I live in Italy. On last monday I drove my Corolla for 200 Kms on the highway into the fog. The Cruise control helped me so much because he has been able to detect a car in front of me some seconds before me.
Having just bought my RAV4 I was fascinated to try the radar cruise control and I am seriously impressed. It’s so natural in its operation, as you say no jerkiness, it simply flows with the traffic on the motorway/freeway, exactly as you would if you’re controlling the throttle yourself. I also tested the ability to bring the car to a halt by following another vehicle down the slip road and completely to a halt behind it at the slip road traffic signals. It brought me smoothly to a halt from 70mph behind the car in front and then when the lights changed and the car in front moved it moved away again perfectly smoothly…. Such an impressive system 👍 Looking forward to the rest of the series!
As a technician myself who dreams of being as knowledge as you one day, thank you so much for these videos. I work at an independent shop so I work on everything but definitely have a passion for the Toyota's. My first car was a 99 corolla, then I got into an 07 Yaris and now I have a beautiful 18 Camry XSE. I love these videos and learn so much from them. Keep it up man, cheers from Nova Scotia
My brother! Much respect for you! Independent shop mechanics have a lot of challenges with working on anything and everything! Gets hectic! Keep the right attitude and don’t let this industry turn you sour ( because it will if you let it) and separate yourself from the “sour” crowd and focus on bettering your knowledge everyday. We can never stop learning!
Lots of my friends disable these systems because they don't "like or trust them". Once you get used to them you'll probably never want a vehicle again without them. Not only do they make yours drive much safer but also much smoother and less fatigue, especially on long drives! Hope Toyota keeps tweaking the systems in next generation versions of it.
I drive an old 2008 Nissan Sentra without any cruise control, and occasionally my dad's 95 Avalon. Ever since I've rented a car with lane assist and radar cruise control, it's hard to go back
As a 2020 RAV4 Hybrid owner (formerly a 13yr owner of a Landcruiser) I find your channel fascinating, and I'm really looking forward to this new series on Toyota Safety Sense , which is a remarkable system. Great work!
I was driving at highway speed on a two-lane highway. As I rounded a right-hand dogleg in the highway a stopped car was waiting to turn left in a middle turn lane (mid-dogleg). The radar sensor decided there was a non-moving object directly in my path. So my 2019 Tacoma abruptly slammed on the brakes without me knowing anything was going to happen. Luckily no one was closely following. Lesson learned about right-hand turns and the sweep of the radar sensor. Nice video.
I'm happy I discovered your outstanding videos with Toyotas. I have a 2020 LE and have all the Safety Sense features and I employ all of them. However...you didn't mention the cruise control can be adjusted at 3 different levels of distance where the system will begin to slow your car down from vehicles ahead...long, medium, and short distances. I've learned so much about my car from your great videos. I'm truly amazed of the technology as I owned a 2005 LE before my 2020. My 2005 was a "Modern Marvel" of quality engineering and reliability...218,000 miles of "trouble-free miles."
My man. This is awesome. I had an 09 Prius for 11 years. I recently got a 2019 Prius with all these gadgets. I wish I had found you YEARS ago. Thanks SO MUCH for doing these. Very well done videos. Now... I'm gonna watch the NEXT one...... ♥
I was born in the 60s and I love the new safety equipment and would never consider turning off any safety equipment on my Toyota but with another brand I had to it intervened to hard and was too invasive. The Toyota system is smooth does it in a casual way
I love your channel and message. Just what I needed. Despite being a fan of manual trans, crank windows and low-tech, I've been an advocate for AEB & ACC since their inception (Distronic on MBenz) These driver aids are best used as a "safety net". Drive the car safely as you always have for decades, but know there is a vigilant sentry ready to alert you or act for you.
Great video as always. Radar cruise control is one of my favorite parts of my new corolla. However, like you mentioned, I just can't bring myself to trust it fully. If I can tell traffic is stopping ahead of me, I will always disengage and handle the braking. But it is very nice when just cruising down the highway!
AMD another great video buddy. My 16 Tacoma had it, my 18 Tacoma of course and my 19 Tundra. When I picked up the 19 Prius and now the 20 Camry Hybrid of course also have it but they both took it one step further with the with the LDA and LSA (Lane Departure Alert with the lane steering assist). Needless to say the system as a whole saved my butt once or twice. Now of course 2021 Camry first one to get the TSS 2.5 which has better pedestrian and bicycle detection and the biggie is the lane keeping assist which keeps the vehicle centered in the lane (but does have my least favorite feature of any new car which is the floating media centre screen). Apologies if I sounded like a nerd.
