Raybestos Sgd1321m Brake Pad Or Shoe, Front-service Grade Brake Pad 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.

AW survey: Honda Element won't be missed

Is Honda making a mistake by killing the Element SUV after the 2011 model year? AutoWeek readers think not. Our poll shows that 56 percent of voters indicated a readiness to wave good-bye to the “toaster on wheels.” On the other hand, 32 percent found the Element was supremely useful and cool, and 12 percent signaled they didn't know how to transport their dogs anymore in its absence (remember the “dog-friendly” Element?).

Focus BEV in Jay Leno’s SIARPC – the Green Car Challenge

Jay Leno's first Green Car Challenge with a Focus BEV and Drew Barrymore Jay’s started a new TV show on NBC in the States. And he’s put together a version of SIARPC (last time – Star In A Reasonably Priced Car) using a specially created Focus BEV. Not the Focus BEV we saw at Frankfurt last week, but one put together by Ford US  based on a German Focus ST.