In an effort to make safety engineering seem like an even cooler profession, Toyota has developed a full-sized automotive simulator. In order to simulate real-life driving conditions, Toyota stuffed a Lexus IS into the middle of a gigantic tilting dome on a 120-ft rail. If you slam on the breaks the dome tilts forward. If you turn, the car leans in the appropriate direction. The company claims they can use the new machine to test new features without endangering others, et cetera. But there's actually an even better use.
According to an article in the IHT, the simulator "will also be handy for analyzing how drowsiness and intoxication affect driving" That's right, Toyota has built a $10 million drunk-driving simulator. Where do we sign up for testing? [IHT and Tech.co.uk]