As it is becoming more and more difficult to see out the back of many vehicles these days, we're seeing more and more rear view cameras in cars. Magna is the latest to jump on the bandwagon with its Total BlindZoneManagement (TBZM) suite of products, which were introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
As someone who occasionally hooks up a trailer, I can certainly see the advantage of the unit pictured above.
Full story here ...
ateixeira says:
09:31 AM, 02/27/07
Another great idea from the aftermarket.
OE backup cams are nice, but you usually have to get GPS NAV and the two together can cost you several thousand dollars over a base model.
Given the whole industry's trend towards smaller greenhouses, the timing is perfect.
estreka says:
09:41 AM, 02/27/07
The camera is perfect for that very purpose. Otherwise, I'm wary of people looking at a video screen instead of physically looking back. Cameras have blind spots too.
jerrywimer says:
05:59 AM, 02/28/07
Good point ateixeira. Kinda negates some of my argument in the article about the new proposed laws since it clears up what you meant when you talked about cost in that post. *This* is the type of backup camera system I could easily see being implemented for all cars if that law passes. Estreka- most backup cameras are extremely wide angle affairs that have a field of view extending well past the corners of the bumper, and from the bumper back several yards. That covers most (in the case of my Avalanche, pretty much ALL) of the area that the vehicle will soon occupy as it's being backed up. They don't usually get suspended objects very well though (not that I can think of too many situations where something's hung above ~3-1/2' from the ground in the area where a vehicle might back up). Those would normally be visible in the mirror itself.
But still, looking back is a very *good* thing, not least of all for proper navigation. Fish-eye lenses are great for seeing what's in the area you're headed for, but pretty disorienting if you try to use the image to actually navigate a course. I use my camera to see when I need to stop, to identify obstructions, to tell if I'm centered in a parking space (can see the white lines on either side of my bumper's corners and judge whether one's closer of further from the corner than the other), and to line up trailer hitches on the first try. But for pure backing up (as in into my garage), looking back using my mirrors and through the back window is still the best bet for getting it right the first try.
Basically the camera provides additional safety for whatever might be hidden by my blind spots and fine-tuning my position when backing up. But the course navigation is still done best the old-fashioned way- using the mirrors and looking out the rear window.