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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.

The complete idiot's guide to drag racing

First, get yourself a car. A 550-hp dragster will do nicely. Sure, you could run what you brung, but a Miata's stock 1.8-liter would look mighty silly making a pass, and we don't have all day anyway.

Schreyer: More than a designer of products I wish to be an architect of Hyundai's brand image

There's no denying Peter Schreyer has been instrumental in turning around Kia's image from a manufacturer of wheeled white goods in a creator of design-led products. Now his attention turns to sister company Hyundai in his role as chief design officer for both companies and his plans are no less ambitious. "More than a designer of products I wish to be an architect of Hyundai's brand image," he told an audience at Hyundai's European headquarters, explaining how his job is not simply 'styling' but communicating the brand's message right down to details such as the seatbelt warning buzzer.