all swirls, minor scratches etc.). Now lets get the same paint treatment on that 2009 R35 Skyline ASAP! At that price, tis a damn shame it doesn’t already have it! Just sayin...

[tyecies @ Apr 21st 2008 12:46PM]

Those who hate tailgating will not like this technology, as it follows more closely than most people would. Why? Because its response time is much, much faster than yours. However, this is a very very good thing, as most traffic isn't caused by more cars than the road can handle, its caused by human drivers overbraking, which this system won't do. The statistic I read is that if 1/4 cars had this active cruise control system, traffic would be reduced by 50%

[Harkonian @ Apr 21st 2008 4:39PM]

@tyecies:

Interesting statistic if true. It would mean that technologies such as this are far more effective at reducing traffic than adding another lane to congested areas. As such, it seems like this would be a no-brainer to pass a law requiring all new vehicles to integrate similar technology.

Where did you read that statistic?

[Valgas @ Apr 21st 2008 12:56PM]

Eventually, as the nation becomes dumber. We will be buying cars that simply drive themselves. Cup holders will remain and a few new features will be introduced - a slobber bucket, bucket seats with built in toilets with automatic asswipers, a food detecting microwave which will detect what type of food you put into it and nuke it accordingly, a vanity mirror (for the women to apply their make-up of course), a table and a bib to soak up coffee/soup spills and catch donut or egg McMuffin crumbs.

[Harkonian @ Apr 21st 2008 4:44PM]

@Valgas:

While I understand the knee-jerk reaction to the technology and claiming that drivers are becoming less skilled as a direct result, I'm not sure that is the case. Or if it is the case, the same could be said of the Anti-lock Breaking System and any other technology that improves your chances of avoiding a collision.

[Jeff @ Apr 22nd 2008 2:14AM]

This is really a reply to Harkonian.

See, the difference is, ABS fixes an inherent problem with non-ABS brakes: They lock, which renders them completely ineffective. You still need to press the brakes, so you still need to be just as aware of your surroundings, only with ABS brakes, your car has much less chance of sliding right into what you were trying to avoid, because you're not braindead and were watching the road.

Cars full of tech to "assist" the driver do something completely different: they let the driver pay less attention to actually driving. Why check my blind spot, the car does it for me. Why touch the brakes, the car does it for me. Why watch the road ahead, the car does it for me. This is why this stupid technology makes worse drivers.

The worst of this technology is adaptive cruise control, IMO. If you need to slow down and speed up a lot while driving, you SHOULDN'T HAVE CRUISE CONTROL ON, NO MATTER HOW ADAPTIVE IT IS. This tech completely takes the driver out of the driving, which is a recipe for disaster.

[Chris in CA @ Apr 21st 2008 12:57PM]

Does this mean we have to re-live the 20 years of auto journalists bitching about peadal pulsation when a safety feature is activated? Remember when every single car journalist bitched how ABS pulsated when activated? We are going to live through another 20 years of car journalists 'testing' a vehicle by driving 6 inches off the bumper in front of them, bitching the whole time that the gas pedal is vibrating. Kill me now.

[fashionista @ Apr 21st 2008 1:05PM]

All that's missing is a AI, since anyone who would buy this heinous turdmobile obviously needs a brain.

[SeVeMaS @ Apr 21st 2008 9:28PM]

well citroen and renault in europe have that also in some models, even the detection if you cruise the center line too slow it vibrates to warn that you are "in sleep mode" even the follow the road lights was invented by porche, but they don't need comercials to show what they have, only "small" companies need to show off what they have to make you think they are the 1st.

and so on so on

[Silivrenion @ Apr 22nd 2008 1:15AM]

This was out even before all of these cars and models all of you are mentioning. Look up an old company called Autostop... they had a system that they tried out way before the 80's that had cars that could follow others, predict collisions, route trajectories, and projectively follow a forward target in autopilot.

Def not the first.

[anny @ Apr 29th 2008 2:56PM]

que precio tiene la infiniti fx 35

[anny @ Apr 29th 2008 3:03PM]

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