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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.

Nissan launches new Note with digital flipbook

Nissan has developed an inventive way of advertising its new Note hatchback on its Japanese website – using a digital flipbook called ‘Long scroll, Long Drive, Long Life'. The start of the flipbook sees a couple getting into the Note and as you scroll down, the car begins to weave through Tokyo roads, while information at the side of the screen tells you in detail about the car's features and performance. Get your finger ready to scroll and check out the full experience here.

Kamui Kobayashi canes the Caterham 620 R

After spending a year in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi has returned to Formula One, nabbing a seat with Caterham. And while Sebastian Vettel is stuck hawking SUVs for Infiniti, part of Kobayashi's duties include flogging the manufacturer's latest evolution of Colin Chapman's bare-bodkin brainchild, the Seven 620R at Silverstone. We anxiously await the inevitable follow-up video where Kobayashi takes the legally-a-keicar Seven 160 for a blat in Tokyo traffic.