Call them the do-what-I-mean, not-what-I-say vehicles. The latest generation of luxury sports sedans continues to get smarter about adapting to your driving style, almost telepathically.
This is certainly true with the forthcoming Mercedes Benz AMG C63, which features a sport mode in its traction control that lets you step the rear end out of a turn, but prevents the car from spinning. You wouldn't believe the technology actually works until you get it on the track. For drivers whose skills are not on a par with Lewis Hamilton's, it can save your life as well as your lap times.
That car also features an adaptive transmission, which makes for easier, gentler shifts based on how aggressively you're driving it. Anyone who has driven a Ferrari or a Lamborghini knows that the lightning fast shifts when you're cruising from stoplight to stoplight are like getting a kick in the pants.
Now comes the 2009 Audi A4. Read after the jump.
Next year's Audi A4 will feature a technology called Audi drive select, which integrates the engine and transmission mapping with steering and suspension controls. There are three modes you can select: comfort, automatic and dynamic. You can also set these components individually if you like so that, for example, you have a firm ride with very direct steering.
One of the most innovative technologies in this arrangement is adaptive steering, which varies the car's steering ratio in response to both the vehicle speed and the drive mode you've chosen. Transitions are continuous and imperceptible. When you're parking or driving in a very tight autocross course, you can cover the entire steering range in just two turns of the wheel. Power assist is at its maximum. At higher speeds, the power assist is reduced, and so is the direct ratio of steering so that little turns of the wheel don't jerk you out of your lane.
Shocks are electronically governed. A computer continuously analyzes the signals from 14 sensors, and it calculates the current for the shock absorbers at each individual wheel 1000 times per second.
The car goes on sale in September, but prices haven't yet been set.