Watching a few videos, I'm now a subscriber. I currently live in a country where I do not read or speak the language of the country (fluently). When I go to the local Toyota dealer, the chance of getting an explanation for features is doubtful at best. So thanks for your videos, I am learning a lot of basic stuff I didn't know.
I love your channel! I should be getting my 2021 rav4 in about 1 week and i want to know as much as possible before i get behind the wheel. I live in Wisconsin and it is nice to know to keep the snow and other objects clear of the sensor. Thank-you for all of your hard work in helping people understand how to take care of these complicated and sophisticated vehicles. 😁
Thank you for this very informative video, I learned a lot - as I always do when I watch your clips. You manage to make all those complex systems so easy to understand for us laymen!
I have a 2018 Prius 4 and it has the Toyota safety sense system on it. Snow and ice can cause it to not work well. Heavy...I mean HEAVY rain also can block its abilities. I have it set up with the Coma AI self driving system and it works fantastic.....not only does it do the speed sensing, it also steers the car...and it does it really well. I have had this system for about a year and they do updates every once in a while...it is a level 2 system which means you have to keep your eyes on the road and be ready to take control if necessary. It is fantastic for long highway drives. I drove from Ohio to Florida with the Coma system and steered only a few times...all the rest of the time the car drove itself. It also is great for heavy traffic. I use it about 98% of the time and it makes driving really easy. It is amazing how much effort it takes to keep attention on the road to steer a car. It will tire you out. With the Toyota safety sense and the Coma AI, my trip to Florida was not tiring at all. I drove straight through with just a quick stop and rest for a few hours.
@@stephentrinh640 Yes they do. comma.ai/ and they have a search for what cars they can be put on. There are videos on RU-vid on how to set it up...it is very easy to do. It took me about 20 minutes to install it.
Thanks for explaining it to us. It is indeed complicated just like Benz, Audi, or BMW but we know it last long and not as expensive as luxury cars. The amazing thing about it, It is a STANDARD for all Toyota, compared to other brands that discriminate against the poor people by stripping this feature on the lower trim or cheaper cars.
Another great video, I didn’t know that you could use cruise control without radar. I’ve used this in city traffic and the only problem I see with it is that it doesn’t activate the stop lights. People behind you don’t know that you are stopping.
The use of radar looks like a good improvement. My T Yaris (built in 2017 at Toyota Europe, Valenciennes) doesn’t use radar; instead it has laser sensors and a camera mounted on the windshield, behind the rear view mirror. It’s a 1M laser to IEC 60825-1. It’s used for the pre-crash safety system and other features, but it does not have adaptive cruise control, so speed adjustment is all manual. No doubt the processing speed of modern electronics is what makes it possible now.
Thank you I'm enjoying for your series I'm radar technician What you explained sure 100% true But I think each care radar frequency different if same the cars closed the system will effected Plastic glasses can the radar power passed but it's better no opstical front of the annterna Sorry about my language I'm Arabic from 🇯🇴 Jordan Thanks again you have good knowledge and experience
Just want to share…i was backing up in a hectic walmart parking lot…lady came out from blindspot while using her cellphone…my 2022 xle sienna automatically brake to avoid hitting the lady…happy to have this feature…
Your story takes me all the way to 1976, when I was rounding a corner (at high speed, natch) in Texas, and there was a whole herd in the middle of the road. I had a very nasty collision with at least two head of cattle. How I wish I'd had this radar way back then. Let it be a lesson to all riders at night --- GO SLOW!!!
I had a 2017 RAV4 and currently a 2019 RAV4 . The radar system in 2019 is much more better. In 2017, it doesn’t start slowing down until it reached much closer distance toward the slower traffic ahead and brake hard until closer. It’s pretty scary sometimes. The 2019 does much better job in flowing with the traffic.
One benefit of being able to switch to the non laser version is if something goes wrong with the sensors in the system. Driving truck we have Freightliners and Kenworths that often have problems with one of the sensors. When that happens you no longer have any cruise control. This can be very annoying when you're driving 11 hours a day.
