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.

New Ferrari F12 variant leaked in patent drawings

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta took its first public bow at the Geneva auto show in February of 2012. Just 20 months later, Car News China has found some leaked drawings of the new version from the Chinese patent office. (China has a patent office?-ED) They speculate it could be the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta GTO.

One Lap of the Web: Bad gas, bad dogs, and a badass Buick

-- A town in North Dakota has a curious problem: some deranged miscreant has been leaving radioactive waste inside an abandoned gas station; at least 200 bags worth. The gas station is owned by a fugitive who's currently on the run from police, making things even more Fargo-esque in its bizarreness. "It's a pretty big mess," said an official.