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If the TL driver misinterpreted the severity of his co-driver's need, so too did his car's computer misinterpret the difference between a curve in the road and a turn. The TL interpreted a large swerve north and then south in the roadway as a pair of "ramps," and insisted (in a pleasant but forceful voice) that the driver first exit, and then enter, the very road on which he was already driving. The low-IQ customer would be in trouble here. Our duo didn't get lost, instead demonstrating its high IQ with a bout of yelling toward a dashboard, in order to inform a deaf computer that it was stupid.
Over in the Jaguar, our duo figured out how to turn on the system's voice prompts, and immediately regretted the intrusion of its chatterbox nature on their own conversational space.
The Audi team decided, on this leg, that it was easier to do the simple math to convert kilometers into miles on their own than it would be to make further attempts to reprogram the system to read out in English rather than metric units. american auto brokers What does this prove? Perhaps that technophobia and mathematical prowess can coexist in the same brain, but also that the control interface for these systems could use a little work.
If human brains were strained, the Mercedes-not the team, the car-seem-ed to experience a bout of acute navigation system psychosis. Along a simple stretch of road, without evident provocation, "Betty" (the name the team gave the Mercedes' voice) beeped a couple of times and then began a series of inexplicable apologies, "Sorry... sorry... sorry... cancel." Then later, "Sorry... sorry... sorry... cancel, the phone book is empty." Was this code? One occupant responded: "My cummerbund is full of eels," and Betty went silent.
Leg 3: Clarkston Union to Aroma's Coffee Shoppe, Vassar, Michigan.
Vassar, Michigan's biggest draw-at least since the movie theater that showed one movie once a week closed down-is that it is near the impossibly kitschy Frankenmuth. american auto brokers Frankenmuth attempts to re-create Bavarian splendor, as seen through the eyes of would-be Midwest Walt Disneys. Vassar provided a good opportunity to answer the question, how well can our cars navigate through several miles of cornfield?
The second leg may have gone off without major problem but, from the very beginning of the third, there was moaning. One staffer wondered aloud why a user needs a Ph.D. in computer programming to find the nearest Taco Bell. Frustrations truly came to a head on the third leg when the Jaguar team resorted to the most egregious form of cheating-hanging on the rear bumper of a righteous team and following them to Vassar.
"Then the damn thing went all wrong," came the detailed analysis from one S-type team member. Allegedly, the Jag's system refused to accept any directions whatsoever (though it had worked for the first two legs). We tested the system later and it worked fine. american auto brokers Barring temporary, yet complete failure of the system, we reckon our Jag team members were probably trying to program it while the car was moving. As a safety precaution the Jag system will not allow driver or passenger to input information while the car is in gear. We agree that for safety, a solo driver should pull to the roadside to do the computing, but we take umbrage that someone in the right co-pilot seat should be prohibited from operating the system on the fly. Someone's liability lawyers have had too much influence and thereby devalued the product. If potential cockpit distractions are to be prohibited while in gear, why no interlock to disable the vanity mirror light? Or the cigarette lighter?
Or the fussy HVAC system? We digress.
Though beaten mercilessly following the event, the Jaguar duo had only reacted to a perceived electronics failure in the way a large percentage of car owners might: They gave up. american auto brokers There is a steep learning curve for the uninitiated with any of these systems. It is easy to be led astray and find yourself receiving directions to a location a state or two away from where you intended to go. The worst-case scenario is bilateral brain lockup, wherein you don't even know what questions to ask to receive answers you're quickly beginning not to care about anymore. It's an experience not unlike explaining a problem to your computer services department-equal parts math anxiety and the swimming-brain sensation of oxygen deprivation.
The Jaguar team might have reached the frustration level faster and more dramatically than any other team. But everyone did to some degree, most vocally the Volvo and Mercedes teams.

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