Have you test drived a "Comma 2" Driver's Assistance System on 2018 or later Toyota? It's a $999 Smartphone system that connects to the OBD-2 connector. Very surprising at it's freeway capabilities. The "TSS" package is probably linked to the Comma 2 with software upgrades making it more aware. Looking forward to a 2021 Sienna Hybrid Drive train series like your Prius one. Your explanation of the systems was top notch and gives great credibility to Toyota's design, engineering and manufacturing of their Hybrids. I see the Sienna Drive train as a bigger Prius Drive train, thus very reliable. It would be an excellent delivery vehicle for an Amazon contract. Too bad Toyota can't/doesn't ship their HiAce Van to the states. A Toyota commercial Hybrid van would sell well. A mini van with 35 MPG and 18 gallon tank for 600 mile range is incredible
13:10 You nailed it. Crossing just a specific set of railroad tracks near where I live, (open road straight section) my car almost always flashes BRAKE and, well, brakes. No other RR tracks are a problem - just that one spot. Odd.
When a car is approaching me ,my car will dim lights, automatic light indicator will go out and just leave the car on low beam with no automatic headlights indicator. Then sometimes later it it will just come back on. Acts like a bad relay. Car is almost out of warranty. Dealerships think l am crazy, l will make a video to show them. I have a one dealer that will look at it next week. I really like this feature and love the car.l am looking forward to your Friday video and like you channel. Every thing else on my rav4 work well. Thank you for taking your time to respond to my comment. Between children, wife and me ,we have 7 Toyota but only 3 have automatic headlights.
I have a 2004 Sienna with working laser guided cruise control. I only use it moderate but steady traffic going between 45 to 70mph with the shortest following distance. That seems to keep it the most civilized and not constantly slamming on the brakes.
Should I turn off any of the safety sense features when I go thru a car wash. Will it harm the system with all of them going off. It is annoying but usually short lived. I love the different series you make, keep it up.
Adapting cruise control is great even at lower speeds for following distances. There was a recent incident where it predicted a situation before I could see it and as i tried to avoid a crash it reduced my acceleration and steered itself without my permission and completely avoided the crash altogether! It foresaw a vehicle in front of the rigg driver that was disabled, blocking the lane merging in front of the rigg driver pulling the trailer, not visable from my perspective and evaluated the best way to avoid collision with the back end of the trailer and predicted that the drver in front of me planned to change lanes before i could predict this, and took control of my attempt to accelerate passed the driver in front of me and steered me away from being hit by the back end of the trailer as the driver of the rigg in front of me changed lanes to avoid the now disabled vehicle from merginging into the rigg driver. My hybrid has both radar concealed behind the emblem window and a camera concealed behind my rearview mirror for steering assist & lane guidence. Something was detected in a different situation where i had to disable the adaptive cruise control since it was a piece in scrap metal the wind picked up.
i think the camera in front processing images of pedestrians or cars or debris like objects you were talking about when referring to the hub cap. So if it’s a person or car it might brake as hard as it can but if it’s debris like say a tumble weed or cardboard box it might not react the same or at all.
Hello, I watch your channel. I have a question. I am purchasing a 2021 Rav hybrid limited. It's on its way. I wanted to put a hitch on it but they tell me it is not possible because it has the foot recognition to open liftgate. Why hasn't Toyota done a workaround with this? Seems inconceivable to me.
I have 2020 Lexus ES. The system is great but with one limitation. When you are coming to a traffic light and there are cars stopping there it will take time to detect that these cars are stopping and you could end up in car accident. If the car in front of you is slowing down your car will slow down and come to complete stop with no issues. The problem will only rise when there is a car already stopped in front of you.
Can you do a segment. Where you go thru like autotrader or some car selling website. Go thru what to watch out for., potential lemons and stuff to that need changing on toyota / Lexus from personal experience
I learned something new, thank-you! We have a 2017 Toyota RAV4 (bought new March 2017) and it has this what is the large black box behind the rear view mirror? Jim PS....Thanks! Am impatiently waiting for the next video..........
