Gates 38138 Belt Tensioner Assembly on 2040-parts.com

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.

Fisker has potential buyers in line

VL Automotive and Chinese Investment Group Wanxiang are looking to buy troubled automotive manufacturer Fisker. Maker of the curvaceous Karma, Fisker has been cash-strapped for some time now due to what company insiders called an overly optimistic business plan that anticipated rapid sales growth. Tesla's success in the luxury/upscale electric vehicle industry hasn't helped Fisker's cause either.

Video previews Mercedes-Benz GLA crossover ahead of Frankfurt motor show

Mercedes-Benz We last saw the GLA at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show. Mercedes-Benz has released a short video and sketches previewing the all new GLA before its Frankfurt motor show debut in just a few weeks. With BMW's X1 and Range Rover's Evoque breathing down Mercedes-Benz's neck, we knew it was only a matter of time before Mercedes-Benz rolled out a compact crossover of its own.