Side view/rear view mirrors

[whichwatch]

Read this morning that the rear view mirrors on cars will soon become a thing of the past. Cameras that can detect another car as far away as 100 yards will replace them. I would guess the view will be on a screen on the dash of the car. Mitsubishi is already trying to implement this technology with other car makers quickly following in their steps. I was told by a traffic cop not long ago that the sign of a good driver is one who checks his mirrors often, even when there is no traffic around.

 

[Captain America]

They might try to replace a reflective mirror with a digital mirror but no mirror is getting into self driving car territory and we're really far away from that.

 

[powder smoke]

Rear view mirror cost in my estimate 40 bucks! Camera with a video screen in the
few hundred range. Gimme the mirror any day. Mirror is pretty much trouble free.
I never had one break down :D ps

 

[SR1911SHOOTER]

I would imagine that Auto Zone will still sell mirrors. Autos nowadays can also put out all kinds
of info on you.
Blackie


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5274809/How-car-SPYING-you.html

 

[wwb]

Anybody want to try backing up a trailer without side mirrors?

 

[eveled]

I guess you haven't seen the commercial were the guy backs up a boat trailer with a screen and a knob. It's already here.

I agree I still want my mirrors. But my wife wouldnt miss hers I doubt she's ever used them. Lol!

 

[bogus bill]

Whats really needed is for city's to use technology that I am certain could be developed. Stop lights with cameras and senser`s that control traffic. With a good system I suspect it could keep traffic flowing with very few stop light stops. It would save a lot of gas and shorten commutes tremendously.

 

[toysoldier]

Increased complexity=decreased reliability. Add in increased initial cost and higher maintenance costs, and I would prefer a low-tech option.

 

[toysoldier]

Whats really needed is for city's to use technology that I am certain could be developed. Stop lights with cameras and senser`s that control traffic. With a good system I suspect it could keep traffic flowing with very few stop light stops. It would a lot of gas and shorten commutes tremendously.

Our little town has converted most traffic lights to camera/computer controlled. Technology has advanced to the point that it is more economical than putting sensor coils in pavement. I take issue with some of the programming, but it is a decided improvement. That, and roundabouts.

 

[bogus bill]

I think it could be done. How about all the wasted time we sit at stop lights without another car in sight, but we obediently sit there like a goot German rather than chance getting a ticket.

 

[bogus bill]

I need to get out more. They already are doing it?

 

[Dan in MI]

Whats really needed is for city's to use technology that I am certain could be developed. Stop lights with cameras and senser`s that control traffic. With a good system I suspect it could keep traffic flowing with very few stop light stops. It would save a lot of gas and shorten commutes tremendously.

Done. It is very common in SE Mi, not everywhere but it's getting close. There are camera's at each intersection, monitoring every lane. The traffic the lights are timed accordingly. If the lead car in the left turn lane sits a little too far back the camera doesn't pick it up and there is no left turn light for that cycle.

 

[Conservative]

Mirrors are here to stay even if they have to be custom made.

 

[WAYNO]

I've got of course, mirrors on my truck, and I use them 100% of the time, constantly. I've also got a really nice back up camera with a big screen built into my truck. It is a novelty, and sort of an extra view, but I seldom use it, other than an extra set of eyes when backing out of tight spots in a parking lot. As nice as the picture is, it's still just two-dimensional, and there's no feel for distance or depth of field. I thought it might help with backing my hitch under a trailer coupler, but again having no sense for distance it is not usable for this purpose.

 

[slowhand]

I'm glad my Ram dually has the mirror.It also has the back up camera.I put a camera in the back window of our 42' 5th wheel too.I put the monitor for the 5er camera on my rear view mirror.I was always looking at it and all I would see was the nose of the camper.Now I can see behind the camper and see the idiots that get so close all ican see out the side mirrors is a shadow.I put a sign on the ladder that say"smile,your on camera"I've seen the people wave at me too.Usually with the finger wave.LOL

 

[mohavesam]

love those cameras in a snowstorm or pelting rain... or a blown fuse.

 

[Bull Barrel]

Technology for the sake of technology.
One does it they all do it. You gotta have this whiz bang gizmo...how did we ever get along without it?

 

[K1500]

I need to get out more. They already are doing it?

Only since the 1950's.

 

[427mach1]

Another benefit of eliminating side-view mirrors is an decrease in drag, which would result in better fuel economy. You would be surprised how much drag some of the mirrors add. Mirrors are also a major contributor to wind noise that propagates into the passenger compartment, so eliminating the mirrors would also result in a slightly quieter ride. The automakers spend a lot of time and money performing wind noise testing in the wind tunnel.

 

[vito]

I have back up cameras in both of my cars, and I find them really, really helpful in many circumstances. Backing up to hitch to my small camping trailer is one where the camera allows me to line up perfectly with little effort. And backing out in a parking lot, where you can't see if anyone is coming down the lane as you start to back up the wide angle lens of the back up camera lets you see what your eyes cannot yet see by themselves. I wish there were a way to turn on the "back up" camera even when in Drive, for those times when I have enough stuff in the back of the vehicle to block vision via my rear view mirror. But I don't think I would want a camera to totally replace the simple rear view mirror. The savings in not providing the mirror is minimal and even if it were just for the rare case when the camera lens is really dirty, or the system breaks down, it would be worthwhile to retain the mirror.

