Mirrorless Cars -- Will You Buy Them?

[lamboman100]

The tech has been around for a while, but it does increasingly look like doormirrors / wingmirrors / rearview-mirrors will be completely replaced by digital cameras / camcorders in the next 1 to 30 years.

The tech is starting in more expensive cars and will then trickle down to cheaper ones over time.

For comparison, ratchet handbrakes are already being replaced by electric handbrakes today.

Do you like or dislike mirrorless cars / vans / trucks / buses / coaches?
Will they catch on with the masses?
Will younger or older drivers buy them first?
Will driverless cars be mirrorless?
Advantages and disadvantages of mirror-free vehicles?

Debate.

http://www.driving.co.uk/news/news-cameras-to-repl...

[AlasdairMc]

If it ain't broke...

[JakeT]

It would cost a lot more to replace a camera and all the st that goes with it rather than a piece of glass. Electrochromatic or not. However MB or another tech whoring manufacturer could incorporate it into their night vision system and use IR LED's with it so you know exactly what's behind you.

[Alucidnation]

This could turn into a mass debate.

[PoshTotty]

Maybe but they can't do away with the vanity mirror, no woman would buy a car that didn't have that feature!

[anonymous-user]

The next 1 to 30 years?

[Gavin0478]

I would love them in trucks as they can cover a far better field of vision and are less likely to be damaged by passing vehicles. Also in cars just think there would be nothing for the angry drunks to snap off.

[lamboman100]

andrewparker said:

The next 1 to 30 years?

It will take a long, long time for the tech to trickle down to all cars, particularly the cheapest ones under £10k. They will still have glass-mirrors in 10+ years' time. Whereas, something like a top-end Benz will probably have them fitted in the next 2 to 5 years.

[lamboman100]

Gavin0478 said:

I would love them in trucks as they can cover a far better field of vision and are less likely to be damaged by passing vehicles. Also in cars just think there would be nothing for the angry drunks to snap off.

Good point.

[akirk]

mmm every car I know with a reversing camera spends 90% of its time with it unusable covered in dirt... I suspect the locations they suggest will be far more prone to dirt than current wing mirror locations...

[jjones]

akirk said:

mmm every car I know with a reversing camera spends 90% of its time with it unusable covered in dirt... I suspect the locations they suggest will be far more prone to dirt than current wing mirror locations...

haven't washed, sorry detailed, my primera for 12 months (at least), it gets driven across a grass (muddy) airfield regularly, and i have never had problems with dirt/dust on the lens

[DUMBO100]

I would buy a mirror less car and I think it'll give the designers a bit of a free reign when it comes to future deign

[richs2891]

Would most people notice if the wing / door mirrors where replaced, as I don't think many people use them.

[PoshTotty]

Isn't having cameras instead of mirrors a bit unneccessary gadgetry? Suppose manufacturers need to make as much money as they can out of technology seeing as we're still using the victorian internal combustion engine.

Often wonder, being a secretary in a Classic car business, how much the primary consumer of vehicles demand the technology, can be bad news for subsequent owners though no?

[JJ55]

Not sure what I think about this. I kind of like it & it's pretty cool but I'd be concerned about getting a electrical/computer problem & suddenly losing all my surrounding vision which could be dangerous if you were travelling at speed in the outside lane on a busy motorway. I agree it could be great for lorry drivers though especially when driving in the city.

[Rubin215]

Since so many drivers seem to rely on "the force" instead of mirrors as to what is behind them, is it going to make a blind bit of difference?


(Anyone see what I did there...?)

[EmmaJ]

It amazes me every time I see some twonk driving along with their wing mirrors folded in. How can they not notice?!?!

So removing them altogether seems the next logical step

[mybrainhurts]

I have eyes in my arse, so it doesn't matter.

[Funkycoldribena]

I'm so old I remember the days of only having one wing mirror on some of my cars...

[to3m]

I'd have to see the displays before passing judgement. The guy may scoff at the idea of relying on light reflecting off bits of glass, but with that technology the light can move straight from the moving object off the mirror into your eye with no detectable delay. That seems to be more difficult to achieve when cameras and computers are involved. (The delays are small, but at 70mph they can be significant. e.g., 1/60th of a second at 70mph is 0.5m.)

(I've no idea what they do on current reversing cameras. I'm guessing nothing, as the speeds are so low.)