Mazda Titan 2001 Left Side Step [9313800] 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.

Barry Meguiar released from hospital, spent 8 days in a coma

Car enthusiast Barry Meguiar has been released from the hospital in Monterey, Calif., after 17 days of treatment for a rare form of viral pneumonia. Meguiar, 67, left the hospital on Aug. 30, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

Get your kicks with Mini-branded sneakers

No room for a Mini Cooper in your garage? Maybe you can find room for Mini Cooper-branded shoes in your closet. Starting in September, the Mini Lifestyle Collection will be selling the sneakers at its online shop and at select Mini dealerships.