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Comment by clan | Hacker News Reader

Some will stop the engine while idling and the brake pedal is pressed. When it is released it will start the engine again. This is to avoid idle consumption and emissions at intersections, open bridges etc. (The stop/start is performed without you turning the key for ignition).

Or the OP simply meant he didn't like the button with the label "start/stop" present on many "keyless" systems (wireless keys) :-)

I put my money on the first. If you're not used to it - it can be quite unnerving when the engine suddenly stops at an intersection.

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> it can be quite unnerving when the engine suddenly stops at an intersection.

Even more unnerving when it doesn't start right away, and you're already pushing the gas when it does, causing the car to lurch forward unexpectedly fast. All you can do is hope the person in front of you doesn't stop quickly, before you can get your foot back over to the brake.

I rented a Ford Ecosport for a road trip earlier this year and made good use of the unlimited miles package ;) It had the idle shutoff feature, which I didn't realize at first but figured out after a stoplight or two. Through a few weeks of city driving and highway driving, I never once felt it lurch. It was always absolutely responsive. Maybe they've gotten better? It worked great, and it was really nice to know I wasn't burning through gas idling at any stoplight or stop-and-go traffic on the highway.

This is a feature every car should have, and one that'd make much more sense to mandate over rear-view cameras.

No. Rear-view cameras are safety. They're simply a switch. IF in R turn on CAMERA. If move to D, turn off Camera. If MT, IF in R, Camera, if not no Camera.

Gas mileage is simply an op-ex of a car, and does not make more "sense" over a rear view camera, because increased c pillars decrease overall glass and visibility.

I rather pay a few bucks more in gas then have a featureset unused in my car or have to go through disabling it every time I operate it.

Rear view cameras are a major safety innovation for pickups and SUVs. There's simply no way to see if a child is standing in back of your rear bumper without one.

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