Why do modern cars have wing mirrors?
Discussion
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
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
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...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?
Al U said:
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.
But before we debate costs, we'd have to know what the comparable costs of the R&D on a wing mirror design. I imagine that its not as insignificant as people believe...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.
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