Moose - Rear Rack Polaris - 1512-0130 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.

BMW Alpina B7 gets power boost for 2013

The 2013 BMW Alpina B7, the performance version of the German automaker's 7-series sedan, gets an additional 40 hp--and a more costly sticker price--for the new model year. BMW plans to roll out the 2013 model at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August and begin sales soon thereafter. Under the hood, power from the 4.4-liter V8 has been increased from 500 to 540 hp with the addition of BMW's throttle-less Valvetronic intake system.

Is Carbon Motors calling it quits?

For years, Carbon Motors Corp. has been teasing us -- and the nation's law-enforcement agencies -- with renderings and photos of its purpose-built E7 police cruiser. Drivers may not have to worry about seeing the E7's aggressive lines in their rearview mirrors any longer.