Funny that I watched your video today - an odd coincidence. Let me begin by saying that I am old school. I didn't trust old fashioned cruise control for many years after it came out. Now, I've got a 2019 Tacoma that does it all. On two occasions this past Fall on perfectly clear days the pre-collision system warned me that the brakes were on the way to be applied. The road was perfectly clear in front of me with absolutely no obstruction. I never could figure out why it 'warned' me. A couple of weeks ago, after a dealer-done oil change I noticed by seeing the warning light on on the dash that the system had been disabled. Since the car had been in the shop and the maintenance 'period' was reset by the mechanic I thought that he'd inadvertently turned off the pre-collision system. So, I went back through the computer and enabled the system. Last week it became disabled and re-enabled a few times. In fact, I actually saw the warning light go off and then back on while I was driving. Not wanting to monkey with it myself, I took it to the dealer and they could find nothing wrong with it. (I scanned the system myself and found no codes being thrown.). The dealer also found no codes when they scanned it as well. It's got everyone puzzled.
The first time that it acted up the weather was sunny and perfectly clear. The next time there was intermittent snow. It didn't seem to be sticking though. I've never had it shut down in rain. By the way, thanks for the video. It was very interesting. Looking forward to the 2nd part.
@@TheCarCareNut Was there a general recall on the 2019's? I don't know if the sensor had been replaced. I bought the truck this past March with 9,000 miles on it. It was used.
Hi, A quick Q - I have a Toyota Hybrid Petrol. Some point during the COVID period. My car Parking Sensors DON’T make the Beeping Sound. ? This there anything I can do from home to fix this. I used WD40 to clean my Car Sensors... !!! Appreciate all the video you upload. Keep it up. 👍🏽🙏🏽 ???
I watched this video while Safety Sense 2.5 took me to work via a major interstate highway. I use mine daily for a 77 mile, mostly highway, commute each way. For a 2022 system, it’s okay and it sucks! As long as there are no bends/turns or construction, it’s a decent system. The system struggles when sunlight casts a shadow from highway barriers and it constantly wants you to nudge the wheel (I do this with my knee). I constantly have to adjust the set following distance based on changing traffic conditions otherwise it leaves too much space or not enough space in the front. This is still easier than manually driving the vehicle but it’s annoying. If there is construction, the system struggles when lanes shift as it loses track of the lane constantly. At night the system performs worse in all areas. This system is best for straight stretches of highway or in stop and go traffic. If you have curvy highways, like San Diego, it’s not good unless you are in stop and go traffic. The system has saved me or helped me avoid a few accidents and I always leave the emergency braking set to the most sensitive.
So... do they have special emblems thats what i was looking for in this video? Also I've owned my toyota for almost 2 years and never knew I had the option to use normal cruise control. So thanks for the info.
Thank you for your videos. It help us learn a lot. 👍👍 I bought a 2020 corolla hybrid to use it for uber. Is it ok to use the radar cruise control when the traffic is very heavy? Will it damage the computer by doing this?
It should be mentioned that if you have this system on your Toyota and want it to be accurate and work properly, don’t lift your suspension and/or put great big tires on your vehicle. If you do, you could have sensor alignment issues and it could affect reliability or quit working altogether. That said, Toyota does make a suspension lift kit as of February 2021 that includes a new grill that has a radar sensor that compensates for the lifted suspension. This lift kit is the only one that Toyota certifies as accurate and does not void the adaptive radar control warranty.
AMD - My son has an '18 Tundra 1794 4x4 that had a 2.4" leveling kit installed on the front suspension. No modifications were made to the rear suspension. He also changed the tires to 33" diameter (as opposed to the stock 32" diameter tires). He has not had any issues yet, but is it necessary to have the radar system re-calibrated by a dealer?
@Charles Bondy. I was told that if your front end lift has resulted in your “Toyota Safety Sense” system (adaptive radar cruise control, emergency stop for pedestrians, lane guidance) that the dealer can adjust to make it work again. If the lifted vehicle doesn’t have that system they advise to just make the headlight adjustment to keep from blinding people at night.
Yes, the dealer can’t adjust the radar sensor in the grill. I was thinking that Charles Bondy’s son had purchased the Toyota lift kit that includes another grill that has the sensor aimed to compensate for the front end lift. My bad.
I love my new 21 Tacoma with the radar cruise control. The only concern I have is … is it hard on the brakes? I almost think I would like the old style cruise control where you manually apply the brakes. What are your thoughts on this? Thanks Love your videos!!
older cruise control used to make me more nerves and since i should keep the eye on it all time but in me 2020 Camry is opposite when you are in the road with traffic its slow downs and speed up when needs it and if some body just cut you off brakes by himself and slow downs so its peace of mind opposite older cruise control system .
