News in Brief
Manufacturers' round up
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Various stories...
THE all-new Vauxhall Insignia (pictured) has been voted the 2009 Car of the Year and becomes the first mid-class vehicle in the world to be available with an adaptive headlamp system that adjusts to prevailing traffic conditions with nine different lighting functions: town light, pedestrian area light, country light, motorway light, adverse weather light, static cornering light, dynamic bend lighting and high beam, as well as a camera-based assistance function for automatic high beam switching. The model is also equipped with a front camera system, which reads and memorises traffic signs and warns drivers when they unintentionally veer out of their lane (RoadSafe: summer 2008).
RENAULT’S new Megane hatch has arrived in showrooms and it heralds the launch of electronic stability control as standard across the lower medium sector model range mated to ‘anti-skid regulation’ and ‘CSV understeer control’. Further Megane model variants will be introduced in 2009.
THE new Mercedes-Benz E-Class to be launched in spring 2009 and the revised 2009 S-Class will be the first to feature ‘attention assist’ - a new technology developed to detect when drivers start to become drowsy and prompt them to take a break before they crash. Scientific studies conclude that around 25% of all serious motorway accidents are down to driver drowsiness, meaning that drowsiness causes more road accidents than drunk-driving.
A REVISED Mazda6 goes on sale in January and safety on models from trim level TS2 upwards is boosted with the standard fitment of the manufacturer’s ‘rear vehicle monitoring system’. Mazda says it is one of the first carmakers in the world to offer the feature as standard. It detects and warns drivers of an approaching vehicle before they have a chance to move across into a busy lane.
THE all-new BMW 7 Series, which has just gone on sale, marks the world debut of the standard fitment of ‘speed limit display’. Using a camera mounted behind the rear view mirror, the system cross-references the GPS navigation information and the real-world information to constantly monitor the legal speed limit, and relays this information to the driver. The system also takes account of temporary speed limits. Meanwhile, the latest development on BMW’s ‘night vision’ technology sees the introduction of ‘pedestrian recognition’ at a distance of up to 300 metres.
TOYOTA’S new citycar, the iQ, which goes on sale in the UK in January, will feature a world first with the debut of a rear window airbag, giving extra head protection to back seat passengers in a rear-end impact.
ELECTRONIC stability control will be a standard feature on the Peugeot 308 CC, which goes on sale next April and replaces the 307 CC. However, that is not the only major safety development on the model, which also features a world first in the form of a head air bag for front passengers deployed from the head restraint.
FORD’S compact crossover Kuga (pictured) is the first ‘blue oval’ car to feature a miniature rear-view camera system, which reduces blind spots behind the car. The tailgate-mounted camera shows objects that would otherwise be hidden on a seven-inch colour display. Meanwhile, the all-new Ford Fiesta has gone on sale and is the first small Ford to feature a knee airbag.