Citation:
Don Harris; Jamie Chan-Pensley; Shona McGarry; The development of a
multidimensional scale to evaluate motor vehicle dynamic qualities. Ergonomics,
Volume 48, Issue 8 June 2005 , pages 964 - 982
Abstract:
Advances in motor vehicle engineering will allow greater refinement of the
dynamic qualities of passenger cars in the near future. This paper describes the
development and initial validation of a reliable and valid multidimensional
scale to assess these parameters based upon a technique previously developed to
evaluate aircraft handling qualities. The scaling methodology developed
emphasizes the interaction between the vehicle's dynamic behaviour and the
category of vehicle (e.g. sports car, executive saloon). This three-part study
describes the initial extraction and the subsequent verification of the scale
dimensions from an analysis of the opinions of circa 500 drivers, followed by an
evaluation of the sensitivity and diagnosticity of the scale to distinguish
between the road behaviour exhibited by vehicle types. The results suggest that
the scale shows both content and construct validity, being able to distinguish
both between broad categories of vehicle and different models of vehicle within
a particular category in a consistent and meaningful manner.