TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGY
46


A Darkening Cloud of Automotive Acroynms (ADCAA)  


Automotive expert Jeff Daniels spreads a few words of wisdom


“EBA puts the brakes on really hard and keeps them there if you hit the pedal in a real panic (yes, they have ways of deciding if you were in a real panic”
When you are choosing a new car you need to know how well it is equipped. However, there are now so many features and systems that to save themselves speaking time, the engineers have taken to referring to them simply by their initials, as acronyms. The trouble is, the people who sell the cars have decided this is a good technique, not so much to save time as to make them sound important and to blind the buying public with pseudo-science.

It all started many years ago, when enthusiasts who wanted to stress that they had bought a car with advanced engineering pointed to its IRS (Independent Rear Suspension) and its engine with DOHC (Double Overhead Camshafts). Then there were what are now some of the most familiar of today’s acronyms, SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) and MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle or “people mover.”). Probably the next great step forward was ABS, which many people think stands for Anti-lock Braking System, but which is actually a Bosch trademark meaning much the same in German (Anti Blockier System).

Where things really got out of hand was when exhaust emission become a major concern. The technical counters to these problems took the form of EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection), controlled, together with the ignition, by an EMU (Engine Management Unit - the classic black box), these days assisted by OBD (On-Board Diagnosis, a system that checks that everything is working properly). You may also have allelectric rather than mechanical connection between your accelerator pedal and the throttle, in which case your car has DBW (Drive-By-Wire).

At least these acronyms are mainly standardised across the industry. When engineers speaking different languages, primarily English, German and French, sought to impose their own (different) acronyms on the new systems as they emerged, more confusion arose. For example, systems to stop the driven wheels from spinning helplessly when accelerating on slippery surfaces are, to most English-speaking engineers, TCS (Traction Control Systems), where to the German speaker they are ASR (Anti-Slip Regierung) Then came the development of systems that do their best to keep the car on the driver's intended course when things get out of hand. Probably the most widely accepted, despite its obvious English-language alternative, is ESP (Electronic Stability Protection), but the alternatives include DSC Control (preferred by both BMW and Jaguar) and PSM (Porsch Stability Management), while the Japanese have suggested AYC (Automatic Yaw Control).

Then there are the new systems that see traffic ahead and ensure that your car maintains a constant safe following distance. In the experimental days, this principle was usually known as ACC (Automatic Cruise Control), but today most salespeople prefer the more impressive ICC (Intelligent Cruise Control).

What, however, of those acronyms which even I found nonplussing? As it turns out, EDL is an Electronic Differential Lock, while EBD is Electronic Brake Distribution, which ensures that the back wheels are fed as much of the braking effort as they can usefully use no more; there’s also EBA, Emergency Brake Assist, which puts the brakes on really hard and keeps them there if you hit the pedal in a real panic (yes, they have ways of deciding if you were in a real panic).

Believe me, with a thousand-word limit I have barely skimmed the surface of the pool of acronyms in which today’s automotive engineers cheerfully float. Just remember, though, if a car salesperson feeds you an acronym that makes no sense , just ask what it means. Not just what it stands for, what it means. No matter how high the technology, there is no excuse in taking it for granted.
 

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