bagwell

Americans have gotten used to rearview cameras, which make driving in reverse easier and safer and will be required on all new cars by May 2018.

Now, Nissan is taking the next step forward, adding the benefits of a camera to the rearview mirror.

The "smart rearview mirror" looks like a standard mirror, but when the driver flips a switch, a much clearer view of what's behind the car is shown, piped in from a camera in the rear windshield.

No more struggling to see past tall passengers, headrests, and piles of suitcases. Fantastic.

The mirror itself meets federal regulations and is available if the camera ever fails, or if the customer prefers to go old school. But we're guessing that once drivers get used to the LCD screen mode, they'll stick with it.

U.S. customers got their first in-person look at Nissan's mirror at the New York auto show the past April.

http://www.nissanusa.com/innovations...a.article.html

chikoo

about time.

bagwell

nice fat bezel on the mirror.

FastTags

Nice. What about side mirrors about time to make them a cameras!

jwong77

Great idea, but why even bother with the normal mirror, why not just have the camera at all times? Did I miss the explanation in the video?

Edit: Oh never mind, its in the original post, to meet federal regulations.

mmarshall

In many vehicles, the camera only works when the transmission is in reverse, backing up.

chikoo

it takes 10 years+ to change a federal regulation. Talk about slow moving pork express.

I8ABMR

guys in Japan have been doing this with their exotics and nav screens for YEARS . Old idea just new execution.

Levi68

Another 10 years for side-view mirrors.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I don't think the federal standards to have a mirror will change anytime soon. Cameras are good but you still need a backup if the camera fails or the electronic connection to the camera or view finder / monitor faults.

pbm317

The new Ford Transit (and any car with barn doors in the rear) could definitely use this. The door pillars in the middle effectively block being able to see anything directly behind the car using the interior center rear view mirror.

pman6

i prefer it piped to the nav screen. I'd like to have the rear cam and mirror available at the same time.

darkgt23

sweet conveniently placed gtr

grabber2

We still need the normal mirror to check the children int he back seat

This was actually a pretty cool execution....but need a wider angle

Sulu

I don't mind the rear-view camera feed going to the rear-view mirror.

What I would like to see is the option of stitching together the feeds from the back-up camera (from above the rear licence plate, and generally pointing down) and the new rear-view camera (from the rear window and pointing straight back) that goes to the nav screen, and available at any time, not just when backing up.