I have bought a 2021 4th gen yaris a week ago. It was written all speed acc in brochure but my car has only high speed acc. Above 30km/h it woks. Toyota accepted their mistake and edited the brochure but if I hadn’t misleaded I would buy higher spect car. I specifically bought the car for semi autonomous driving. Stop and go feature is highly important for me. I demanded from toyota to upgrade it to all speed. Is it technically possible ? Can they add all speed feature to my car if they want? Thanks a lot. Very very appreciate for your videos and your answer.
I own a 2019 RAV hybrid. The car has spray headlight cleaners. A pity that Toyota couldn't have put a 3rd spray directed at the sensor. Would help keeping it clean in snow and muck coming from heavy vehicles in front.
Hello my man! Thanks for the videos. Sooo.. i took my 12’ 4runner to the dealer for a tranny fluid change just a change. The dealer didn’t opened the check plug. Neither the fill plug. They did all by the drain plug. I bought an scangage to check the level myself(will arrive on a week or two) Did the dealer screew up? They do this always on trucks.
I'm not a big fan of the adaptive cruise control (CC) on my Tacoma. Even at the closest setting there is plenty of space for an impatient driver to come into the lane in front of you. This makes the truck slam on (okay maybe not slam, but aggressively apply) the brakes to maintain distance. Then if the car in front of you moves over and your desired speed is faster than you're going, the truck accelerates more aggressively than I would have otherwise. It just seems like a bit of a spaz sometimes. My personal assessment is that it's nice on single lane roads, but not my preferred type of cruising. It also can't really be used as intended with a manual transmission since shifting disengages CC. Of course other people's opinions will vary. It's a nice feature to have, especially because it can be turned off. However, I wish you could change the default to be regular cruise control and then you had to press and hold to turn on adaptive CC.
Would you buy the 21 Corolla xle or the 21 Camry le considering price and your knowledge of common issues that could result in higher maintenance costs. Thanks for all the great info! I really think toyotas are the best and hope the new cars last as they used to.
@@TheCarCareNut great thanks, I was also thinking about saving some money and getting the 2017 Camry, less technology may last longer and be cheaper repairs. Thx
I enjoy your videos!! I have a 2019 Tundra and when I mount my snowplow it kills the dynamic cruise control. It there any way to enable the non radar cruise control?
My car is a 2020 Corolla Cross HYBRID. Would it be more economical and better for the car battery if I drive in adaptive cruise control when I’m in the open road? Lesser fuel consumption?
Both radar and lidar have limitations and can be adversely affected by weather. Understanding what conditions degrades the system helps. Read your owners manual. It’s in there.
good evening i'm watching your show and it's very nice, i have a question to ask i have a new toyota and when the doors lock the right mirror does not close, do you know what it might be? the car is 2 months old
In my 2017 RAV4 heavy rain would make it unusable but my 2019 highlander seems to do better I was able to hear the 2017 when pulling up to slow traffic
I have to replace the radiator grille on my 2020 4Runner TRD Pro due to some very minor damage to the top of the grille (near the spacing between the hood and the grille). The body shop says that they will have to unplug the radar screen in order to replace the radiator grille. And that I will have to take the 4Runner to Toyota to have the radar recalibrated (which is quite expensive). Question: Since the radar screen is not being replaced with a new one (the original one will be unplugged and then replugged at the end of the job) do I really need to "recalibrate" the radar. Also there is no suspension lift on my vehicle...just the factory suspension and tires). Thanks.
This may be obvious to some but I was just wondering if the brake lights are actually applied when the system slows the vehicle to warn following vehicles. I assume that if the system just lets up on the throttle then the brake light are probably not applied.
Hi Mr Ahmed. Can I ask a question out of topic? I own a Toyota Corolla cross hybrid., I saw a video that the proper way to start a push button start type of vehicle, push the start push button twice first giving it ample time in between to let the panel lights settle down, then press brake snd finally for the push the start button. Please advise if this is a sound idea? Or I’ll do the usual brake pedal and push the start button? Thanks
Hi I have a brand new Toyota Highlander hybrid 2021 and every time I am riding the brakes and hit a bump it seems like the brakes let go do you have any suggestions on what could be causing this
Wow, I wish I would have known this. I was driving in a snow storm and it was wet and collecting on the front of the car. Barely anyone on the road. I tried to use and an error code was flashing on dash and wouldn't turn off until I removed snow.
