Lead Foot, Meet the ECO Pedal

Are you tired of your lead foot thwarting your best intentions to save gas? Then Nissan's new ECO pedal may be right for you. The car company will be installing the new pedal in Japanese models next year.

Irresistible force meets immovable object. 

Here's how it works: When the ECO pedal senses that you're accelerating too quickly, it will actually push back, applying pressure to your foot. The pedal can be switched on and off by the driver. While it is on, it could save 5 to 10% in fuel usage. 

Is it safe?

I'm all for improving those mpg's, but I don't know how I feel about the ECO pedal. At best I think it would feel a bit strange to have the gas pedal push back at me; at worst, I think this could be a real safety hazard (imagine needing to accelerate past an approaching car, and your car refusing). I will be very interested to see what people think of this device if and when it is brought to market.