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NHTSA delays backup camera rules... again

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has again delayed adoption of rear visibility rules that would require backup cameras in all passenger vehicles sold in the US. It's the fourth delay in a string of setbacks dating to 2007. That's the year Congress passed legislation intended to improve rear visibility in new vehicles.

Do costly blind spot systems actually fix a problem that doesn't really exist?

Before automakers started equipping cars with all sorts of blinking lights and beeping telltales, there were still ways to mitigate blind spots, keep your following distance consistent, and generally avoid accidents. Of course, nobody is going to deny that the public at large seems only mildly interested in steering 3,500 pounds of automobile in between stints on the phone, so the addition of radar-sensing systems like Ford's BLIS or Infiniti's Lane Departure Warning at least reminds inattentive

Report: Backup assist, blind spot detection hot; clean diesel not

J.D. Power and Associates asked 19,000 potential car buyers what they want and what they're willing to pay for. Safety is apparently on the minds of many, with blind spot detection and backup assist taking the top two spots. But once consumers were told blind spot detectors would cost as much as $500, the device fell to No. 4 on the list, while a $300 backup assist jumped to No. 1. And a majority (73%) put in-dash navigation as No. 3 in popularity, but when told they'd have to pay an estimated $

Mercedes-Benz adds radar-based blind spot assist

One of the most common accidents that occurs when merging is when one vehicle -- the one that's changing lanes -- hits another vehicle slightly behind it and to its side because the driver of the first vehicle couldn't see the second one in his mirror. To prevent this from happening, Mercedes-Benz has developed a new safety feature called Blind Spot Assist, which it plans to debut on its Siddharth Raja

Buick Lucerne comes equipped with new safety tech

You don't need no stinkin' Volvo to experience BLIS(s) -- for 2008, the Buick Lucerne is fitted with lane departure and blind-spot warning systems. The Lucerne offers classic GM big-sedan ethos, with lots of content, wide, cushy seats and restrained, handsome styling. Now, when you're motorvating down the interstate, listening to your Buick 8, an amber lamp will illuminate in the gauge cluster, and a chime will toll three times to indicate you're about to encroach on someone else's road space. I

LaneFX blind spot exposure system lets you see your sides - UPDATED

Blind spot detection systems that warn drivers when a vehicle is playing hide-and-seek in your blindspot using visual and audible alerts have already debuted on production vehicles. Volvo's got such a system on the new S80 and Audi on its Q7. Driveaware is a third-party company that took a different approach than the OEMs when developing its new product called LaneFX. Rather than detecting an oncoming vehicle, LaneFX automatically moves the corresponding powe