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Vauxhall launches speed limit detectors on Insignia (2008)

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 19 June 2008 07:53 Vauxhall's new Insignia will be the first of a wave of cars to have a forward-facing camera that can read road signs. The optional kit will detect speed limit and no overtaking signs – and flash up a reminder to the driver on the dashboard.GM calls the tech, which will be launched in early 2009, Traffic Sign Recognition and it uses a small, wide-angled camera system supplied by Hella. It sits at the top of the windscreen near the rain sensors and rear-view mirror, scanning the road ahead taking 30 photos per second.It's 1984 all over again...With a range of 100 metres, the camera focuses on circular patterns and then interprets the numbers inside by contour comparison; if a match is found on the software's database, that road sign will be flashed up in the driver's binnacle.The front-facing camera is also used as a lane departure warning system, alerting the driver if they unintentionally swerve out of their lane on a motorway.Cars with cameras: a growing trendMore and more manufacturers are fitting cameras to their cars nowadays and you can expect a flood of systems like the Insignia's to be launched in 2009, including the new BMW 5-series.CAR tried out these new systems on Bosch prototypes in 2007.

Now the Germans say no to Volvo

As we’ve reported in the last few weeks, Ford has been trying its best to offload Volvo, the last of its ‘Prestige’ Euro marques. The Chinese looked to be the best bet, but it seems that that is going nowhere at the moment (the Chinese are probably waiting for Ford to get in to an even deeper mess with the hope of picking up Volvo for peanuts) and now its seems that Ford’s fire-sale has drawn more blanks. Now the Germans turn down the chance to own Volvo Der Spiegel reports that Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) boss Dieter Zetsche has revealed that Daimler has turned down the chance to buy Volvo, and has also revealed that BMW has had a good look, and reached the same decision.

Ford Everest concept

Ford has unveiled its new Everest SUV concept at a Go Further event in Sydney, Australia. It's set to challenge other cars such as Holden's Colorado 7 and the Mitsubishi Challenger. Created by Ford's Australian design and production development team, the concept – a seven-seat version of the Ranger ute (pickup) – previews an SUV that's likely to be on sale within the next two years.