Besides the system not being very good at handling escaping hub caps, it also is likely worse at dealing with guard rails,trees and signs in a curve. So much so that Toyota, as well as other manufactures even put it in the owners manual. Best to use good old fashion cruise control on curvy roads, otherwise it might be a good idea to take a change of clothes with you
I have a 2018 Camry Hybrid that the all speed cruise control is very jerky it stops too hard and accelerates too fast, could the problem be the calibration or being an early model?
I HAVE to make a decision tonight... Please help! I'm having my first baby next month and an SUV is too out of budget for us. Between the two options which car should I pick? I have two Camry's to pick from: 2012 Camry LE 99K KM, 4-Cyl. Brand new winter tires included on rims. Have to redo the brakes as well. (I live in Canada so winter tires is a must) $8500, all ready to go. VS 2011 Toyota Camry SE 136K KM, 4-Cyl. 75% Winter tire threads included. $9000, all ready safetied and ready to go. (The pick up of this engine is insane, previous owner did no mods but it's so fast and the steering is how I like it, firm and accurate.) WHAT DO I DO ! So hard man because the 2011 has leather seats and the driving experience is better. But resell value is going to be lower and higher KM. Mr Car Care Nut please help!
Hi! I would go with the 2012 Camry for longevity. The 2011 Camry even though it appears to have the same engine had some oil burning issues if not maintained right so be careful with that. Another option is to look for a 2012-2014 Camry SE which will actually drive nicer than the LE and the SE in the previous generation If the 2011 has a very good service history showing oil changes around 8000 kms then it’s ok otherwise I’d look at the LE or find an SE to satisfy both better improved version and your liking of the way it drives
@@TheCarCareNut The 2011 doesn't have any service history records. Based off words from the owner that's it. There's also another option... 2015 Toyota Camry SE 4-Cylinder for $10,000. But it has some rusting issues on the right side door from a very minor scrape that was left unattended. I can't post pictures here so I don't know how to show the rust. Also the front timing leak has what I can describe as "black dust".... Just like your buying guide said. It's not under warranty anymore... Does the 2015 Camry sound like a good idea ? There's also a code that my OBD2 reader picked up... C1249. You honestly don't even have to reply but you are... and for that I am so grateful sir!
The 2015 is actually even better in the long run. The rust on the door can be fixed or even the whole door replaced with a used door of a matching color car. I am a bit worried about the 2011 without service history. The 2015 is likely the best out of them all. The black dusting on the front cover is the very early beginnings of the leak. Even with the leak I’d go for it. Clean the black dusting with some brake cleaner and see how it progresses. It could be a long time before it actually develops a leak.
@@TheCarCareNut Should I be concerned with the code? If I were to fix the front timing leak, is it a serious issue with a huge bill? The 2015 has 146k KMs. Which is fairly low. If I leave it without fixing the leak and do my oil changes diligently, it wouldn't be so bad?
I’m not concerned about the code. Worse case scenario is a brake switch which is an inexpensive part and easy to replace. And the leak even if it gets bad will make a mess but won’t cause a significant loss of oil.
I am looking for a newer car to replace my 2007 Yaris (4D sedan). My problem is that mine only has 141K miles on it, all the important stuff is replaced (i.e., water pump) and I still get 30mpg. I'm interested in newer safety features like RCTA and RCD. I can't seem to find what year of vehicle I'd have to buy to get those features. Any suggestions?
Can paint protection film be applied over the front toyota badge with the sensor built in? Having front bumper PPF put on car and was wondering if this also can be done.
Good question. I personally haven’t tried it but I wouldn’t over the emblem as it could affect the sensor. You could try it and see if it affects it. If it does it can be taken off
Hello AMD. I have question. For 2016 Lexus RX350 AWD can I use non-Toyota gear oil since it is non-synthetic and very overpriced. Can I use Valvoline full synthetic 75W-90 (API GL-5) instead of Toyota 75W-85 NoN-synthetic gear oil? Vehicle has 30K miles rite now. Thanks in advance
I've always wondered why newer cars have flat emblems! To be honest, I hate them! Always seemed like a strange place to cheap out on manufacturering, but now it makes sense.