[Spook]

1. Nowadays, dealers will tell you that new cars no longer need to be broken in. I would still play it safe however, and not push the engine too hard during this first 1000kms. Do still rev it once in a while though .

2. Actually, you'd find that "traditional" cd stackers are probably now all replaced by in-dash front loading single slot stackers; or at the very least, in the glovebox. Can't imagine them still being located in the boot.

3. Heavy breaking will not deploy the airbags. Impact needed. With new dual-stage airbags, these will deploy "in stages" based on the severity of the impact. The ABS will probably kick in though.

5. Really sick of all the new reality shows. Are they really reality? Of course, I still enjoy the "classic" Survivor and that's just about all the "reality TV" that I watch.

 

[Spook]

olorin, what do you mean by the back wheels losing power? Are you referring to the wheels losing traction (wheelspin)?

Note that ABS is designed to come on when it detects the wheel(s) locking up (ie skidding) and forcing it to rotate, so the car can still be steered out of harm's way. It is not traction control.

 

[Spook]

But this technology senses when traction is lost on particular wheel when braking, and applies traction to it.

My understanding of EBD is that as the car is braking, EBD will sense if the car is unbalanced and distribute the brake force appropriately. For example, if you are carrying a heavy load, as you brake under normal circumstances, the front wheels is where the momentum is and the brakes will be working harder to stop the car. EBD then applies additional force to the rear brakes while lessening the force on the front ones (ie distributing the brake force). This will help prevent skidding. If the wheels do lock up, then ABS proper kicks in.

driving along a long curve, on the road there is either a metal casing/cover or a wet patch of line paint, if the other 3 wheels are on tarmac and 1 hits that patch as i am accelerating ( ) sometimes i feel a little loss of power to that portion of the car - its feels a little slower and i need to compensate my steering or put on more power to get the feeling right again for a proper line.
i had thought this was ABS kicking in (preventing the difference in traction for that particular wheel affecting the rest)

Given my understanding above, EBD works when the brake is applied, not on acceleration.

I'll see if I can find out a bit more about the workings of ABS and EBD.