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Unique pre-war Lagonda saloon headed for auction

AN ULTRA-RARE V12-engined Lagonda Hooper two-door saloon from 1939 is set to headline an auction of amazing old cars. The Lagonda V12 Hooper is technically unique in history, having been built specifically for the wife of the owner of Hooper Bodies Ltd., the most noted coachbuilder of the pre-war era. Now, 75 years after it was built, it needs a complete restoration but still looks set to receive bids topping at least £75,000.

NSU Ro80 to cross the block at Auctions America

There seems to be no shortage of rarities in the 450-car John Scotti Collection that's currently rolling across the block in Auburn, Ind., at the Auctions America sale. While the lion's share of the collection consists of American muscle, there are definitely a few cars in the sale that will make classic-car aficionados do a double take. One of those is the NSU Ro80.

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.