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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.

BMW M6 Gran Coupe: Offical

After an early leak of photos, the new BMW M6 Gran Coupe – complete with 4.4 litre bi-turbo V8 and 553bhp – arrives ahead of a Detroit Auto Show debut. Just as expected, the M6 Gran Coupe comes with BMW’s 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8, delivering 553bhp to the baqck wheels and driving the M6 to 62mph in 4.2 seconds. And, if our previous experience of the 6 Series Gran Coupe is anything to go by, providing sublime handling and dynamics in the process.

VW Golf GTI Excessive (2010): the maximum GTI

By Tim Pollard First Official Pictures 16 May 2010 07:07 The Volkswagen Group has fallen in love with the Austrian hot hatchfest that is Wörthersee. Barely a year goes by when an outrageous Audi or VW isn't being wheeled out to Europe's GTi fans – and 2010 is no different. The new VW Golf GTI Excessive is not as extreme as its name suggests, but rather it's a gently tweaked-up version of one of the most rounded hot hatches on sale today.