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CAR readers to quiz F1 star David Coulthard

By Tim Pollard Motoring Issues 13 May 2009 10:45 CAR Online has bagged an interview with former F1 driver turned pundit David Coulthard. And rather than hog his time with our own questions, we thought we’d hand this exclusive opportunity over to you. So here’s your chance to interview Coulthard, a fixture of British F1 hopes for 15 seasons.

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.

Interior Motives China Conference 2010: Day 2

Session 5: Color and Trim On the second day of the conference, Andreas Wlasak, Vice President of Industrial Design at Faurecia, opened proceedings by announcing that the company plans to open a design studio in Shanghai this year. "A design centre in Shanghai – a new place in China for 2010 – this is a commitment," he declared. Wlasak then asked what OEMs should look for in terms of visualizing the concept of ‘green' design inside the vehicle interior: "OEMs might look for 'visual' green – how can you make it visible that the vehicle is efficient and reducing CO2?" He believed real wood is one likely way of achieving this, as people want to feel natural surfaces, and he also envisaged translucent surfaces playing a key role in years to come.