Why do modern cars have wing mirrors?

[2pad]

I mean from a car design point of view, they must be terrible for aero and wind noise. Are they just for aesthetics? Or are manufacturers cautious of putting a car into production without them?

With the emergence of smaller, lighter video technology, surely this is the way forward? Would be interesting to look at the costs of wing mirror design vs video tech...

Discuss

[Zoon]

I seem to recall the Volkswagen XL1 replacing wing mirrors with a camera/screen setup in the interests of fuel economy.

[Dannbodge]

How would you check what's coming up the side of you?

Can you imagine looking onto a screen in the center to see down the sides of the car?

[kambites]

Could a car with cameras and screens in place of wing mirrors actually get type approval? I'm not sure of the exact wording of the requirements.

[kambites]

Dannbodge said:

How would you check what's coming up the side of you?

Can you imagine looking onto a screen in the center to see down the sides of the car?

The prototypes which have had cameras typically have a screen mounted at the bottom of each A-pillar so it's not that different than using a physical mirror.

[shakotan]

2pad said:

I mean from a car design point of view, they must be terrible for aero and wind noise. Are they just for aesthetics? Or are manufacturers cautious of putting a car into production without them?

With the emergence of smaller, lighter video technology, surely this is the way forward? Would be interesting to look at the costs of wing mirror design vs video tech...

Discuss

If you move your head around, the area of reflected image changes so you can see a larger propertion of the road behind you. This wouldn't happen with a camera/screen arrangement. Depth perception also doesn't work as well on a projected image in comparison to a reflected image.

Its akin to looking out of a window compared to looking at the image of a camera looking out of the same window.

[kambites]

shakotan said:

If you move your head around, the area of reflected image changes so you can see a larger propertion of the road behind you. This wouldn't happen with a camera/screen arrangement. Depth perception also doesn't work as well on a projected image in comparison to a reflected image.

The technolocy exists in production ready forms to do both things but it's not especially cheap at the moment.

[2pad]

Dannbodge said:

How would you check what's coming up the side of you?

Can you imagine looking onto a screen in the center to see down the sides of the car?

Why does the screen have to be in the centre? FOV of a decent camera would be good enough to cover blind spot and rear side view.

[Yazar]

In America it is stated in law that cars have to have wing mirrors, imagine other countries will have similar laws.
So the law needs to change first before manufacturers can commit.


http://www.wired.com/2014/04/tesla-auto-alliance-m...

[poing]

shakotan said:

If you move your head around, the area of reflected image changes so you can see a larger propertion of the road behind you. This wouldn't happen with a camera/screen arrangement. Depth perception also doesn't work as well on a projected image in comparison to a reflected image.

Its akin to looking out of a window compared to looking at the image of a camera looking out of the same window.

That kind of makes sense but the advantage of the camera is much wider viewing angle, ability to deal with dazzling lights better and even tech like night vision. It amazes me when they talk about cyclists in the huge blind spot that trucks have, surely a camera could easily solve that?

[neil1jnr]

I think becuase drivers are used to naturally checking their mirrors for any vehicle coming up the inside by glancing to the left or right. Staring at a screen on the centre console doesn't feel natural.

How many of you have parked a car with a camera and the you look at the screen but then can't help but check your mirrors too?

[SmartVenom]

What would drunken thugs find to kick if it weren't for wing mirrors?

Also the idiot who almost sideswiped me the other day only realised when they clouted my mirror, without the mirror to alert them they'd have hit my car!

Therefore I conclude mirrors are needed for idiots!

[2pad]

neil1jnr said:

I think becuase drivers are used to naturally checking their mirrors for any vehicle coming up the inside by glancing to the left or right. Staring at a screen on the centre console doesn't feel natural.

How many of you have parked a car with a camera and the you look at the screen but then can't help but check your mirrors too?

but the screen doesn't have to be in the centre! Also why would having a screen vs reflection change the behaviour of the driver? I think 99.9% would still look over their shoulder regardless of the tech...

[Mave]

They stick out so you can use them as whiskers on narrow country roads :-)

[poing]

neil1jnr said:

I think becuase drivers are used to naturally checking their mirrors for any vehicle coming up the inside by glancing to the left or right. Staring at a screen on the centre console doesn't feel natural.

How many of you have parked a car with a camera and the you look at the screen but then can't help but check your mirrors too?

The screen doesn't need to be in the middle though, it could be at the bottom of the A pillar, especially given how wide they are now.

[J4CKO]

Would be good not to need them, makes a car a foot wider than it otherwise could be.

[PositronicRay]

I've not seen a car with wing mirrors since the 70's.

[maffski]

shakotan said:

If you move your head around, the area of reflected image changes so you can see a larger propertion of the road behind you. This wouldn't happen with a camera/screen arrangement. Depth perception also doesn't work as well on a projected image in comparison to a reflected image.

Its akin to looking out of a window compared to looking at the image of a camera looking out of the same window.

A wide angle lens would take care of that - and probably do a better job reducing blind spots.
And depth perception would just be repurposing parking sensors, people seem fine with reversing cameras and coloured bars.

[Superhoop]

They also don't meet current type approval regulations.

[Al U]

Until the cost of the cameras, screens and other necessary hardware becomes cheaper than a conventional mirror assembly then they will not be there on mainstream cars. Even on high cost low volume cars, budgets still have to be met and unless there is a chief engineer or executive that decides they wan't cameras/screens instead of mirrors (such as the XL1 which was a demonstration of a very low drag vehicle) then it won't happen.

The only other way I can see it happening is if a slightly premium brand like Audi for example decide one day that on all of their models they will have cameras/screens instead of mirrors, then BMW/Merc will probably follow suit to make sure their car matches the competition in terms of technological advances.