Car companies and electronic manufacturers are always conspiring to come up with new high-tech gimmicks for our cars. Almost invariably, they either distract the driver from driving or else help him keep his eyes on the road. Champions of road safety (and cool flashing lights) that we are, of course we prefer the latter. With more cars on the road each passing day – and average driver skill not improving one bit – staying on the road is enough of a challenge without toying with an unintelligible driver interface (iDrive, we’re looking at you), being distracted by in-dash DVD players or looking for directions from a sat-nav screen.
That’s why we applaud BMW’s new HUD. The Bavarians have put all the vital information right there on the windshield so you never have to take your eyes off the road. The HUD projects the speed as well as information from the sat-nav system right ahead of you. BMW’s also reportedly working on something called RoadPreview that also projects information regarding upcoming obstacles and big turns, cross-referencing the data with your speed to tell you if you’re going too fast to avoid what’s up ahead. (Given some of the jerks we’ve seen behind the wheels of Bimmers, this could only bode well.)
Sounds to us like the engineers in Munich have been listening attentively to The Doors: “Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel”. HUDs can be found in other cars currently on the market, like the Chevy Corvette whose HUD also displays key vehicle info, nav directions and even a real-time g-meter. [Motor Authority]
Â