Recent trends in handling, stability and braking performance of Japanese passenger cars.

THIS PAPER REVIEWS THE RECENT TRENDS IN HANDLING, STABILITY AND BRAKING PERFORMANCE OF JAPANESE PASSENGER CARS SOLD ON THE MARKET IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, BASED ON THE RUNNING TESTS CONDUCTED ON ABOUT NINETY MODELS. STEADY STATE CORNERING, PULSE AND STEP STEERING, FREQUENCY RESPONSE, BRAKING EFFECTIVENESS, ETC WERE TESTED. IT IS SHOWN THAT MODELS WITH SLIGHTER UNDERSTEER, AND SMALLER STEERING EFFORT HAVE BEEN INCREASING IN NUMBER DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS. THEIR ROLL ANGLE AND BRAKE PEDAL FORCE ARE ALSO GETTING SMALLER.(A) FOR THE COVERING ABSTRACT OF THE CONFERENCE SEE IRRD 802816.