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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.

Chrysler, VW, Kia and Toyota set March sales pace

U.S. light-vehicle sales--aided by Chrysler Group, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai-Kia and Toyota Motor Corp.--rose 13 percent in March to 1.4 million units, with demand for smaller, fuel-efficient models, redesigned vehicles and pickups driving the gains. Even with gasoline prices exceeding $4 a gallon in many parts of the country, the seasonally adjusted sales rate for March hit 14.4 million units.

Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid – by Williams F1 +video

Porsche has developed the 911 GT3 R Hybrid with Williams F1 KERS Technology Read the headline carefully before you judge. This isn’t a Porsche 911 for the road, but a track 911 – the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid. And yes, you read that right.