As to improving mpg by removing the side view mirrors, while I would not want to lose those mirrors it probably does make a real difference. I have a Subaru Outback, and I read how Subaru engineers modified the very small antennae in the roof that is for the satellite radio system, and just by modifying this little item they added 1 mpg to the vehicle's performance. I would imagine the side view mirrors, if properly designed, could add a few mpg easily and probably make the vehicle look better as well.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

Sounds like a good idea to me. 180 degree view from 3 cameras, one screen on the dash, less wind resistance, reasonable price, increased safety. There are certainly plenty of accidents caused by people changing lanes with other cars in their blind spot.

...but then I have never bought a new car or even one that is less than 5 years old so I will let others try it out first and report back.

 

[Kevin]

I’d like it. My car has a huge screen with a back up camera. I find them extremely useful. I remember reading few years ago I read the best Mercedes at the time had something like 17 sensors and cameras to monitor cars in front, cars to the side etc.

The newest Toyota RAV4 has some sort of birds eye view camera for pulling into a parking spot. This technology will only make cars safer.

And to the comment of a side view camera costing $40. Wow! I bet they cost a whole lot more than that. Our F150 has bested, auto dimming side and fold-in side mirrors. I’d hate to think what one of those cost, several hundred at least.

 

[Fox Mike]

Anybody want to try backing up a trailer without side mirrors?

My very first thought. When I was teaching my youngest to drive I had him back up a windy, long, driveway using only the mirrors. Lots of 'oops' but he learned. I had been taught to back up using just the mirrors. No head turning was allowed.

 

[Bud0505]

Seems to me when I was a kid, back in the 50s, outside rearview mirrors were an option/luxury. As were radios and heaters. Everything old is new again.

 

[Rick Courtright]

Technology for the sake of technology.
One does it they all do it. You gotta have this whiz bang gizmo...how did we ever get along without it?

Hi,

I heard the late Steve Jobs of Apple Computer in a radio interview shortly before his death. I kinda think he knew he was getting close enough to that time he could go ahead and say pretty much whatever he wanted...

The host asked him if he'd ever foreseen the use of computers in so many products when he put together that first Apple computer. He said he certainly didn't. Then he went on to say that "Every computer ever made is going to fail, even mine. People today are putting computers in all kinds of places they don't belong. And those people should be killed!"

They tell us one of the biggest contributors to auto accidents today is distracted driving. It seems a bit strange to me that we don't want people talking on their cell phones but it's fine to make them look down from the road to see whatever the TV set on the dash is trying to tell them. I agree with Mr. Jobs: the funeral industry needs a boost! The dungeoneers* who design a lot of stuff on today's cars would give it a real jump start.

* A term borrowed from a retired mechanic to describe engineers who never get out of their little boxes to see how the stuff they've designed fares in the light of day.

Rick C

 

[SamV]

I have thought side view mirrors were essentially obsolete for several years. My complaint about side view mirrors are that many companies have shrunk them so much, that I think they potentially become less safe. I would rather do away with them and have a much more comprehensive side and rear view on a screen. I really doubt that they would add much more to a car's cost. We have seen aftermarket front and rear view cameras for cars for maybe $40 to $200. Why would side view cost more? Subtract the cost of regular mirrors and I bet it is close to a break even.
If you think that it is frivolous, that is fine. I will take a little extra safety. I really miss the cars and trucks of my youth. But there have been some amazing safety improvements made in the last half century.

 

[Tenbore]

Does anybody actually turn their heads and look over their shoulders anymore? Not that I have seen lately.

 

[6GUNSONLY]

Increased complexity=decreased reliability. Add in increased initial cost and higher maintenance costs, and I would prefer a low-tech option.

This. I think in a lot of areas we've reached a point of diminished/diminishing return on the technology thing. I recently finally traded in my old-school 2001 Dodge Ram 4x4 for a 2009 F-150 4x4. It drives and rides great, gets better mileage, but I miss the simplicity of my old Dodge. And I could and did work on it. Can't do a lot with the Ford beyond changing the oil.

 

[kmoore]

The cameras are a great extra. The law requiring 1 side view mirror or 2 if your blind in 1 eye would need to be taken off the books. I think they will remain a extra safety device on vehicles for a long time before they replace them. As a proper safe driver I look in my mirrors every few seconds most of the time. Yeah, I rotate my head and with all the drivers who cut me off I agree many do not look before the change lanes or turn.

 

[Tom W]

I found a R/H rear view mirror in my front yard not too long ago. I also noticed my mailbox was parallel to the road.

People gotta watch when they drive........

BTW, the mailbox wasn't hurt. I just twisted the pole back around and all was right with the world. Can't say as much for the fool's car that hit it.