Cadillac to be 1st in N.A. To Offer Siemens Keyless Start/Entry System
7 March 2000
No More Fumbling for Car KeysDETROIT - Siemens' PAssive Start/Entry (PASE) system, which in the past year has received tremendous consumer acceptance in Europe, will soon bare the Cadillac crest as the first keyless system to be offered in North America on the luxury car maker's vehicles. Beginning in calendar year 2002, Siemens will launch production of the passive entry and ignition system for designated Cadillac vehicles. The Cadillac system differs from the comparable European Smart Card approach to passive entry/ignition in that it features a key fob that operates in two modes: an active remote keyless entry (RKE) mode that allows the driver to control vehicle locking, trunk release and remote engine start; or a totally passive mode that requires only that the driver carry the fob on their person as they approach and enter the vehicle. Before the engine is permitted to start, the system verifies also that the fob is inside the vehicle and the brake pedal is fully depressed. Cadillac's fob will provide an array of convenience and security functions from access control to deactivating the engine immobilization system and enabling the engine ignition. Fumbling for car keys will be a thing of the past. The driver simply carries the PASE fob in a pocket, purse or briefcase. Once the driver is within approximately a one-meter radius of the vehicle, and with a touch of the door handle, the system "wakes up" and initializes an invisible dialogue. The ensuing encrypted data exchange, which can not be scanned or copied by sophisticated theft devices, takes place in a matter of milliseconds. If the control unit recognizes the PASE fob, the data is decoded, and the doors are unlocked. Once seated in the vehicle with the fob/card, and with the brake depressed, the engine is started with the push of a button located on the instrument panel. The world's first keyless entry and ignition technology, called Keyless Go(TM), was introduced on 1999 Mercedes-Benz S-class models in Germany. Keyless Go was jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and Siemens Automotive to perform access control and immobilizer functions. Customer demand for the technology far exceeded original expectations according to Mercedes-Benz. Exiting the car is just as convenient as entering it. Pressing the start/stop button switches the engine off and locks the gear selector lever in the park position. The doors are locked by briefly touching a button on the interior trim panel, or a button on the exterior door handle. The system alerts the driver to any problems, for example, if the system fob has been left in the car. Siemens Automotive has expanded its production capacity at its Regensburg, Germany, Toulouse, France, and Guadalajara, Mexico, electronics plants to support several new vehicle platforms that also will have committed to implement this technology in the near future.